Williams on the verge of history....but good history?

Is Danny Williams the next Frank McKenna?

People who watch politics closely will remember the landmark victory of McKenna’s Liberals in 1987, when they ran the table on the Conservatives, capturing every seat in the provincial legislature.

The Liberals grabbed all of those seats with 60 percent of the popular vote. Danny Williams Conservatives enjoy an even larger margin than that. Last month, William’s numbers were in the 70 percent range and that was before the Hebron Offshore announcement, sure to give the government a slight bump in the polls.

Nodice.ca projects the Conservatives will run the table on the Liberals, but not the NDP. Their final projection comes out at 46 seats for the Tories and the NDP holding onto the 2 they currently hold.

What is the up side of having a House of Assembly where there is absolutely no opposition? There isn’t one. A complete run of the table, or what we’ll call “total governments” are devoid of the very thing that makes politics work- opposition.

Opposition keeps the government on their toes. In the case of no credible opposition, governments tend to rest on their laurels. Government needs the opposition as well; it helps them show they are, in fact, getting things done. If William’s feels that he is going to shutout the Liberals he should think of what McKenna did in the same instance. Premier Frank allowed the parties not in the house, to actually ask questions of the government on the floor of the house. It would show some co-operation that would be much appreciated by the Liberals. Afterall, they could be exiled to political nowhereness in the near future.

So, with just over 30 days until election time, Liberal leader Gerry Reid needs to mobilize the historically dominant Liberal vote in the province. But how? The Liberals are mired at 19 percent provincial support, a number so low ex-Premier Joey Smallwood is turning in his grave.

Smallwood would never have thought the Liberals would get this low in popular support, considering his run as premier of the province. The Liberals once enjoyed the kind of support the Tories are now, causing Joey (as he is commonly referred) to pen the phrase, “I could hang a Liberal sign on a Newfoundland dog and get it elected.” Those times are long gone. But Liberals in the province need to remember what those times were like and need to bring back the energy that charged the Liberals to victory from 1949 until 1972.

It won’t be easy. They need clear ideas and a policy framework that differs slightly from the Tories. I say differs, because what’s right for the province is right, and it’s hard to disagree with the fact the William’s Conservatives could be the government that transforms Newfoundland and Labrador into a have province.

Mulroney not able to let go

Alright, I’ll admit it. I can hold a grudge like it’s nobody’s business. I still have no want to see several people from my high school days who had a little of the “holier than thou” attitude. But there’s one person, who just doesn’t know that sometimes enough is enough.

That person is Brian Mulroney.

The ex-Prime Minister had some turbulent times while he occupied the Country’s highest elected office, and could never seem to get his government off the ground, as they lurched from scandal to scandal. (Remind you of any, oh I don’t know, current government?)

There is no doubt as well that Mulroney had some great successes in office (NAFTA) and some defeats that would make the best among us whimper and slink into a corner to lick our wounds.

Mulroney’s greatest defeat was undoubtedly the Meech Lake Accord. Meant to bring Canada together and get Quebec’s signature on the constitution, Mulroney instituted the constitutional talks thinking (like most Canadian politicians) if he played into Quebec’s hand, he would haul down a major victory.

It wasn’t to be.

After the accord was signed by the 10 premiers, public opinion polls across the country showed that people were generally in favour of the signed deal. However, as citizens began to get the crux of the accord they noticed what has now become a defining term in Canadian politics- Distinct Society. Many people still opposed to the term believe that it grants Quebec some sort of special treatment from the federal government. The accord fell apart after that and problems with provincial government’s (notably Newfoundland and Manitoba) inability to ratify it in their houses of Assembly.

There’s your little history lesson on the Meech Lake Accord. Back to business.....

I’ve never seen a person hold a grudge so hard as Mulroney. He is back in the spotlight, granting an interview to CTV’s Lloyd Robertson on the eve of the release of his memoirs.

During the interview (set to air Sunday evening) Mulroney blames the failure of the Meech Lake Accord on one person- Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Mulroney’s arch rival of Canadian politics has come back into the spotlight with him, but if you think the Conservative would hold back on any criticism of the now deceased leader, think again.

Not only does Mulroney tear a strip off PET for torpedoing the Accord, but he also accuses the oft-hated Liberal Leader as being a Nazi Sympathizer. These allegations have never been proven and are both hearsay and conjecture. When Trudeau didn’t comment about Nazi war crimes and the unspeakable horrors they committed, no one actually knew the extent of what was ACTUALLY happening. I’m not picking up for the ex-PM, just making a statement of fact.

I won’t read the memoir. Anyone who writes a twelve hundred page book about himself seems a little suspect to me. I wouldn’t doubt but PET isn’t the only one that is made to bear Mulroney’s failings. I’m sure there’s a heaping helping of criticism for Lucien Bouchard and Clyde Wells– but to me it’s just a diatribe of a man who has never accepted responsibility for his own failings and is content to take pot shots at a man who cannot defend himself.

Consequences? Amm, non-existent

Bloggers all over Atlantic Canada, and indeed across the country, have been calling for more help in dealing with out of control youth for sometime. A surge in youth violence in Nova Scotia over the past couple of weeks has given legitimacy to their calls.

It seems every crime that hits the media these days has a youth involved. A grandmother beaten down on the Halifax Commons, a cab driver stabbed to death, security guards being stabbed and a young girl allegedly killing her entire family (in Alberta) seem to be commonplace in police reports over the past year.

There is obviously more than enough blame to go around. Family, school, the media, peer pressure, video games and television violence all have their place in the cornucopia of problems inciting these youth to break the law.

However, it seems the youth themselves never come out on bad end of the “blame game.”

Why not? These youths the ones committing the crimes. Shouldn’t they, at 14, 15 or 16 years old know the difference between right and wrong? Of course they should.

Then why is it they never seem to bare the brunt of criticism of their actions? The father of a young man who allegedly stabbed security guards at the Forum in Halifax last week says the police and the system are “trying to make an example” out of him. Good.

It’s not more cops. Not more prisons. Don’t throw more money at a problem and expect it to go away. No. We need to send the message as a society- this type of idiotic behavior will not be tolerated in any fashion, and you will face the consequences of your actions.

Consequences. Isn’t that the correct term to use, and further, shouldn’t these kids have some sort of idea what consequences are? Do they expect they’ll be able to stab someone and get away with it? Haven’t they watched enough Law and Order and CSI to know they will be found, someone will have saw something and they will face the consequences of their actions.

So, yes, an example. That is what is needed. Not just one example- keep on making examples out of these youth who keep on making bad decisions. Sentence them as adults, so they bare the full brunt of their failings to treat others in society with an ounce of respect. Make sure society knows who these people are, and what they did. If you are convicted of a heinous crime, your name should be released and you should be the object of public scorn.

Why not? You almost killed an old women, out for a walk on a warm night. Shame on you.