The LPC And NDP Starting To Make A Liar Out Of Me ...

... and I, for one, don't mind one bit.

I wrote the following in a previous post concerning the LPC and the NDP (emphasis added):

(...) the LPC and its leader Stéphane Dion have been (and are still) too busy triangulating, seeking to run on their proposed "Green shift carbon tax plan" and making lavish billon dollars promises (see here, here and here, as examples) without any clear plan on how to pay for it all, while missing out on efficiently pushing issues that could sink Harper and the CPC (e.g. women rights/issues, the Afghanistan mission - which Harper is dodging by flip-flopping/backtracking and now giving it an end-date of 2011, the "In-and-Out" scandal, the Bush emulation, et al.), in addition to Dion seemingly behaving like a Dukakis/Kerry hybrid (of the 1988 and 2004 U.S. elections, respectively). Conversely, although the NDP and its leader Jack Layton have apparently learned the lessons of previous elections by challenging Harper only (and not the LPC at the same time), they keep underselling their own electoral platform (which still needs a little bit tilting towards the center) in favor of making no-plan billion dollars promises as well (examples here, here and here) while playing the "character" game above all (although Layton has apparently learned to play the character game this time around - one example here - but it will not be enough to put him over Harper and the CPC). In addition, many ridings lack actual NDP candidates (in mine, I see Jack Layton/NDP signs, but no candidate names). In between, Harper has the field wide open to criticize both Layton and Dion for their big spending promises.

Now, I was not that far of the grid when I wrote the preceding - case in point:

Liberals urge Dion to take focus off himself, Green Shift, and 'hammer' Tories

Although many Liberals are feeling more confident and energized following the latest Tory gaffe, the national Liberal campaign is on its way to becoming "the worst Liberal campaign ever," and senior Liberals are now urging the Liberal leader to focus his campaign on Tory "broken promises," gaffes, "mismanagement" of the economy, and to stop talking about the Green Shift plan describing it as "too complicated" to understand.

"Get back to the basics, and that's economic management. We're heading towards a deficit, and that's why they [Conservatives] called the election. They're mismanaging the economy, they're taking Canada into deficit when one of the worst economic crises is happening. You have to hammer home the economy. Talk about Flaherty picking a fight with McGuinty. Talk about broken promises—income trusts, the [fixed] election date [law]," said one senior Liberal, who spoke to The Hill Times on condition of anonymity.

"Whether you agree with those issues or don't agree with those issues, it's irrelevant. Those are the examples of broken promises. That's where I think the Liberals should focus and hammer. Forget all the other stuff.... Have some policy roll outs, have some of your team members talk about those policies, but then hammer, hammer, hammer. Get those negatives, drive up those negatives. That's what Liberals need to focus on and it should be clear and really pointed."

(Read more here)

Why, even yesterday I further chastised thusly:

Hence, my conclusion remains the same: the blame for a return of Harper and the CPC (whether as a minority - or even worse, as a majority - government) will be first and foremost our own to bear as Canadians ("mea culpa, mea culpa vox populi", as I often say). However, part of the blame will lie at the feet of the LPC and NDP whom have been running unfocused, if not actually ill-planned, ill-prepared, campaigns.

Bis repetita: I am definitely not happy ...

Well 'lo and behold:

A) Dion unveils Liberal platform, vows balanced budget (emphasis added):

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion trumpeted his party's track record of sound fiscal management Monday as he officially unveiled the Grits' platform.

"A Liberal government will never put Canada into deficit. Period," Dion told reporters in Ottawa, adding his party will earmark a contingency fund totalling $3 billion a year in case of an economic downturn.

"Fiscal discipline is now part of the Liberal DNA," he said.

"We were the party that turned a huge deficit into eight years of surpluses, and we will continue to put fiscal responsibility first."

(...) Along with the promise of balanced budgets, the platform also outlined the Liberal Green Shift plan, which has been met with confusion through much of the campaign so far.

"This progressive and fiscally responsible approach to the way Canada's tax system works enables us to cut taxes on those things we all want more of," said Dion.

According to Dion, the plan would result in lost revenue of only $90 million over four years, but would result in new funding sources worth $40 billion thanks to carbon taxes.

Dion stressed that every cent of the $40 billion would be returned to Canadians in the form of tax breaks.

Other highlights include a 10 per cent income tax reduction and a $10,000 refundable tax benefit for families who want to make their homes more energy efficient.

The platform also pledges to drop corporate taxes to 14 per cent over the next five years and to slash the current 31.5 per cent tax rate on income trusts. Instead, the Liberals would bring in a refundable, 10 per cent tax on income trusts.

The platform targets urban voters with promises to improve transit, roads and bridges, and aims to shore up political support in Ontario with a plan to create a $1-billion fund dedicated to aiding Canada's struggling manufacturing sector.

Dion also attacked the Conservatives for having a "right-wing agenda" and promised to "boost" funding for students and to restore cuts made to arts and culture funding.

At other points in his speech, Dion likened the policies of Stephen Harper's Conservatives to those of U.S. President George Bush.

"To me, the Americans are an ally, not a model," he said.

(...) "What I can tell you is that the numbers in the platform are taken directly from the last budget," said (Liberal Finance Critic) McCallum.

He added that the Liberals, with the $3 billion contingency fund, have a "much better" insurance policy than the Conservatives in the event of a slowdown in the Canadian economy.

Granted, much remains to be parsed out of this platform, which may have come too little too late, especially considering the previous billion dollars promises mentioned in the excerpt of my older post above (read this also). Nevetherless, it is a start and we have at last a plan from the LPC to sink our teeth into, a plan that must be exposed to the public again and again, including the main reminders concerning Harper and his Harpies that must be hammered on day in and day out (like this), until election day.

In so doing, Dion may (and I stress the word "may" here) also manage to shed his "Dukakis/Kerry hybrid" image in the process ...

Then we have B) Layton open to NDP coalition with Liberals (emphasis added):

The New Democratic Party is open to forming a coalition with the Liberals if it would help implement the party's policies, NDP Leader Jack Layton said Monday.

Layton, speaking to CTV's Canada AM, hinted he would work with the Liberals if the two parties combined won more seats in Parliament than the Tories on Oct. 14.

(...) "I think what I'll do is, hopefully, sit down in the Prime Minister's Office and pull together the leadership of my party and say, 'How can we best serve the country? How can we best get that child-care program that we committed to?"' he said.

"`How can we best get those doctors and nurses trained to deal with these wait times that are really concerning families?' And let's make it happen."

(...) Layton attacked the Tories, saying the party was taking Canada down the "wrong path" with policies that mirror those of U.S. President George Bush.

The NDP leader also repeated his promise to immediately withdraw Canadian troops from Afghanistan if his party wins the election.

(...) Later Monday, during a campaign stop in Hamilton, Ont., Layton said the only real priority of the Harper government was a $50 billion corporate tax cut.

Layton keeps on surprisingly coming through with leadership qualities that were not that apparent previously, while at the same time now hammering on the rightwing flaws of Harper and his Harpies. Just keep at it, Layton and NDP. However, we still need a clearly defined platform/plan to sink our teeth into and to be pushed again and again - especially in light of the previous billion dollars promises mentioned in the excerpt of my older post above. That, and the fact that I would like to compare the NDP plan and that of the LPC before making a final decision on which of these two parties to vote for.

Nonetheless, there is now some progress in the focus and conduct of the LPC and NDP campaigns.

We need more of this - if only to grab the attention of the majority of Canadians and make them pay close attention to these elections.

Hell, Canada definitely needs more of this if we are to be rid of Harper and his neocon Harpies.

So keep on making a liar out of me, guys - please.