Lost in all the laughter at Bobby Jindal's speech from the other week, was a discussion of what this guy really believes in.

Bobby Jindal is not a balanced man. He might come off as a smart cookie, but he's got some weird, weird beliefs.

Like what?

Like he believes in possessions and personally performed an exorcism.

Why this isn't on the front page news, as it is actually old news, is beyond me.

To my GOP friends: you can't lead a nation with guys like this. You just can't.

Read more here: http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/bobby_jindals_dance_with_the_d.php


MoonBat

I recently did a post about how the conservative movement needs to go through a reformation to become relevant again. Well the left has to do the same as well.

Contrary to what many may think, the Obama victory in the states does not signal a tectonic shift in North American politics -just yet.

In order for that to happen, Canada must also re-discover its progressive roots.

I've already shared my thoughts on wanna be PM, current Liberal interim leader Michael "The oil sands are just peachy" Ignatieff. His leadership ideals is hardly progressive. If anything, it seems that Iggy is just running to the centre, which -as far as I am concerned- is the political equivalent of quicksand.

What Canada needs is a TRUE progressive movement. And for my two cents, it is the Green Party that offers us the best chance for a real progressive revolution across North America.

There is a political reality that we all need to recognize: true change cannot happen unless both Canada and the US work together and work hard toward achieving it. We are tied politically, economically, socially, and culturally. If one partner in this dance decides to step on the other's feet, nothing is going to happen. That is why it is very important that Canada find it's progressive voice.

The Green Party, is actually a damn good party. Ideologically anyway. They have some very important policy points that need to be discussed on a national and continental basis. If you are one of those that think that the Green Party is only about environmental policy, you are mistaken. You can read more about their solid party platform here.

As you can see, hardly unreasonable goals, or even partisan ones for the most part.

So you are probably asking yourself, after listing all of this, why would I be insisting on a reformation of the left? Compared to what the right is doing, what is listed above seems inspired.

It is not the Green Party's platform that I have issue with. It is their desire to fight for it that is the problem.

For years, now, the Green Party has been wanting to get into government via a legal means by asking for proportional representation during our elections. The Green Party during the last election got over 10% of the vote, but did not get a single seat because of Canada's "first past the post" federal election practices.

But this is no way to get political clout, and no way to effect change.

Real change comes from hard work, tireless effort, and inspiring others.

Here are my thoughts on how the Green Party can be a contender and usher in the change we need to have a great 21st century.

Rebrand: The Green Party brand has become associated in the minds of millions -rightly or wrongly- as a one trick pony party. The party of tree huggers. The Green Party NEEDS to rebrand and show Canadians that their party platform is a complete one that addresses all aspects of our economic, political, legal, security, and diplomatic needs. Ditch the green and get something else.

Hustle: I live in Toronto. I can't go two blocks without being stopped by a panhandler, street vendor, leaflet hander-outer, or charity solicitor. But in all my time walking around Toronto, I have NEVER encountered a Green Party member trying to introduce people to the party. It's time to get off your butts and go out to the streets. Shake hands, hand out brochures, knock on doors, have conversations. Don't be lazy and wait for people to come to your cozy, heated, indoor meetings. Stand out in the Canadian freezing cold, and solicit for new members. The NDP did it, the Bloc did it, and you have to do it.

Drop the Hippies: The key element keeping the Green Party from effecting real change is the lack of credibility. They are seen by many as a party of tree huggers. They need to expand their membership and target professionals. Entrepreneurs, capitalists, Wall Street types. Lawyers, doctors, rich guys. They need to prove that they can attract people who have money, and are not afraid of Green policies effecting their wallets in a devastating way. The Green Party has enough environmentalists. Now it needs more business types to prove that their economic policies are also right. Bonus points for getting some army guys to show that their security ideas are valid too.

Get Guerrilla On Their Asses: The Green Party needs more press. If they think that the MSM is going to give it to them willingly they are sadly mistaken. They are going to have to fight for every single minute and word of coverage. They need to get the country talking about them. That means protests, sit ins, publicity stunts, rallies, blogging, and getting all up on the Web 2.0. Go out and get a great PR firm. Obama showed that "Yes We Can". The Greens need to show that to.

Pick a Fight: The 'revolution' isn't going to happen because we ask nicely. It will only happen if we show people that this is something worth fighting for. Everywhere our PM goes the Greens need to be there, peppering him with questions, showing the flaws of his logic, projecting the failures of his plans. The more doubt they shine on the current political zeitgeist the better. Press releases aren't enough. You have to confront the issues on the ground as they happen.

The Green Party may be Canada's last best hope for real change. The question is, how badly do they want it? Right now, as great as their ideas are, the Green Party comes off as lazy. A bunch of self righteous do gooders with great ideas, but who are too yuppie to get their hands dirty.

Politics isn't fair or clean. No one is going to give you a seat, and no voter is going to give you their vote. You have to fight and earn everything.

Are the Greens ready for a fight? We'll see.


MoonBat

You'd think that having already once taken the most absurd position a supposed friend of the environment can take regarding the Alberta Oil sands (the biggest environmental disaster in Canada), that wanna be PM Michael Ignatieff would at least backtrack from his previous comments and reassure people of his total commitment to the green revolution when given another chance to speak on the subject.

Nope. (Read more here: http://www.thestar.com/article/594359)

His latest statements include:

1) Needs more study. (HUH?!)
2) The oil sands is a question of national unity. (Why? So we can all DIE together?!)
3) That we need to bring industry on board to help design a greener Canada. (Really? You think oil companies are just going to line up for that, huh?)

Iggy, if you need someone to bounce ideas off of, why don't you hang out with your fellow pretender George Will. He seems to share much of your delusions about the environment.

Fuck you again Iggy.


MoonBat

I mentioned this in my very first post, and I'm going to elaborate on it now. Conservatism is a dying ideology, getting choked to death by the very people who purport to defend it.

In America, Rush Limbaugh, George Will, Sarah Palin, and Michael Steele are making the Republicans look like a joke. While in Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Minister John Baird, are single handedly destroying a once proud party.

In both cases, the root cause is the same: a failure to adapt conservative philosophies and ideas for the 21st century. In both cases, both parties are slipping into obscurity and potentially into irrelevancy.

So here are the 5 ways conservatives in both nations can become relevant again. And in doing so, help us all have far more intelligent, meaningful, and insightful political discussions and solutions.

The first two first steps are crucial. They will help conservatives gain badly needed credibility in the minds of millions of people that see the movement as a bunch of wingnuts and haters.


1. Admit that you lost the culture war. In both America and Canada, it is clear that the vast majority of the citizens have migrated to the left on most social issues. To most people, gay marriage, abortion, universal health care, and sexual education are non issues. They have come to accept them and embrace them as part of their democratic values. Stop making issues of them. They are doing you no good and bring no value to the nation as a debate. Drop them as wedge issues, and move on. In doing so, you will attract a lot more social moderates into your parties in the long run, including those that view 'social conservatism' as what it is: bigotry.

2. Embrace science once again. Conservatives have gone off the deep end with their near hatred for science. Evolution, global warming, stem cell research, are all rejected by many conservatives that are currently running the movement. Ditch these clowns and get with it. Science is important. By embracing it once again, you will attract many more eggheads to your parties and with it be taken seriously on a host of issues.

3. Get back to talking about the SCOPEof government. While still keeping step number 1 in mind, there is still plenty conservatives can say about the scope of government. Does it really need to fund the arts? Do it really need to give money to the CBC? Should it be taxing food that we think is unhealthy? How about this one: how far can a government go in determining what can of treatments a doctor can perscribe to a patient under universal health care? (What a modern twist on an old conservative theme of 'big government'.) These are all classic conservative arguments -and good ones- that we need to hear again.

4. Get back to talking about the SIZE of government. Different than scope, size is literally the 'BIGNESS' of government. Both in head count, and departments. Even as a liberal the one thing I will acknowledge is that there is a lot of cronyism in government. There are quite frankly a lot of people that get paid to do nothing, and because of liberal fears of unions, nothing is done of it. Well this is another classic conservative argument. Certainly there are departments than can be folded into each other, redundancies that can be eliminated, automation that can take place. Let's hear those ideas, and save a bunch of money to boot.

4. Remind people of the responsibility that government has with taxpayer dollars. Even though this is really a bi-partisan issue, conservatives have always argued it better. No one likes paying any more taxes than they have to, yet governments continue to waste taxpayer dollars. Governments have a responsibility to tax payers to use money wisely and to be completely transparent with what they do with it. Just because we all want universal health care doesn't mean that we can't do it better for less. Just because we all agree that we need a stimulus package, doesn't mean that we can't allow for more local decision making on how that money is spent. And more importantly, just because the government has access to our tax dollars, doesn't mean they can unilaterally spend it without consulting with tax payers first.

Conservatism is in desperate need for a revival. We need a strong conservative voice again in politics. But what we don't need are the far right lunatics that have no respect for reason or principle.

If you have any ideas on how to revive the right, I would love to hear it.


MoonBat

Dear Would Be PM.

On behalf of millions of Canadians, let me say how insanely disappointed I am at you defending the Alberta oil sands. (Read more here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090226.OILFLAP26/TPStory/TPNational/Prairies/)

The oil sands are an environmental disaster. I don't care how many people it employs. That's a red herring argument and you know it.

Ultimately, we will pay a far greater price to clean up the mess it will cause to our planet than a few lost jobs. For every dollar we pull out of the sands we will probably pay 2, 3, or 4 more in the natural disasters it will result in globally. TAX PAYER DOLLARS.

I am sick of Liberals that are too weak to stand up to basic, meaningful principles. This is a no brainer. I would rather deal with a TEMPORARY employment problem in Alberta than a global climate crisis any day of the week. I would rather my taxes go up to pay for a complete reshift of the economy of Alberta to make them a green energy super power than have to pay to rebuild a town after a hurricane wrecks it.

And if we had begun investing in green technology a decade ago, those Albertans would be too busy setting up solar panels and wind farms to even care about tar sands. Not to mention if the politicians of Alberta had any common sense, they would have diversified their economy so that they would not be so reliant on the oil sector. Ontario -my home province- became too reliant on the auto sector and look at what that did to us.

If this choice is too difficult for you to make Iggy, maybe you should find another job. If you are afraid to stand up to the right, then go sell shoes.

Maybe you don't have the stones to lead a country in the 21st century. Or maybe that fancy education of yours isn't as fancy as you think it is.

If I wanted another Harper in office, I'd stick to the douche bag who has the job now. I was under the impression that you wanted to bring change to Ottawa, not more of the same failed politics and empty compromises that screw everyone at the end.

Fuck you Michael Ignatieff. Thanks for selling out the next generation.


MoonBat

If you watch CNN or read the Washington Post, the financial sky is falling.

Evidently, the American economy is on the brink of collapse (still) and the banks are the walking dead.

Really? Cause in Canada everything is just peachy.

"An oasis of calm"

"Better days ahead"

"Bank beats earning expectation"

When was the last time you heard that kind of talk in relation to the US markets?

But in Canada, that is the picture.

Canada has had a solid economy for the last 12 years, and we owe it to good management, and good regulation of our banking system.

Canada is the only western nation that hasn't had a bank fail yet. Compare that with the US that had 14 banks fail last week.

Canada, years ago, placed a 'firewall' between the banking and investment houses that protected the Canadian market from the kind of insane deals that doomed Wall Street. These regulations were not only fair, but actually HELPED banks make lots of money. It was not uncommon for banks to make billions of dollars every quarter in Canada, and then -3 months later- make even more money.

Today, Canada's banks are solid. In fact, I had a meeting just last week to increase my line of credit for my business and they were happy to do so. When was the last time you heard an American bank do that?

I mention this, because we need to remind ourselves that regulations are not the enemy of the marketplace. When done right, good regulations can actually protect the marketplace, and help businesses succeed by minimizing the risk of exposing the entire system to bad deals.

In the States, the entire financial network is infected with bad debts. In Canada, those "firewalls" have prevented toxic deals from polluting the financial environment.

Are Canadian banks perfect? No. There is still some work that needs to be done. Their user fees are ridiculous, and there needs to be greater transparency about what they do with our savings, and I still have a massive beef between the far too cozy relationship they have with our government.

But you know what? They are the best banks in the world right now, and I ain't complaining.

American's can learn a lot from the Canadian system. The first thing they can learn is that regulations are nothing to be afraid of.



MoonBat

Well, maybe it is. But there's nothing wrong with that.

Welcome to The Moonbat Chronicles. This is a place where pissed off liberals -and conservatives- can come and rant, share ideas, organize, inspire each other, and help bring about a revolution of thought to help us create a better society.

Conservatives? Did you read that right?

Yes you did.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a proud lefty, and if you look at the trends, most people lean to the left on most issues.

But I also know that conservatism has been getting a bad rap lately -mostly due to the damage that "conservatives" have caused it.

Contrary to what certain political parties claim to be, conservatism isn't about being a crazy redneck, a dullard who thinks science is bunk, a slave to (rigged) market forces, and legislator of women's wombs. There are some great ideas that need to be expressed, and I hope this blog can serve as a place for some real dialogue.

The legit conservatives know what I am talking about. And I want to bring them in on the discussion.

To my friends on the left, it's time for us to get organized, to stop bitching into our lattes, to stop arm chair politicking, and to start acting.

It's time for real change. REAL change. Our politics are going off a cliff, our economies are being laid to waste, our planet is being poisoned, and our citizens are being bled to death.

Lost in the chaos are average people, trying to live their lives.

It's time for the dreamers, the idealists, the visionaries to step up. It's time to start coming up with solutions that our politicians, our markets, and our governments are too blind or too timid to think up themselves.

This is no time -and no place- for fear. Let's not be afraid to do better.

I hope you will join me.


Moonbat.