Election Will Be Called Early Next Week... And More Ralph Goodale Commentary With Substance...

Typically, I get Ralph Goodale's weekly email newsletter on Monday or Tuesday. Today I received his weekly email the Friday before... Hmmm... Me-thinks something is up... It is probably pretty obvious that the Cons are calling a snap election to people on the Hill, and this newsletter going out this week is surely to ensure that people get to read it before the election call.

Perhaps good strategy on the part of the Conservatives. It's a shame that they want to hide what comes out during the inquiries and commissions into their electoral improprieties, or the Julie Couillard book, or their serious lapse on the economy file. Harper still is Canada's #1 Liberal hater (although that title may also belong to the Conservative that threatened to get his gun when me and a young Liberal knocked his door a few elections ago). He still thinks PM Cretien's election call in 2000 was targeted at him (since everything is about him - Harper the icon...), and not somehow related to other political events in the East (no Reformer considers the East in anything they do - except to cry about how the East apparently "rules Canada")...

Anyway... Without further ado, here is another well thought out Goodale piece:

WEEKLY COMMENTARY

By Ralph Goodale, M.P.

A TAINTED ELECTION! A TAINTED GOVERNMENT!

From its first day in office, Stephen Harper’s government has been one of questionable legitimacy.

The Conservatives made two massive, vote-buying promises in the last campaign which they quickly dishonoured. One was never to tax Income Trusts. The other was to pay Saskatchewan $800 million more every year in Equalization.

Such bare-faced dishonesty obviously undermines Conservative legitimacy.

Their position is further eroded by the serious legal questions which have been raised by the Chief Electoral Officer about a Conservative election financing scam in the last campaign.

Respected, independent election officials are investigating whether campaign spending limits were violated at the national level, while illegitimate reimbursement claims were filed locally.

On top of that, the Conservatives benefited shamelessly from the extraordinary and inexplicable involvement of the RCMP in the last campaign. Every credible independent observer says this incident in the midst of the last election had a huge and totally improper impact.

… /2

-2-

Two and a half years later, Stephen Harper now wants a snap election – in violation of his promise of a fixed election date in October of 2009.

The illegitimate Conservative behaviour continues.

What has the Harper government so panicked that they are prepared to break their word to Canadians – yet again – and even break the spirit of the fixed-election-date law which they, themselves, enacted?

They’re spooked by at least three things on the horizon, which don’t look good for Mr. Harper.

First, the Conservatives will lose all four of the federal byelections called for September.

Secondly, the national economy is getting into deeper trouble, and the responsibility will rest squarely on Mr. Harper’s shoulders.

And third, the investigations into Conservative ethical lapses are exposing more and more illustrations of apparent Conservative corruption and incompetence.

A quick election could sweep this all under the rug.