On election need and paying fiscal heed

*Why do we need an election sooner, rather than later? I think the president of the Liberal Party, Senator Marie Poulin, puts it well in a recent e-mail to the party faithful:

Many Canadians are worried. After two years in power, Canada’s “new” government has let Canadians down.

The Conservatives have failed to be a world-leader in climate change negotiations. They have failed on social programs, such as healthcare, childcare and the Kelowna Accord. But perhaps most frighteningly of all, with the threatening economic slowdown, it appears they have failed to maintain the hard-earned fiscal security engineered by the Liberals.

It is time to stand up to Stephen Harper and the Conservatives – and there is a tangible way for us to do that right now.

Vote down the budget and force an election? Well, Senator Poulin was actually making a fundraising pitch for the four by-election candidates. I think the argument works for an election too though. Because I'm one of those worried Canadians.

*Speaking of putting things well, the Globe does just that today in an editorial about the recent Conservative attempt to re-write history on the economy. It’s behind a firewall, but here’s a taste:

Which party took a country that was drowning in debt and instituted tough, painful savings to lift the federal accounts back into surplus, where they have remained for more than a decade? That would be the Liberals.

And which party, by failing to heed the warning signs of an economic slowdown and by both cutting the GST and spending as if there were no tomorrow, set the country up for a lean budget on Feb. 26 that could, if the Conservatives don't watch their step, tip Canada back into deficit spending? That would be the Conservatives.

Politics is politics, but really, don't the Tories look in the mirror once in a while?

The answer, Globe editors, is no they don't. They really should though.

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