Alan Partridge

It’s usually in the context of him as PM when they bring up that he’s unelected but yeah I see your point.

Even my friends post all about Carney on Facebook but I know they don’t know they don’t directly vote for him and their riding has been Conservative with a non-liberal coming in as the second party for the last few federal cycles. Voting liberal in service of Carney won’t get them anywhere and they don’t know this.

Yes I agree. I think the media/propaganda game of the conservatives was just better on this issue.

The liberals overestimate how much normal people pay attention and feel their policies will speak for themselves. No you need to repeat it on a never ending loop and make it very very simple for people to understand. They started doing this but only after they let the conservatives set the tone and message - by then people weren’t listening. I also blame our absolutely toothless legacy media. The fact that they let Pierre talk about how Carney was “unelected” without IMMEDIATELY fact checking that, preferably TO HIS FACE, is disgraceful. The fact that they let him continue to lie and gaslight us around his security clearance is cowardice.

Similar to how Poilievre’s trying to repaint his relationship with MAGA - people just don’t believe him and I don’t think there’s anything he can do to change that. And they shouldn’t believe him - he’s a twat.

The liberals were just really bad at operationalizing their policies. Too much thinking and talking - not enough doing.

That said, I cannot overstate how misinformed and disengaged our electorate has been. I had to push my friends to go vote in Ontario’s provincial election - they didn’t know it was happening, didn’t know where to vote, didn’t know what they needed to vote, and thought THEY WEREN’T ALLOWED TO VOTE because they hadn’t received their voter card in time.

I do think we as a society need to give people more permission to try things out and get things wrong without absolutely excoriating them, however. Decriminalization in BC comes to mind.

Oh yeah, I mean as an outside observer they’ve seemed pretty ineffective.

But I do wonder how much is exacerbated by, for example: foreign interference/propaganda, sub-par educational levels and engagement of the electorate, 24/7 News entertainment, citizens united, the absolute audacity of the boomer generation to benefit from very generous social policies and then turn around and screw the younger generations on the exact same benefits they themselves received.

The American default (and increasingly, the Western default) seems to be fuck you I got mine (until something bad happens to me).

Now, I’m not American - I just pay attention. My boomer parents in law will sit there and complain about the state of every service - paid or social - like banking, doctors etc. and I have to contain myself when I tell them that capitalism by nature degrades and enshittifies every good thing the middle class had and that Millennials really, truly, do not believe anything will ever be good again. They look at me like I have 5 heads. Truly not a clue.

I know.

I know we can walk and chew gum at the same time and hold the government to account on climate measures.

Big caveat - it seems pretty tone deaf at the moment relative to the threats on our sovereignty.

I don’t see a path for Carney to be elected without getting rid of the tax, at least momentarily.

We do need to realize that not everyone is aligned with Stephen Guilbault on this issue. My big gripe is that there’s always been a lot of analysis and policy and talk but no actual plan to sell to the electorate in a way that will improve their lives without costing them exorbitant amounts of money.

For example, the electric car 2030 push. Seems good on paper. But, I frequently drive 5-6 hours to northern Ontario. No electric car is going to make it there without having to stop to charge for HOURS. So I’m doubling my travel time for what? A good quality EV is 30k+. Who has that kind of money for a product that is going to be less convenient? The solution would be to improve rail service and mass transport but have there been ANY plans to do that? No. This is why people get pissed off about climate policies. Because it’s a huge inconvenience and will massively disrupt their lives. Instead of the government doing things that actually help people in the face of this, we get paltry rebates and almost no supporting infrastructure.

I’m incredibly pro- climate measures but the government has to make things easier for people. The population is fucking tired and not receptive to more inconveniences that make their lives harder. The government needs to solve for that to get people onboard. I’m not talking discounts or rebates I’m talking FREE - free solar panels, free heat pumps. Cheap and affordable public long distance transit. The passenger train goes to my destination ONE time every week. That’s simply not enough. Requiring automakers to standardize charging inputs and somehow speeding up the charging. Charging stations at every gas station, yes, even in rural areas. It has to be better, cheaper, and more convenient than the status quo to get Canadians onboard.

Omg will people never be happy. What feels like 12 million years of Poilievre screeching “AxE tHe TaX”

Carney’s like fine, bet.

Now the journalistic take is we’re mad the tax was axed?

Listen - I don’t really care about this for the moment because if we don’t elect Carney I’m genuinely worried there won’t be a Canada, all of our shit will get privatized, and industrial pollution regulations will get deleted.

What a time for this take. Yeah price to pay to shut up the sloganeering zombies so we can actually have an election. We can double back on climate after - I think Carney’s serious about climate.

The point is: if they don’t figure out how to do something RIGHT NOW, there won’t be any other party. All parties that are not aligned with Trump will be disallowed. Russia, Turkey, Hungary, is the direction the US is headed.

The window is closing right now and if nothing is done the American people will no longer have a choice. Trump might insist there’s still democracy but it will be a sham like everything else he’s put his name on.

I’ve had so many conversations with Americans online where I’ve pointed out that the second amendment is a joke and Americans wouldn’t have the guts to stand up to a tyrannical government. Well….

I was listening to CBC cross-country checkup yesterday and there was this military contractor who called in and lamented that Carney wasn’t the right guy because of the stain on the Liberal party with the people still involved.

What the actual fuck is he smoking that he thinks this little do-nothing whiner is the tough guy who’s gonna rebuild Canada’s military.

Legacy media and dem politicians need to stop pulling punches and get to the bottom of WHY Musk needs Wisconsin. I get that the AP is hyperneutral, but the reporting, political, and public response on this issue has been irresponsible and feckless. The outrage is so wholly insufficient. This needs Benghazi and Hunter Biden’s laptop energy.

Could it be because it is a critical swing state and they are gearing up for the mother of all power grabs in the next presidential election?

Grow some fucking balls and attack this properly goddamn before the GOP cements their fascist coup of America.

IMO this was a distraction for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Free from federal regulations?

What happens when you have to go see the company doctor who has been paid by the town’s management to ignore your health issue when that issue was caused by the town’s negligence. Maybe the town uses chemicals that are known to be toxic, or has eroded safety standards. They’re already trying to neuter workplace safety laws federally.

Americans just go smooth brained at the mention of freedom. This isn’t freedom.

I appreciate all of the ideas and I do think they’re solid. How does anyone reach the US citizens who don’t pay attention to the news or who don’t think this is a big deal. It’s probably a pretty significant overlap between Fox Propaganda viewers / Soft Republican and/or Swing voters / and the generally disengaged. I don’t think these people are necessarily listening to Ukrainian or Gaza voices or consuming long-form/thoughtful journalism. I do think it’s happening slowly. The town halls are a good start.

I don’t want to see people go through pain. And I don’t want the propagandists to try to blame international countries for the sadism that the US government is inflicting on their own people. How do you get through to people? It’s so weird to see how fractured it is.

It’s so ridiculous. There are enough resources globally for everyone. There are just too many billionaires gobbling everything up.

Interesting comments.

I think some of the interviews he did in the first term hurt him like the Axios one.

I’m hoping that as he continues to mentally slip, which is clear when you go back and watch campaign video even from 2016, he’s going to say something so nasty and inexcusable that the non-cultists will be upset and take action. Or it will become very clear - like it did with Biden - that he’s so far gone. Trump just hides it better for now under stimulants, anger, and unpredictability.

It’s a long shot but they have to keep trying. Or else what is there? Roll over and let him declare himself president for life without much of a fight?

They need to push. If he’s finding the thinnest of excuses to ban the AP they should give him a real reason to ban them. Watching in Canada it’s worse than a train wreck in slow motion like someone please grow a spine.

The only ones saying or doing anything remotely of substance are Bernie, Crockett and AOC and it’s still not enough.

I don’t see that there’s anything to apologize for here.

Journalists still aren’t asking hard enough questions.

“Why would you possibly think you are the only one who can get a deal done with Russia? It doesn’t seem to be about a lack of respect for other world leaders because you’re already capitulating to what Russia, the global pariah wants, without getting anything in return. Doesn’t seem like good deal making or putting “America” first. Your comment.”

“Are you saying Benjamin Netanyahu is weak by insinuating October 7th happened because you weren’t in Office? Or are you just mad that civilians in Gaza weren’t genocided fast enough?”

And the dissatisfaction was boosted by Russian propaganda.

It’s not a coincidence that the convoy terrorists in Ottawa coincided with the invasion of Ukraine.

Since Bezos recently ordered WaPo’s editorial board to defend the free market maybe someone could ask them if Trump ordering a company to adhere to political policies is truly indicative of a “free” market? Does Tim Apple enjoy the “personal liberty” to tell Elon and pool boy Trump to go fuck themselves? Is America free yet?

Apparently it’s happened before and you don’t have to - you just can’t sit in the chamber until you get a seat if I understand correctly.

Because the polling looks best for him, most likely.