Even "Doublespeak" from Premier Won't Save Ontario Liberals

Thought I would untangle some of Dalton McGuinty's doublespeak and translate today's Star article where Dalton McGuinty declares full confidence in Ontario Liberals as Ontario heads towards a fall provincial election.

Actually it begins right there with the word "confidence". The Ontario Liberals have had a disastrous year running up to the election marked by key by-election losses, scandals like LottoGate and SlushGate, lingering criticism over failure to be transparent and accountable, and on and on. From the HydroOne to the Children’s Aid Society fiasco through to ramming through a $40 billion mega nuclear power plant without environmental assessment. Then there's the whole 31% pay raise passed in eight days while selling out the working poor of this province. In fact one of the finest examples of doublespeak this year was Sorbara's calling the 2007 Budget a "poverty" budget.

Fact is the Ontario Liberals are on a sinking ship. Everything that could go wrong has been going wrong, including the woeful irony in which one day following our environment Minister's assurance that the Liberals are doing everything they can regarding lead contamination in Ontario's drinking water, unacceptable levels of lead surface at Queen's Park itself. Just watching the government's behaviour and body language in the Legislature signals that rather than confident, this band of thugs is shaken, resentful and full of trepidation. Even a cursory look at recent polls suggests the Ontario Liberals have very good reason to be worried.

Other examples of Dalton doublespeak:

"In some ways, you might argue that we're victims of our own managerial competence."

Translation: Our managerial arrogance and incompetence, our lack of transparency, and our unwillingness to be accountable as promised and displayed in the management of HydroOne, the Children’s Aid Society, OLG, year end slush funds, needless and extravagant expenditures like Dalton's hollywood style flying habits or spending millions to change the trillium logo across the province will lead to the demise of this government.

"[Liberals’] determination to call upon the best in all Ontarians, to bring them together and to overcome our challenges together… Nobody knows better how to bring people together and call upon what I call that spark of nobility that's found in people."

Translation: Through divisive negative campaigning, dirty electioneering, and running what the media described as some of the worst smear campaigns (notably Parkdale-High Park by-election last Fall which Dalton publicly endorsed), or more briefly, through intimidation and slush funds, the Liberals will prey on Ontarians worst fears and corruptibility to try to form another government.