tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post574477495643703094..comments2009-11-13T10:57:06.149-05:00Comments on The Burd Report: A political reality checkBen Burdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06372169478978720740ben@eagle.caBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-69813931418153147672009-11-13T07:16:17.995-05:002009-11-13T07:16:17.995-05:00If all we ever did was based on polls, we'd st...If all we ever did was based on polls, we'd still be living in trees. This is just monkey business, Ben.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-15418724856852946532009-11-12T14:41:49.026-05:002009-11-12T14:41:49.026-05:00Thanks for the link, Ben.Thanks for the link, Ben.William Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14237954496211789520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23948057.post-18754740063516278102009-11-12T10:17:41.200-05:002009-11-12T10:17:41.200-05:00Sure, Ben, I'll wade in. Most of your readers ...Sure, Ben, I'll wade in. Most of your readers will know that I am generally of the Liberal persuasion. When asked during the last month about what's been going on in the polls, I've explained my view that in effect Canada actually had an 'election' in October 2009, although it was by opinion poll rather than electoral poll. In other words, people voted with their phones rather than their feet. The result of the 'vote' couldn't have been clearer: Liberals bad, Conservatives better, NDP same. What triggered this 'vote'? Well, Michael Ignatieff drew a line in the sand. People didn't like it, and they 'voted down' his proposition. Lesson learned. Meanwhile, when it might have made a real difference, Jack Layton reversed his long-averred opposition to propping up the Harper government, yet there was no detectable change to Jack's popular support, up or down. Into the electoral vacuum once again marched Stephen Harper. A lingering consequence is that now voters have a generally bad taste in their mouths about Ignatieff. Time will tell whether this will be a permanent setback, a la Stephane "Mumbles" Dion and Robert "Slippery Fingers" Stanfield, or a temporary phenomenon as happened with Gilles "Hairnet" Duceppe, Jean "Hopeless" Chretien, and even Stephen "Cowboy Bob" Harper. I wonder: by refusing to be the Neville Chamberlain of modern Canadian politics, did Ignatieff give up the chance to be the Wilt Chamberlain champion of the Canadian political court? Time will tell. One thing I'm sure of, when (not if) Harper and his acolytes finally step on one or more of their big-spending, patronage-riddled, hypocritical, militaristic, jingoistic, anti-environment, skullduggery-induced land mines, the voters will react and the polls will change. Maybe not far enough or soon enough for some of us, but they will change.Martin Partridgenoreply@blogger.com