Wynne could hand Hudak majority trying to out-NDP the NDP

In 2011, the Ontario Liberals missed a coveted fake majority by one seat. So Wynne’s 2014 campaign strategy — which she rolled out in attack ads before delivering her 2014 budget that triggered the election — is to muscle out the NDP to win a majority.

Jockeying for power

With our broken voting system, First-Past-the-Post, parties would rather jockey for power than cooperate and govern.

Liberals are hypocrites for accusing the NDP of this. Wynne had every intention of forcing this election.

If Wynne was interested in working with the NDP, she wouldn’t have abandoned all three NDP policies legislated in her 2013 budget. If she was interested in NDP support, she wouldn’t have run attack ads while pretending to seek it.

Strategy

So the Liberal strategy for this election appears to be two fold:

1. The NDP are to blame for the election and must be punished: This kind of sniveling is prevalent in the Toronto Star especially. Martin Regg Cohn goes so far as to blame the NDP for the Tories’ hard-right turn.

   This is obvious propaganda. Hudak has been ultra-conservative from day one.

2. The Liberals are the real progressive party: Wynne has an attack add that says the Andrea Horwath is not for real. Rick Salutin ridiculously asserts Andrea is a “right-wing populist, full out” — Rob Ford, Mitt Romney, Margaret Thatcher and Mike Harris all rolled into one.

   All nonsense aside, CBC’s Vote Compass places Horwath to the left of Wynne.

Oblivious

But while the Liberals break out the heavy artillery against the NDP, they are leaving their right-flank exposed.

Like Ignatieff in the 2011 federal election — who handed Harper the economy on a silver platter — Wynne appears to be oblivious that the Liberal party has to win over moderate right-leaning voters to prevent a conservative majority.

The Liberal party straddles the center. That means it has to reach out both leftwards and rightwards. Historically, reaching out rightwards has been more important because the conservative party is the greater threat than the NDP.

Folly

Given our primitive voting system awards absolute power on 40% of the vote, it’s the Liberal party’s job to split the moderate conservative vote and keep the conservative party out of majority territory.

But Wynne’s election strategy is doing the opposite. By trying to out-NDP the NDP she is alienating right-leaning voters.

Like left-leaning voters believe neo-cons are destroying the country, right-leaning voters feel an NDP government is the equivalent of Armageddon.

So by pretending to be the real NDP, Wynne is becoming the actual Hudak enabler.

Conclusion

Instead of playing the blame game, the Liberals must get off their asses and do something to stop Hudak.

He’s the one within striking distance of a majority government, not the NDP. Only the Liberal party can offer right-leaning voters an alternative to Hudak, not the NDP.

Is Kathleen Wynne for real?

According to a new attack ad from Kathleen Wynne, Andrea Horwath is “not for real” and opposed to:

• Increased child benefit

• Expanded pension plan

• Investment in new roads, bridges and transit

• $2.5-billion ‘corporate welfare’ job creation plan

Well she got the last one right, at least.

But what Andrea was actually saying ‘no’ to was Wynne’s broken promises and corruption.

Broken promises

In 2013, the Liberals and NDP worked together on a budget. Wynne said ‘yes’ to home care for seniors, a 15% discount on bloated auto insurance and a financial accountability office.

But when it came down to getting the work done, Wynne flaked out on all three promises.

So how was Andrea supposed to take Wynne seriously with her new round of lofty promises? As the saying goes: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Corruption

It was also discovered that Wynne was at the heart of the gas plant scandal.

In 2011, the Liberals abused $1.1-billion of taxpayer money closing unpopular gas plants trying to buy a majority government — and nearly succeeded. Wynne was McGuinty’s campaign co-chair and her signature was on related documents.

The real Andrea

Andrea is rolling out her platform day-by-day during the campaign, which parties typically do. So far Andrea has promised real progressive policies:

• Home care for seniors

• $100-million for day care

• Stop Liberal cuts to welfare and disability; index rates to inflation

• $12/hr mininum wage indexed to inflation (Liberals offer single bump to $11/hr)

• Cancel failed Liberal corporate tax cuts for the rich

• Job creation tax credit

The real Wynne

While Wynne pretends to be the real progressive candidate, it should be noted she has yet to deliver on any progressive policies.

So why all the big promises now?

In 2011, the Liberals fell short of a fake majority by one seat. Wynne’s apparent strategy is to target NDP votes to score that coveted majority.

Campaign from left, govern from right

But will all this be yet another case of Liberals campaigning from the left to govern from the right?

According to former Liberal finance minister Dwight Duncan, Ontario is facing ‘staggering debt’ and needs to double spending cuts.

So it wouldn’t be surprising if Wynne were to snag a majority, she would suddenly discover Ontario is facing a budget crisis and she has to abandon all of her promises (again.) Then she would continue where McGuinty left off with the Drummond report spending cuts.

Conclusion

Andrea is the real deal. She has no reason to lie about being progressive. And she puts her money where her mouth is: she will cancel failed tax cuts for the rich to pay for her promises.

Kathleen Wynne is not for real. She has yet to deliver on progressive policies. And she has no way to fund her new promises.

Take the poll: Is Andrea for real?

Ontario Liberal electricity-rate insanity

Back in 2003 when the Liberals came to power, electricity rates in Ontario were 5¢ kWhr. Today the peak rate is 13.5¢ + 8% HST or 14.5¢. That’s a staggering increase of 190%!

But wait for it: the Liberals don’t believe hydro rates are high enough. They plan on increasing them a further 33% over the next three years!

Hard choices

I guess if you are low income and have asthma, this summer you’ll have to debate whether to put the air conditioner on and breathe, or take your chances and leave it off so you can afford to eat.

Free money for the rich

And while the Liberals keep gouging the little guy, year after year after year, they believe the rich deserve $2.4-billion a year in corporate tax cuts that create imaginary jobs — money we are actually borrowing to pay for!

Campaign from the left, govern from the right

Liberals are pretending to be progressives with a fake budget full of empty promises.

But if they manage to weasel a majority government, they will suddenly realize they have a budget crisis on their hands. Then they will tell Ontarians they have no choice but to jettison their promises and slash spending.

Don’t believe me? How about taking the word of former Ontario Liberal finance minister Dwight Duncan. He recently said, “Ontario is faced with staggering debt” and spending cuts will have to be doubled in order to get the deficit under control.

Better idea

Let’s face the facts. Mike Harris’s 30% income tax cuts were reckless and created a structural deficit of $5.6-billion back in 2003. McGuinty’s corporate tax cuts only added to the problem — according to KPMG, Canada has the lowest effective corporate tax rate of all major economies.

So instead of depressing the economy further with spending cuts — which the IMF says is self-defeating in the midst of the global Great Recession (we’ve been stuck in for 6 years and counting) — we need to reverse reckless tax cuts for the wealthiest.

Conclusion

Back in the centrist post-WW2 era, we had progressive taxation, phenomenal economic growth and we paid our bills. Over the past 30 years, neo-cons said tax cuts for the rich would pay for themselves and create jobs. They were wrong on all counts.

It’s time to ditch this self-destructive neo-Liberal ideology and return to the practical center. The NDP is the only party offering us economic policy proven to work.

Rick Salutin’s hatchet job on Andrea Horwath Con-like sleaze

Before writing for the Toronto Star, Salutin promoted proportional representation voting reform. After he was hired, his position on the issue — for some unfathomable reason — abruptly changed. Now he says PR doesn’t matter.

I suppose this has absolutely nothing to do with the Toronto Star being fiercely against voting reform and real democracy.

Star agenda

Presently the Star’s agenda is to weasel NDP votes for the Ontario Liberal party.

But of course, this had no influence on Salutin who recently wrote Andrea Horath is a “right-wing populist, full out.”

He also postulated, Horwath is Rob Ford, Mitt Romney, Margaret Thatcher and Mike Harris all rolled into one.

This sleazy rhetoric could not be further divorced from reality.

Pathetic Liberal gripe

Besides making these ridiculous accusations, Salutin regurgitated an old Liberal partisan gripe: it was Jack Layton’s fault that the federal Liberal party never delivered on national day care.

Of course, this leaves out the fact that the Liberals were in power for 13 years after first promising day care, breaking their promise 4 elections in a row.

So we are supposed to believe by 2006, the Liberals really, really, really meant it that time around?

Promises, promises, promises

Salutin also blamed Horwath for “killing” Wynne’s pension plan promise. (This issue is far from settled yet.)

But what this leaves out is the fact that in the Liberal 2013 budget, Wynne had promised: home care for seniors; a 15% discount on bloated auto insurance; and a financial accountability office.

But instead of keeping those promises, she broke them all and made a whole bunch of new ones in her 2014 budget.

I imagine Salutin must have Amazing Kreskin-like powers of the mind that inform him when the Liberals are telling the truth and when they are engaged in political opportunism and outright lying.

Can Andrea Horwath really be faulted for not having the same gift?

Andrea’s platform

The NDP is unveiling their platform day by day as the campaign rolls out. That is not unusual. It’s typically how parties do it.

Claiming the NDP has no plan on health and education is absurd considering the campaign started two days ago. These issues were central to their 2011 campaign, as was pension reform. They obviously will be this time around.

Here are some of Horwath’s position on the issues, so far. Judge for yourself if she’s “right-wing” or an actual member of the progressive left:

• Home care for seniors (Wynne "killed")

• 15% discount on auto insurance (Wynne "killed")

• $12/hr minimum wage, indexed to inflation (Liberals promise single bump to $11/hr)

• End Liberal cuts to social assistance and disability; index benefits to inflation

• End failed Liberal corporate tax cuts for the rich (Canada has lowest corporate tax rate among all major economies)

• Lower hydro bills — under the Liberals, rates have skyrocketed from 5¢ kWh to 13.5¢ + 7% HST

Stay tuned for more.

Conclusion

Partisan Liberals keep attempting to distract voters from their corruption and broken promises with outrageous smears against the NDP. The NDP is not boosting Hudak by being fed up with Liberal lies. That’s not how it works.

The simple fact is the Liberals are not entitled their entitlements. If they want to govern, it’s up to them to EARN the right to govern and get opposition support if it’s required. That’s how our democracy works.

Both Martin and Wynne governments fell because of lies and corruption

Partisan Liberals believe they are entitled to their entitlements. They think the purpose of the NDP is to prop up their minority governments no matter how corrupt they become or how many promises they break.

Clearly this position is absurd. If the Liberals need support to govern, it’s their responsibility to earn it, just like any other party.

There are many similarities between the Martin and Wynne governments, besides some Liberals trying to blame the NDP for their failures.

Chretien/Martin broken promises

The Chretien/Martin Liberals campaigned from the left and governed from the right. They won most of the NDP vote, but governed like Progressive Conservatives.

Their Red Book was full of goodies for the people. But when they came to power, they didn’t feel obligated to keep their promises.

Among their broken promises over their 13 year reign: get rid of the GST, renegotiate NAFTA, implement national daycare and decriminalize marijuana.

Wynne’s broken promises

Kathleen Wynne is also offering a Red Book-like platform with lots of big-government promises: mass transit plan, Ontario pension plan, money for hospitals and schools.

But she broke three promises (which were NDP ideas) that she actually legislated in her 2013 budget: home care for seniors, reducing auto insurance rates by 15% and a financial accountability office.

Promises are pretty to think about. But not much use if they’re never delivered on.

Chretien/Martin scandal

The Paul Martin government was also plagued with scandal: the Ad Scam fiasco. This was a mismanagement of $250-million of public funding due to a lack of transparency and accountability.

It allowed a few low-level Liberal bureaucrats to embezzle a few million dollars of taxpayer money. Although Martin was not involved, he took the fall for it.

McGuinty/Wynne scandal

The McGuinty/Wynne gas plant scandal was a much greater offence. McGuinty abused $1.1-billion of taxpayer money closing down unpopular gas power plants as a campaign strategy — a naked attempt to buy a majority government.

Unlike Martin, Wynne was actually involved in her predecessor’s corruption. She was the Liberal party’s campaign co-chair and her signature was on documents related to the gas plant closures.

Conclusion

The Ontario Liberals are taking the same position the Harper Conservatives took when their government fell in 2011: that the opposition is “forcing an unnecessary election.”

But the reality is that both governments deserved to fall because of inexcusable corruption and broken promises.

This election should be about party policy and track records, not passing the buck. The only ones the Liberals have to blame for their governments failing is themselves.

Harper, Wynne ‘unnecessary election’ nonsense

In 2011, the Harper Government was found in Contempt of Parliament for refusing to release public budget documents to the Budget Officer it appointed. Although this corruption was clearly unnecessary, the election that followed was certainly not.

Fast forward 3 years later and the Wynne Liberals are using the same sleazy tactic. They are attempting to distract voters from their corruption and broken promises by blaming the NDP for the election.

But the simple truth is, if they had governed with honesty and competence there would be no reason for an election.

Gas plant scandal

One of the main reasons the election dropped is the gas plant scandal. In 2011, Dalton McGuinty abused $1.1-billion of public money by closing down unpopular gas plants as a campaign strategy. He was attempting to buy a majority government with taxpayer dollars — and nearly succeeded.

Kathleen Wynne was not isolated from this corruption. She was at the heart of it. She was McGuinty's campaign co-chair and her signature was on related documents.

Broken promises

Some believe the NDP should've propped up the Liberal government because of the many promises in Wynne's 2014 budget. But what this leaves out is all the broken promises in her 2013 budget.

In 2013, Wynne worked with Horwath and legislated a budget that included home care for seniors, a 15% discount on bloated auto insurance and a financial accountability office. Wynne reneged on them all.

So what's the use of supporting a budget full of big promises that have little chance of seeing the light of day — whose real purpose is to buy time putting distance between Wynne and the gas plant scandal?

Conclusion

The Ontario Liberals are attempting to shift the blame for their corruption and lies onto the NDP. Don't be fooled by them.

This necessary election should be about policy and track records. Let's have an honest debate about the real issues.

Who really ‘pulled the plug’ in Ontario?

The Ontario Liberals are essentially promoting their May 1 budget as their election platform. They’ve been leaking parts of it over the last month like a government that rolls out spending promises before an election.

But how serious was Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne in working with the NDP to get this budget passed? In a minority government situation, it’s up to the ruling party to seek out support from the party that holds the balance of power.

But instead of consulting with the NDP over the budget as Wynne did last year, this year she unilaterally drafted the budget and sent NDP leader Andrea Horwath a letter that told her to either put up or shut up.

“Common sense” attack ad

Wynne also rolled out an unusual pre-budget attack ad against Horwath. In it, she used a Mike Harris “Common Sense Revolution” line:

The last time the NDP were in office, 1 out of 8 of us were on welfare. We just can’t afford to go back there.

Apparently Wynne believes that if the NDP were to form the government, people would quit their jobs in droves so they could take advantage of Ontario’s lavish welfare benefits.

That must be why welfare benefits have been seriously downsized during the Liberals’ 11-year reign, when accounted for inflation.

Real agenda

It’s pretty clear that instead of Wynne doing everything she could to ensure her budget would succeed, she did everything to make it fail.

She didn’t want to avoid an election. She was manufacturing one.

Her long-game election strategy is to appeal to left-leaning and centrist voters and muscle out the NDP to form a majority government. After all, the Liberals only fell short of a majority by one seat last election.

The real Wynne

This, of course, begs the question: who is the real Kathleen Wynne?

When she needed NDP support, she moved leftwards towards the center. Now she is rolling out a Red Book type platform with lots of goodies for the people.

But what happens if she wins a majority? Considering Ontario has a huge deficit which her spending promises will only make worse, she will have only one of two options:

1. Reverse Dalton McGuinty’s corporate tax cuts and Harris’s income tax cuts for the wealthy to pay for her platform, governing from the center like David Peterson 25 years ago.

2. Abandon her spending promises and tackle the deficit like the Chretien/Martin Liberals did when they came to power in 1993.

Conclusion

In 2011, McGuinty was utterly desperate to win another term of absolute power. So much so, he tried to buy a majority government using $1.1-billion of taxpayer money to shut down unpopular gas power plants he commissioned.

Wynne’s desire for unfettered power could be equally corrupt. She certainly wouldn’t be the first Liberal leader to campaign from the left in a bid to win all the power. Then govern from the right.