So...Poilièvre And Lewis Won't Be There.

In two words: cowardly and disrespectful. So, the debate will go on as scheduled this week without them. For my part, I sincerely hope that it politically bites each of them in the ass. Neither of them deserve to be leader after a move like that.

I hope this helps my candidate, Charest, and helps him to get over the line but hey, I ain't wearing either rose-coloured glasses or blinders -- know the party and membership only too well...

As a result, Poilièvre seemingly already has it locked up and hence the incentive to act cowardly. You know, a frontrunner who is not confident enough to face the debate music. Put another way, they already think they've got this thing wrapped up and likely in the bag so it's fine in their warped minds to disrespect the membership and take a powder. It also revealed a thinly veiled lack of personal self-confidence otherwise the guy "running for prime minister" would inevitably be there. PP is afraid of blowing his lead in the next debate so that's why he isn't going. That's it in a nutshell. What does that say about a likely future leader who thinks that way? Precisely. He's almost in Trudeau category.

So the two geniuses, PP and Byrne get to wear this. Watch them blow the next election campaign as well. Too funny. I'm still glad I kissed off the Liberals over SNC but hey, as the old man Trudeau would say: just watch me sit out the next campaign. At minimum, it should be a barrel of laughs, most especially after PP and Byrne blow our campaign to smithereens smack in the middle of the next election campaign. What a fucking party. Maybe Pierre will get to give Byrne part of the campaign off like Harper allegedly did in 2015.

CPC: Not One Red Cent!

You see, I don't know about you but I certainly won't waste my money on a dog that can't hunt to quote a Jamiesonism.

The next election is already a foregone conclusion and under PP's leadership we'll lose our third election in a row.

So...like I said, not one red cent! Others may gleefully throw their dough away but not this guy.

Barnum was wrong: in the CPC, there sure isn't a sucker born every minute except for those who wilfully decide to become one.

O'Dowd ain't one of them.

FOMC: Sheer Incompetence At Its Best.

First they didn't see any rise in inflation from the 2-3% benchmark and then it was transitory. So, the morons kept a printing through the digitization creation of money out of nowhere. And surprise, surprise, that was for all practical purposes massively inflationary given the fact that inflation is always, always, solely a monetary policy phenomenon. 

Fiscal policy and stimi-checks didn't help nor did a myriad of other issues we could all rattle off but make no mistake, The Federal Reserve gave life to this monster and hasn't got the balls to tame it à la Volcker. Wasn't inflation close to 18 percent when Volcker over a period of time massively raised rates and that did the trick after a terrible recession -- Volcker quite literally broke the back of inflation while successive Chairs and FOMC members serially chickened out once the economy inevitably fell into a recession. Soft landings were very few and far to come by.

Biden will go down in flames in 24 and has no one to blame but himself. The moment Powell was re-nominated, that was his Waterloo and I say that as a foreigner who leans heavily Democratic. All this BS about women voting in droves and saving the Dems in 22, and Biden in particular in 24 is bullshit. Like I keep saying, just look at how women "pushed thru" ERA with the help of Betty Ford and Company. Exactly...

22 will be a Democratic rout with Republicans having serial orgasms -- they will very likely take control of both the Senate and House. Face it, inflation and the economy is where it's at for Joe and Jane and the Dems just ain't there in force.

Biden is toast hence Newsom's pre-positioning. That my friends speaks volumes not to mention a series of polls where even a plurality of Dems don't want Biden as nominee in 24. Ouch! But I digress.

But back to The Fed: I go berserk when I see the business talking heads blatantly lying about the CPI and inflation. Inflation isn't at 9 percent, it's much higher, more like at 16-17%. Everyone knows that the official rate has been cooked by every administration all the way back to Reagan.

Check out these charts from ShadowStats and concentrate the mind on the blue line in the 2nd chart. It's the most realistic of all given the fact that in Reagan's time manipulation was at a minimum:

Alternate Inflation Charts (shadowstats.com)

Always remember that corporate or network policy is to make sure the public doesn't find out the truth. Well, the American people may not know the real deal numbers but they can sure as hell feel them in the pocketbook.

So like I said, as much as it pains me, the Dems are done, even with Jesus Christ as the next nominee. Personally, I would urge voters to throw out all incumbents. After all, they voted for this mess or worse yet, allowed The Fed to go on its merry way and fatally stab the American economy. Incumbents, especially lifers, should pay the ultimate political price for that. Hope it happens.

 

That Fist Bump.

Well, Biden was damned if he did and damned if he didn't re: projected outcomes. Would shaking hands have come off as much more accepting? I don't know.

Trouble is you can't be hostile, standoffish, unfriendly or impolite because then meetings ultimately amount to nothing.

So the Saudis knew that going in so it's a big win for them -- even with a fist bump.

My argument with Biden is that the American delegation should at least have worn a poker-faced mask from Biden on down the line.

So Biden blew it and more than likely knows it. A signal needed to be subtly sent but wasn't...

The Boxer VS. The Convoy Crazies.

Look, I just don't get it. Why is this happening repeatedly? Isn't the RCMP PPS supposed to know a little something about establishing security perimeters, cordoning off roads ahead of time, etc.? Or are they too busy potentially dropping the ball à la Abe? Is that why events get suddenly cancelled to make up for security deficiencies?

In short, keep those crazies well back and anyone or everyone with legitimate threatening signs should meet the slammer in short order -- detention does wonders to concentrate the mind of the stupid. The days of the Convoy Crazies scoring points with intimidation and lawless behaviour are over. If they cross the line, in the slammer they should go, I-M-M-E-D-I-A-T-E-L-Y.

Is Pierre The Next BOJO?

Make no mistake, the Chong thing is a serious threat to our future leader. It's not about trying to put the genie back in the bottle -- it's really about trying to put the CPC precedent back into the toothpaste tube.

So, Pierre needs to clue in now, before he becomes leader. Otherwise, he goes down the path of O'Toole with the same highly predictable election results.

Support of the center-right and God forbid the far-right does not and won't win elections in Canada. Never, ever, period.

That means Pierre is already the sole master of his own ship. He can stick to his current positions or he can change some of the most ridiculous and actually have a serious and legit shot at winning.

I LUV writing these pieces and watching the political geniuses ignore my advice entirely: first Harper pre-2015, then Trudeau pre- and post-SNC and finally the all-knowing O'Toole. I can't tell you how many incredible intellectual and strategic orgasms I've had as each one was either humbled or at least politically diminished. 

So...Pierre, be my guest and follow the other three. What a laugh I'll have when you do. [Smiling broadly and waiting for disaster to ultimately strike.]

P.S. I live and breathe for only one reason: to politically kick that sorry ass of this smug little bastard all the way back to Montreal where he belongs. Don't fuck up my efforts Pierre!

May God bless the late Judy LaMarsh. 

McCain Must Be Rolling Over...

My God, what a dishonorable spectacle to see Arizona primary candidates all swearing that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. Pathetic suckups.

Maybe they all need to get wax removed so they can concentrate on what Barr and what is it, forty courts said.

Clue in losers, just like the Gore losers before you, that the election was free and fair with almost no irregularities -- just ask fifty secretaries of state.

In case you haven't noticed, you're American citizens, not Republican or Democratic citizens. Loyal Americans put country first -- like McCain always did and so did Flake.

Try to finally live up to the American experience and its constitution, you know, like they did in two World Wars. They heard and heeded the call to serve. It wasn't Wilson's or Roosevelt's war, it was America's and people rose to the occasion and did their patriotic duty as citizens.

That's the great part of being American, when the rubber meets the road, they're there. Service in the name of democracy, freedom, human rights, peace, literally the whole nine yards.

That's what makes the United States of America great, HER PEOPLE.

So...collectively try to listen to your better angels, to loosely quote Lincoln.

Those who have the true spirit of America in their veins put themselves last and storm airplane cockpits or pull people out of burning cars. That's what it means to be an authentic American.

May God continue to bless the greatest force in pursuit of good on this green Earth.

Remember your ancestors and make them proud.

Are We Just Crazy Or What?

Let's get right down to brass tacks: this Brown thing is like a providential life preserver from on high for Charest. Forget the bullshit -- all CPC members knew in their hearts that Jean didn't have a realistic hope in hell before this happened. I like calling it honestly, even if I'm for Charest.

So, when you suddenly become the only moderate crucible that can win, well, you use your brain and stay the fuck away from Brown and his campaign.

You also don't call or take one from Brown practically on a daily basis and you sure as hell don't make previous race comparisons! 

Jesus H. Christ...the front-runner last time was a PC, just like you and he lost to a pretend True Blue. And guess what, the front-runner now is True Blue and a populist so tell us all credibly now how he's about to go the way of MacKay.

Mind boggling. Is our campaign just stupid or what? Stay off the air when it comes to Brown or risk being tarred dishonestly with the same brush. Again, where are your fucking brains? Beyond incredible. No wonder we're losing...

And what about Leslyn, Scott and their people? Better still not be crickets. Otherwise, we're pretty much already done as dinner.

Canada: Nixonian Vs. Trumpian.

That's the biggest danger to our democracy and country: parties and individuals who dwell in the recepts of Trumpism, or worse yet, Nixonism. These types quite deliberately go there with relish and see absolutely nothing wrong with that. Like I said, that puts our parliamentary democracy in terrible, terrible danger.

So...there comes a point where you give up on these people, you no longer show them the road to political sanity and consensus and you finally believe them when they repeatedly show you who they truly are as per Maya Angelou: “When someone shows you who they are believe them, the first time.”

No matter how many times you bring that horse to water, it still refuses to drink the wisdom of common sense and tent-building. It quite deliberately chooses to exact a political war by division and potentially scorched-earth policy. Country comes last rather than first and democracy is used as a tool to propel the efforts of negative wedge policies that pit one Canadian against another. 

Scorned are the better angels of our nature and a new low is reached in politics with gusto. That's not my Canada, not the Canada I live in nor the one most of you live in either. But the political horse perceives itself as all knowing and of a higher stature, capable of telling the rest of us what we should believe, not to mention what's justifiable and right in politics.

By all means, those of you who must, go with that but count me out. No ladies and gentlemen, Pogo was not right.  We Have Met the Enemy, and He is [only a few of] Us. 

Down the slippery slope to potential dictatorship Canadians will not go. Not the horse, or anyone else, will ever get an opportunity to theoretically take all of us there. Never.

Poilièvre Keeps Digging Towards All But Certain Defeat...He's The NEXT O'Toole.

Quite obviously, everyone already knows that Justin Trudeau's Liberals won't and can't talk about the economy because like Biden, it's positively killing them one day at a time. So, they will do what they do best: attack Poilièvre on some of his ill advised policies and positions and deform the shit out of the CPC platform. That's pretty much what has always worked for this Prime Minister but it may not next time unless Pierre leaves an impression that he'd rather serially shoot himself first in the foot and ultimately in the head rather than hold the center-right and win. Like I said before, it's all on Pierre and he, like O'Toole, will either make or break this party in the next election. Period. No doubt about it. And meeting with Bernier is precisely the wrong signal to send to potential voters. It tars our party with the lunatic, kookish taint of the PPC. Great going there Pierre. Are you really that politically dense? Sure looks like it from here.

Well, as a result, it's all smiles on the Charest campaign, at least for now.

CPC: The Good, Bad And Ugly About Being Vanilla.

Well, a vanilla anything is thoroughly loved by almost everyone. That person wins every federal election in the theoretical political games. Applies here, applies in the States. Trouble is, polling should never be based upon results pitting an incumbent prime minister or president against an unknown other guy or gal. One of the best examples for an unelected person is Hillary: remember most of her polling numbers as first lady? Exactly. Once she got into the arena and won, she never achieved polling numbers as high as she had as first lady.

In this country, our invisible Conservative leader has already won the next election. How many times have I seen this kind of polling before? Too many. So it becomes all about the canvas and the quality of the paint. 

This brings us to Pierre Poilièvre. He's rolling the dice and running on issues he believes are future election winners. When he talks about the cost of living, the housing crisis, the irresponsible digitization of money by the Bank of Canada (and the Federal Reserve), he's on solid ground. But when he supports the unvaccinated, possible investment in crypto and protesters, some of whom have committed illegal acts, that's where his slippery slope begins. Team Poilièvre thinks they can win with all of this. I'm not as confident to put it diplomatically.

The next election will be all about listening and government helping people where it can and to the extent that our fiscal capacity permits. Poilièvre has that part down pat. But on likability and powers of persuasion to really move the needle in his direction with undecided voters, well, there's still plenty of room for improvement there. 

I would argue that Trudeau's 2015 canvas was comprehensive enough to almost assure a win. Poilièvre's on the other hand still lacks the royal jelly that's needed to cement him into the PM's job. Mulroney naturally had that jelly. Harper came to eventually develop it. It remains to be seen if Poilièvre can successfully tweak his game plan, thereby returning the CPC to power come the next election. It would be a mistake to count him out at this juncture. However, in the end, Poilièvre himself will be the sole architect either of political failure or newfound unity. Only the fates know how this one will eventually turn out.