Monday, December 04, 2006
Dion-Harper: Round 1
It'll be interesting to see what line of attack Stephane Dion will adopt as he makes his first appearance in Question Period today in the House of Commons.
If I'm Stephen Harper, I hope that Dion does the predictable. I hope that Dion continues to portray himself as the champion of the environment and starts with this topic first. It would give Harper the opening to start poking huge holes in the myth that Dion is some kind of saviour on climate change or anything else regarding the environment.
Much of the left wants to keep perpetuating this myth. I think it's time Harper and the Tories start to lay the foundation of telling Canadians that that's just what it is: myth. The facts speak for themselves. When Dion and his government had the chance, they did absolutely nothing on climate change and the environment. Dion is the same old Liberal. Next.
The first exchange between Dion and Harper will also give me some hint as to what kind of tactician Dion is. If he goes with the environment, then he's predictable. If he doesn't, then he might be someone to keep an eye on, depending on what he does end up talking about.
If I'm Stephen Harper, I hope that Dion does the predictable. I hope that Dion continues to portray himself as the champion of the environment and starts with this topic first. It would give Harper the opening to start poking huge holes in the myth that Dion is some kind of saviour on climate change or anything else regarding the environment.
Much of the left wants to keep perpetuating this myth. I think it's time Harper and the Tories start to lay the foundation of telling Canadians that that's just what it is: myth. The facts speak for themselves. When Dion and his government had the chance, they did absolutely nothing on climate change and the environment. Dion is the same old Liberal. Next.
The first exchange between Dion and Harper will also give me some hint as to what kind of tactician Dion is. If he goes with the environment, then he's predictable. If he doesn't, then he might be someone to keep an eye on, depending on what he does end up talking about.
UPDATE (10:37 am): Stephen Harper will have a mighty ally in any effort to quickly dispel the myth of Dion as enviro-champion: Jack Layton. The Bloc will jump in on this, too. However, I wonder what approach Elizabeth May will take towards Dion. If she's going to win more votes, she needs to take support away from all the other parties, especially the Liberals. That was evident in the recent by-election she lost in London North Centre. Dion and the Liberals ought to be the symbol for doing squat on the environment. If May agrees, then Dion's tenure as Captain Kyoto might be short-lived indeed.
UPDATE (2:38 pm): Interesting. Dion chose an ideological attack on Harper, asking questions ranging from women's issues to gay marriage. Surprisingly, Harper defended the conservative values behind the government's positions on these issues. Conservative politicians sometimes run away from defending their own values. Harper didn't.
Also interesting, Dion didn't mention the environment. Looks like his intention is to be more than a one-trick pony. Question is, will he be more than a pony that won't ever leave the barn named ideology?
UPDATE (2:47 pm): I think NDP leader Jack Layton just committed a rather rude faux pas in the House of Commons. He failed to congratulate the new leader of the official opposition for his victory in this past weekend's Liberal convention. Instead, he went on a rather angry rant on the environment, and he committed a freudian slip about "asses" while he was at it, too. Nice.
