Former Green Party guy hearts Gordo; Gordo hearts Harper

Campbell urges support for Harper government
Blaming Quebec separatists for election results, Premier says it's time to work together

"The Liberal Premier of British Columbia blames Quebec separatists for the country's third minority government in a row.
"Everyone should understand that the only thing that prohibited Mr. Harper from getting the majority he was seeking was the separatists in Quebec," Gordon Campbell said yesterday"

Can I get a lolcat to go with that, please?
We have all already given our collective thanks to the Bloc, Gordo.

"He added that Mr. Harper is clearly the man most Canadians want as prime minister."

Yo! Gordo! Steve won less of the popular vote than last time!
But I can see where you might be hoping to hitch your little rightwing wagon to Steve's in time for your election campaign next year.


In other fabulous cross-party wankfests:
"The former Interim Leader of the BC Green Party endorsed Premier Gordon Campbell’s leadership and joined the BC Liberal Party team today."

"Over the past year I’ve been impressed with Premier Campbell’s leadership," said Christopher Ian Bennett. "It was time for me to move over and be part of a party that was making a difference and truly leading Canada blah blah blah..."

For his part, Gordo said he "respected [Bennett's] ability regardless of party label to stand up for what was right for British Columbia blah blah blah..."
Previously, Bennett was Elizabeth May's communications director in her successful bid for GP leadership.

Ok, are we done with this nonsense of referring to all Greens as "left wing" now?
Anyone else looking to "make a difference" today?

Cross-posted at Creekside

Elizabeth May to throw Green votes to Dion says LaPresse

May prête à tout pour battre Harper

At least I think that's what the article says.
Ok here goes my truly terrible French translation :

The leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May, will ask her troops in the last sprint of the electoral campaign to put all their political weight behind the liberal candidates of Stephan Dion in certain districts where the fight is close in order to block Stephen Harper's Conservatives.
This forms an integral part of the non-aggression pact concluded between the leader of the Green Party and the Liberal leader Stephan Dion in April 2007, LaPresse learned yesterday.

OK, we knew that, but :

But this pact also provides that Mrs. May possibly decides in favour of the election of Stephan Dion for Prime Minister in the last days of the electoral campaign. This electoral strategy had never been revealed up to now.

"The idea of the agreement, it is like a non-aggression pact so that the day before the vote, the environmentalist forces in the urban centres join Stephan Dion. In the discussions with Mrs. May, it was implicitly understood that she will launch a call in favour of Mr. Dion. That was always the spirit of the agreement", affirmed a liberal source well acquainted with the talks between the Liberals and the Greens."

Wow. If someone more fluent in French can give me a less clunky/more accurate translation, I'd be grateful.
Cross-posted at Creekside

I've worn dresses with higher IQs

According to Tyee blogger The Hook, it was Blogging Con Stephen Taylor who "produced" the now infamous "Canadians are stupid" video, in which May appears to say: “I think Canadians are stupid… I fundamentally agree with that assessment."

"I produced the video," Taylor told The Tyee in an e-mail. "The audio is taken unedited from an episode of TVO's The Agenda."

Stephen Taylor confirms this.

But when Buckdog reposted it, he got this response, purportedly from John Bennett, Director of Communications, Green Party of Canada :

From: John Bennett
To:Leftdog
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:37:56 -0600

Please be informed that the if the video
Canadians Are Stupid!" - Elizabeth May
is not removed from your site with the hour the Green Party of Canada will seek means to prevent legal proceedings further slander.

and

From: John Bennett
To: leftdog
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:11:13 -0600
You are knowingly asisting in slander get it down or you face legal action us & TVO.
Journalism is more than repeating. You have a responsibility to verify the facts.
Get get it down now.

Not wanting to be "asisting" in slander, Buckdog did "Get get it down now".
We breathlessly await to see if the Green Party of Canada "will seek means to prevent legal proceedings further slander".

In the meantime, why did Buckdog get threatened with a SLAPP, but not Stephen Taylor, who produced the video and is sometimes referred to as an unofficial blogging communications director for the Cons?

It's been a bad day all round for cumunikashunz drekters.

Update : Noni gives us a good clear clip : What May really said
and The Agenda responds to the whole brouhaha with Elizabeth May, the blogosphere, and pronoun trouble., including a short vid of the event.
P.S. John Bennett is still an asshat.

Serious Ontario politics blogging

Green Ideas is a great blog run by Green Party activist Brent Wood to discuss issues in the upcoming Ontario provincial election. Most recently, he's looked at John Tory's attempt to bribe the religious right with a promise to fund all religous schools as compared to the Green Party's official platform of funding only a single, secular public school system, the Charbot Lake standoff between First Nations' activists and a uranium mining company, and the effects of the Ontario Municipal Board. It's all serious policy discussion, so there aren't a lot of laughs, but for Ontario voters and policy wonks, the site is a gem.
(full disclosure: I am related to Brent)