Stronach, Harper, Clement : Lobsters in a tank don't let each other get out.

the problem of beating up your party friends before a real battle against the bad guys is constant conundurm in the US....the democrats learned from the last race in 2000 not to dig up too much dirt...and as a result probably went to easy on each other this time around...

the republicans did it in 2000 as well...and now in canada...its getting nasty here. yes, the liberals are probably getting their notes down about how to attack the tories. seems harper is the father figure in these debates, putting down barbs with ease and patience.....usually. in the debates anyway.

With Conservative friends like these ...

Don Martin
National Post


March 9, 2004

OTTAWA - The Liberal party's war room is on a heightened pre-election footing.

Electronic search engines are being scoured for incriminating information and data banks are being loaded with clips and quotes to be used against the Prime Minister's campaign enemies.

This includes every contentious utterance by the three Conservatives vying for the merged party leadership, the better to be prepared for any surprise upset on the eve of an election.

But with friends like this trio of leader wannabes, the Liberals barely need their own mud-dredging research.

In an outbreak of internecine warfare, rivalled only by last weekend's Liberal knock-off nomination brawl, every misspoken word, every campaign misstep, every misinterpreted phrase has been dug up and thrown around between the three camps.

While Tony Clement has been the most spirited in debates, the most venomous tone has been set by Belinda Stronach in her press release attacks against frontrunner Stephen Harper.

So petty has it become, the spectre of the former business executive winning the Conservative nomination in her Aurora, Ont., hometown tonight, and then losing the leadership to Harper, will instantly spill bad blood onto the floor of a divided caucus should she win the seat.

Consider what substitutes for policy debate and leadership self-promotion between Stronach and Harper. And we're only going back two weeks in this outbreak of drive-by smears.

It started with Stronach listing Harper's worst gaffe lines. "The Liberals will use many of Stephen's comments against us during the next election campaign. We believe it is only fair to flag the use to which the Liberals will put them," she suggested. Liberal researchers dutifully jotted down notes.

An apoplectic Harper fired back, accusing Stronach of misconstruing his comments and lifting statements out of context. "The kinds of smear attempts emanating from the Stronach campaign are amateur, unbecoming, and silly." Oh, he added, only Belinda Stronach supports two-tiered health care.

Stronach blew a gasket. Harper's reply was "condescending and superior in tone and packed with assertions and personal insults," she fumed. And besides, it took him 36 hours to react. Too slow. "Quite frankly, if we wait that long to respond to the Liberal attacks during the next election, then our party's campaign will be in trouble." The Liberals circled that comment in their files.

Harper sued for peace. Sort of. "Let's drop the mud, focus on policy, and keep building our strength to take on Paul Martin's Liberals," he urged.

The truce lasted for a day or two before Harper sent Happy India Day greetings to a Canadian aboriginal group. Stronach found his apology offensive, coming the same day as Harper announced the backing of an MP who had made a passing reference to "scalping" during the 2000 election. It was a connection the Liberals would've missed without Stronach's help.

All was quiet for a couple hours until the Conservatives previewed their contentious radio Liberal attack ads. Stronach saw the Devil Harper's hand at work, even though he hadn't been the leader for over two months. "We need a leader capable of bringing professionalism and good judgment to the next campaign -- not an amateur effort that will expose our party to ridicule." The Liberals thumped their research desk in delight.

Harper was royally steamed by this point. "It is very unfortunate that Ms. Stronach chooses to take the low road and wallow in mud." He promptly waded in himself, providing media with transcripts of a Stronach meeting with native leaders where she admits she was "not well versed on native issues."

Stronach returned fire immediately. Eureka! Her team found campaign material where Harper referred to himself as "Leader of the Opposition." Oh my. "Another careless and amateur mistake," Stronach snorted. "They point to a pattern of mistakes which our party cannot afford going into an election."

Harper fought back: "A few moments of thoughtful investigation would have revealed that the brochure entered circulation in December, a month before he officially stepped down as Leader of the Opposition."

Stronach seized it as the smoking gun. "This is proof positive that Harper ... was actively and overtly campaigning for the leadership of the Conservative Party while he was still serving as its Parliamentary Leader."

Over to Harper: "If this is the juiciest tidbit that our friends in the other campaigns can come up with, then perhaps it really is time to turn our focus back on the Liberals where the real scandal is."

Finally -- and space prevents all the greatest hits -- Harper recalled his declaration when the two parties merged, "Our swords will henceforth be pointed at the Liberals, not at each other. Too bad all the leadership candidates don't agree. Maybe one of them is trying to build an excuse to get out ... "

That "NO!!" you heard was from the Liberal Party of Canada. They can't afford to lose either Conservative candidate. With this rivalry in attack mode, they're getting all their dirt dug up for free.
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"Leader of the Opposition." Oh my. "Another careless and amateur mistake," Stronach snorted. "They point to a pattern of mistakes which our party cannot afford going into an election."

careless? amateur? not to put to fine a point on it, but all stronach is is amateur and careless. if she wins this thing with quebec, this party is finished. seriously.