Monday, November 01, 2010

Monday Morning Links

Assorted material to start your week...

- The Hill Times' report on pre-budget consultations is all the more sad for the complete lack of any ideas coming from the two main federal parties. Even if there's no much chance of any "ask" coming to fruition under the Cons, it would be for the best for interested groups to at least keep the pressure on as to what could be done if we had a government willing to do its job - but instead it sounds like the Cons' distaste for any original thought is spreading to the groups presenting options directly to Canada's MPs.

That said, it's worth noting that if the Cons indeed plan on using the cost of their photo-ops as an excuse to turn off the taps for essential programs, then the same groups will have absolutely no reason to play nice in the future.

- For those who missed pogge's Quote of the Day from Cenk Uygur, it's worth another look:
If we continue to let special interests, corporate interests and lobbyists buy our politicians, there's no hope on any of the issues. Then Obama is right, the best we could hope for is a little bit of change in the different fields. If you accept that false premise, then Obama did the best he could do within those constraints.

But we didn't elect him to accept that premise, we elected him to change that premise. That was the change we were waiting for - and didn't get.
- For all the effort by the NDP to paint the Libs and Cons as one and the same, the message still doesn't seem to have sunk in far past the New Democratic base. But the Libs' efforts to channel Rob Ford certainly can't hurt matters when it comes to convincing people that there's no difference.

- Finally, Sasha Issenberg's article on behavioural politics is well worth a read.

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