15 Comments
User's avatar
Neil Berg's avatar

The arrogance and self-righteous bullshit of Jamie Carroll has only served to confirm that I will never, for the rest of my life, vote Liberal and to ensure that I will take every opportunity to encourage everyone I meet to do the same.

Expand full comment
KRM's avatar

He has all the shit eating smugness of someone who found the winning LottoMax ticket on the ground next to a dumpster while in a drunken stupor after gambling all their money away, who then acts like they earned all of their good fortune because they are better than you.

Expand full comment
NotoriousSceptic's avatar

Cheers and thank you.

Expand full comment
Amy Lavender Harris's avatar

Thank you, Line Editors, and especially Galbraith, Wright and Carroll, for these great Anti-Panel discussions! They have offered some of the best + most insightful (and funny, thank you Jeebus) coverage of this rather awful (and yet in some ways weirdly ordinary) campaign.

I've been voting since ... 1990 ... (and engaged in politics since, like, 1976, when my parents first started having their toddler children help drop campaign flyers on neighbourhood doorstops), and don't think I've ever been this doubtful about how to mark a ballot. It comes down to this -- regardless which party and which leader one considers:

That party? That leader? Eek!

Is it really too late to pick another card?

Regardless how the vote goes tomorrow, I'd love to see whoever becomes Prime Minister actually focus on the good of our country, on its defence and economic well-being, on its relations with our allies, and on the morale of Canadians. I'd love to see some genuine cooperation between the governing party and opposition, because right now we really need Parliament to work like a war cabinet (as in please literally create a war cabinet focused on defence and ally relations, and include as members folks from the opposition). I'd especially love for the Fed Gov to really reach out to the provinces / territories whose leaders have shown strength and resolve -- to actually work together rather than float resentments, shout slogans, score potshots, reward insiders, and play media games. To show some actual leadership and focus on the actual good of our actual country, for once.

Expand full comment
Glen Thomson's avatar

You said it all right there Amy

Expand full comment
Michelle Marcotte's avatar

Hello Line Editors, thank you for setting up this series of interviews. It has been very informative. And to political commentators, thank you. I didn't always agree with you but I was always interested in what you had to say. I thought about what you had to say and that was important.

Expand full comment
Darcy Hickson's avatar

The death threat reality (and general lack of respect) for politicians and their families is terrible and the first place to start to turn things around is with the politicians themselves.

The Trudeau decade brought us the weaponization of PEOPLE to an extent I’ve never seen before. The Conservative demonization of Singh as a “sellout” was a personal attack unworthy of a political party hoping to form government, and it has backfired with NDP strategic voting ruining the 3 way contests needed to win Conservative ridings in the GTA.

Trudeau was quite adept at making things personal too, but he was better at the dark art by camouflaging the ugly rhetoric in generalities.

The way forward is to make respect for each other as the cornerstone of engagement. All politicians become involved to make things better and sticking to policy disagreements can bring back some badly needed civility.

Expand full comment
Darcy Hickson's avatar

There are many good points brought up in this 3-way conversation. I certainly can agree that the National NDP just can’t seem to decide what it wants to achieve. The Provincial arms have produced government from Queens Park to Victoria and it’s a cottage industry for NDP staffers and strategists to roam the country to settle where the real action is.

The federal NDP lacks the pragmatism and ambition to achieve government. Pragmatism requires adopting some fiscal moorings that will appeal to centrist voters. (See: Thomas Mulcair and balanced budgets. He tried and it cost him his job). Ambition requires doing better than hoping to be a junior partner in a faux coalition with the Liberal party. Those free contraceptives have become a very expensive liability.

Expand full comment
Doreen Mullins's avatar

Getting tired of always negative. Think I’ll move along

Expand full comment
Smith's avatar

Good feature, very much enjoyed it - thanks to all.

Expand full comment
ML Siscoe's avatar

Is it necessary to always use so much profanity?

Expand full comment
Peter Easton's avatar

I wonder, should the NDP lose Party status and Jagmeet resigns, that they ask (beg?) Tom Mulcaire to come back?

Expand full comment
Davey J's avatar

I would love to see him back but they will probably want someone completely new and fresh

Expand full comment
Peter Easton's avatar

They tried that when they tossed Mulcaire and voted in Singh, and have been suffering buyers remorse ever since.

Expand full comment
Clay Eddy Arbuckle's avatar

My dad would ask us(6 boys) Friday night to work,help with a project the following Saturday morning. While our friends and us would be at our home drinking his beer. Better than wandering the streets. Anyway,Saturday morning he would be kicking us awake,the smell of frying bacon in the kitchen at 6:00 am sharp. We would all groan,roll over and try and forget our pounding heads. Now dad is mad: “You all said last night you would help!” “If you are gonna fly with the Owls,you will fly with the Eagles!” I always got up for dad,I can vividly remember the smell of cooking bacon,and my pounding head. Swore I would quit drinking,till lunch when I got thirsty again! Hahahaha!

Expand full comment