The Monday Night Powerplay II

Welcome one and all to the second Monday Night Powerplay. The first one generated more interest than the opening weekend of Gigli in 2002. Well... at least it has less of a "suck factor". Let's get to it because there might be one or two things of importance.

1. Sweet Merciful Crap - The Amercians thought they had the most fascinating year in American Politics? Try having a President who was not actually elected! Canada could have a new PM next week in Stephane Dion. While I would personally welcome the move over that of Darth Harper, it is still absolutely shocking.

My take on the situation is simple: if the coalition work together for the betterment of the Canadian Public, they will be representing almost 65% of Canadians. They will be the governing group which has help the most public support in a long, LONG time. If this works, and that is still a big if, Canada might just be assured of a majority after the next Federal Election. If the Coalition fails miserably, the Conservatives could easily swoop in and pick up the pieces if they are sans Harper (see #2). If it succeeds, Canada could be looking at the resurgeance of the Liberal Party under Michael Ignatieff. I think most in the Liberal Party are ready to admit their mistake and once again become the great middle party in Canadian Politics.

2. You did what?!? - Stephen Harper did the unthinkable in Canadian Politics: he governed a Minority Government as though it was a dominant majority. This is quite possibly the biggest blunder in Canadian politics and could cost him his job as party leader. There is nothing the Conservative Party hates more than a politician's ego costing the party its power (see Kim Campbell in 1993). With other, younger politicians waiting in the wings, Harper could have just relegated himself to deputy secretary of his sons school board.

What gets me is the sheer stupidity of the moves that they tried to pull. Why would you try to pull campaign finance reform when you know you don't have the votes? Why would you try to silence one of the single largest employee blocks in the Federal Civil Service? Why would you let your arrogance get in the way? You can't help but wonder whether Paul Martin's campaign advertisements in 2006 were right: Stephen Harper is the Canadian version of George W. Bush. Could he be relegated to a legacy of incompetancy? I guess that depends on who comes next.

3. An Impressive Move - I can't believe this is the third story on the MNP but Brian Burke is now the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. As impressive as he has been in Anaheim, I am concerned for Nik Antropov. How will he survive in the new NHL? Oh wait, I don't care, we have freakin' Brian Burke!

I think what most people are intrigued by is Burke's 6 talented/6 rough forwards policy. The difficulty to find 6 strong talented forwards is apparent in the new NHL. Only teams like Detroit, Anaheim, Montreal, and Pittsburgh have been successful at this plan. Luckily, we just got Anaheim's GM!

4. Happy US Thanksgiving! - http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=z-kjM1asH-8

5. My final thoughts on the new Coalition - Stephen Harper to economic policies will now be like Jean Chretien to golf balls, Brian Mulroney is to the Charlottetown Accord, and Pierre Trudeau is to the National Energy Policy combined! Enjoy a legacy of failure, Steve.

The slapshot off Stephen Harper's face straight into the net, this powerplay is over!