And Barbara Kay Is A Bitch

 That is all.

Ah, but not quite all: BK invokes "rules" for deciding who gets a state funeral, and says giving Jack one wouldn't be according to Hoyle.  But that's bullshit. In the end its all up to the PM.

Blatchford's Column

The Naylor tweet, incidentally, is degrees worse that Blatchford's now infamous column, which in comparison seems merely stupid and insensitive. Her argument, as I read it, is that Mr. Layton's final  letter to Canadians was a political rather than personal document, and this therefore cheapens the occasion of his death.

But of course Mr Layton was a politician and, contrary to common belief, this is not a character flaw. For some, at least, it is a job. And in reality the letter shows Jack Layton fulfilling his duties as leader of the nation's official opposition right up to the very  end. Faced with his own eminent death, Layton systematically considered how news of it would play out in various corners of the public space, and tried his best to craft words that would send events in a slightly more positive direction. Hence his remarks specifically directed to other cancer patients,  to Quebecers, to fellow party members, and so forth. 

And of course the result is a political document, with all the flaws such things are heir to.  How could it not be?  The man didn't write it for kicks.  He was working at the time.

Dave Naylor Forgiven

Mr. Naylor, whose tweet re Jack Layton's death probably marks the lowest point of the last 24 hours, will not be losing his job.  From Bourque (who I assume has picked it up from somewhere solid, though he doesn't provide a link):

"... the sentiments expressed by Mr. Naylor on his personal twitter account are not those of the Sun. I would ask that you judge us by our 10 pages of coverage on Mr. Layton's passing. As for Mr. Naylor, I have spoken to him at length today and he couldn't feel worse about his tweet yesterday. He deleted the comment shortly after it was posted and apologized. He has also volunteered to make a donation in Jack Layton's name to the Alberta Cancer Society. We don't condone the type of tone in Mr. Naylor's tweet but any further reprimands coming to Mr. Naylor are obviously an internal issue and not one I would be comfortable sharing beyond our immediate company. I assure you we don't take cancer lightly nor do we condone this type of tasteless social media commentary." - Jose Rodriguez, Edtor-in-Chief.

PS. An interesting thing.  Naylor does appear to have deep-sixed the relevant tweet, but he's still talking tough a day later ("haven't deleted a thing") .  Mr. Rodriguez might want to ask to find out just who is being bullshitted.

Good Bye Jack

h/t

For The Record

Wayne Janes of the T.O. Sun Defends the Jack Layton rub'n tug story on The Sun Family Blog (TSF):

Gotta respond, TSF. It was a tab story. TSF knows as much as anyone and more than most that a tab can't ignore a tab story. No argument it was dirty politics, but the reality is the news business is just that — a business — and politics is dirty now. To pass the story up to let other media outlets have it would have been bad business, not to mention bad journalism. Layton needed to be asked about this once it came to light and he needed his side to be told. All that was done and done properly.

Many people asked, What if it was Harper? Wouldn't everybody jump on it with glee? What if it WAS Harper, and we DID ignore the story, citing "ethics?" What would people think of the Sun then?

A story is a story is a story.

Not sure I agree, especially since the information was provided anonymously, and the "retired police officer" that supplied it has not been subject to the same kind of press scrutiny that Mr. Layton was forced to undergo.  But at least a coherent response.

Ontario Still Not There For CPoC Majority; Masturbagate Still Non-Story

NANOS shows the NDP down a bit; the CPoC up a bit, but not in Ontario, where they need to be if they want their majority.   Because who cares how high they soar in Alberta, as long as the people out there only get to vote once?

As for Jack's visit to the alleged "rub and tug"; I suspect if anything the story will only work to his benefit, this late in the game.  People will see that the CPoC (and of course we all know this stuff originated with the CPoC) is getting desperate.  Remember the Rob Ford campaign.  At a certain point, the stories about Ford's improprieties were all dismissed as the kind of garbage you would expect under the circumstances. 

And in the end, this story is roughly equivalent to Jack's getting pulled over at an intersection where people often speed, but  found to be not guilty of speeding. 

Rumours

Apparently, neither Layton nor Harper stuck around for Peter Milliken's final speech. Harper's obviously being a dick, but what I'm hearing about Jack Layton is he snuck off for a quick bit o' knee surgery.

But he'll be OK!

Layton Sings

I think he's doing that old Socialist Classic "Your Land Is My Land". This is, of course, a promo shot for his new "Winter of Futility" tour.

Memo to Iggy: When you take to the road...leave the old Uke at home, OK?

Toronto Star's Layton And Chow Story Truly Seinfeldian

...in that its about nothing. Probably the silliest part of it is how hard author Richard J. Brennan tries to crank this into a scandal. Oh my! The NDP party leader spends more than your typical MP on travel! And...a $2,000 per month Ottawa condo-apartment? The horrors! They should be staying at the Y!!!

PS. $2,000 per month gets you a below average 2-bedroom in the old City of T.O. (See the Central districts)

Jack's Latest Feint

Mr. Layton is in a difficult spot: 12 of his MPs from rural ridings have told their constituents that they will oppose the registry. The votes of those 12 MP, when added to those of the 144 members of the Conservative caucus plus the two independents who normally vote along Conservative lines, would spell the failure of the motion to kill Ms. Hoeppner’s bill.

But Mr. Layton, who represents a downtown Toronto riding, personally supports the registry, as do other members of his caucus from urban constituencies. So he is proposing to introduce his own legislation – possibly in the form of a private-member’s bill – to address rural concerns.

You're kidding? A new bill wouldn't come up for a vote until the registry was dead and gone, so its useless. A private member's bill might never come up, so is less than useless. And, please, can we dispense with this silly argument about how Jack's being "brave" in allowing his back-benchers to "vote their conscience"? What a load of BS; the NDP knows how to march in lock step as well as any party in the Western word. Pretending that they've suddenly discovered the principle of local democracy is just too rich.

Update: Its to be a private member's bill. I've no idea how this is supposed to "stave off" a final vote on Bill C-391, and presumably neither does Jack or anyone else. Is the vote on C-391 supposed to be postponed until Jack's private member's bill slowly rises to the top of the parliamentary queue?

Update 2: Here's how:

Layton was pressed by reporters on how he expects this bill to become a reality, when Hoeppner's bill is lined up for a vote so soon after Parliament resumes. He suggested that if all parties come onside, they could use the bill as a basis to reach a solution — presumably meaning that Hoeppner's bill would either be amended or would die.

So Jack's compromise would require the Tories to *cough cough* dump bill C-391.

Dear Mr. Layton: Please Take Note

Letters to the Editor
By SUN READERS
Ottawa Sun

Last Updated: August 25, 2010 2:00am

Layton under the gun

Jack Layton is trying to bury his head in the sand. He refuses to acknowledge the responsibility he and his party will bear if the gun registry is dismantled.

I am the mother of Polytechnique victim Anne-Marie Edward and have been involved in the gun control issue for 20 years now.

Layton is hiding behind the claim that the bill to repeal the registry is a private member’s bill, in spite of the evidence that it is a government bill. Before the last vote, he instructed his caucus members to say: ‘This’ if you support the Conservatives ... and ‘that’ if you oppose the Conservatives. The result: 12 NDP and eight Liberals voted with the Tories.

The Liberals have come to their senses and will whip the vote. If the gun registry goes down the drain for lack of Jack Layton’s leadership, the Canadian people will remember him, not as the founder of the White Ribbon Campaign, but as the man who let the victims of Polytechnique and the women of Canada down when we needed him most.

Of course, dismantling the gun registry is a Conservative initiative. Don’t worry, women will remember that as well. But Layton is in a position to stop them. You cannot side with the devil and pretend you are an angel.

Suzanne Laplante Edward
Pierrefonds, Que.

Jack Layton Doesn't Want The Responsibility

...for letting the gun registry die, even though it will live or die based on his decision.

This is a watershed moment for the NDP. At the federal level, they've played the also rans for as long as I've been alive. And in some ways, its been a plus for them. They could say anything and take any stand knowing that it the end it meant nothing, because the final call was always in the hands of the big-boys. All that was left for them was to rake up the fruit of discontent--a seat here, a seat there.

Now they are getting a taste of what being a potential governing party is all about. You have to make choices; you have to take stands. And you have to accept the consequences.

If Jack lets the gun-registry die in the night while talking it up before the cameras, this will tell you something about him and the party he purports to lead. Specifically, that neither is ready to govern.

Not The Response They Were Hoping For

The Tories take their anti-gun-registry crusade to Thompson Manitoba and find that the local population does not share their zealotry. Or possibly the chicken sucked.

Meanwhile Joe Comartin frets and worries but over the registry but misses the obvious solution: C-391 is really a government bill--PM Harper has admitted as much--so have Jack Layton whip the vote.

Or pay the price: you think people don't see through this silly charade?

Yeah, But Can Your Leader Do This?

Stephen Harper...very unlikely? He'd snap something. Jack Layton could probably break-dance while rapping in Lithuanian, but his party's full of weirdos. The Quebecois have their own ways of making fun, so why would Gil Duceppe bother? And its soo beneath Lizzy May's dignity.

So there really is only one choice, isn't there?

Wise Words

Shorter Jeff Simpson: assuming that the next election produces another minority Harper will be gone.

And probably Layton, and probably May, and probably Duceppe. Patience, Liberals.

What It Comes Down To

Mr. Layton has not said yet how he will deal with the 12 MPs who voted with the government. Does he whip a private members’ vote? Or does he allow the registry to be killed?

Don't Believe Him

But now, their leader, Jack Layton, has prostate cancer and is undergoing treatment for the disease. Neither he nor aides are disclosing details of the treatment but most cancer survivors will say that, whether its surgery or drug therapies, beating cancer can leave one feeling weak and in need of time for rest and recovery.

Today, in a scrum following a meeting Layton had with Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the budget, I [David Akin] asked Layton if the battle he's fighting will weaken his or his party's resolve to vote down the government, if necessary, in a confidence vote. His answer:

"No. It will make no difference to the enthusiasm with which our party carries forward our mission which is to change the old politics that we've seen for so many years and try and establish a new direction for the country."

As cruel as it is to say it, if Jack fought an election in the middle of his cancer treatment it would become an issue: would you vote for a PM who might drop dead in three months? Of course he could say nothing else other than what he does, but Jack and the NDP will figure out a way to support the budget. And anyway it looks like the Tories will be offering up some pretty weak coffee in March, so as not to stir up too much enmity.

Jack's Back

...will force him to step down (temporarily?) as NDP party leader? Apparently not:

Karl Belanger, Layton’s press secretary, said in an e-mail to Canwest News Service that Layton is not stepping down. He also said he was not running for Toronto mayor.

Well, this seems to rule out a serious health issue. Thank goodness for that.

PS: Word on twitter is he will leave his leaadership duties for "several months".

Jack Layton: If I Am Elected I Promise There Will Be Garbage Strikes All Across This Great Land

Just kidding.

But Jack is holding up T.O mayor David Miller as an example of how the NDP might govern.

Actually, I have noticed a certain softening in attitudes towards Mr. Miller since he announced that he would be stepping down at the end of his 2nd term. My wife, for example, no longer refers to him as "Mayor Asshole".

And I think you can probably make an argument that, during his first four years at least, he made notable improvements to the City's environmental policies, and gave public transit the respect and financial support it deserved. Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine a radically different end to the T.O. garbage strike no matter who was in the mayor's chair.

But this kind of thing, where an accounting screw-up puts the city 200 extra million in the red, and is not revealed to council or the people of the city until months after its discovery, smacks of either duplicity or managerial incompetence. So Miller hardly the best example Mr. Layton might single-out as a paradigm of NDP governance.

This guy might be, except that nobody knows where Manitoba is.

Is There A Number Less Than Zero?

Not many Canadians would rate Mr. Layton a northern Obama.