Typing this, party of me thinks that Ignatieff and several other Red-Librocons would support this "security perimeter."
Bah. Anyway. I think we're going to have an election in the spring. And if that's the case, here is how it is going to go:
- harper's hold on his base is as secure as ever. He will have the largest single bloc of seats in the House of Commons, based in the West and parts of BC and Ontario.
- Ignatieff will not inspire any new voters and the Liberals will have about the same amount of seats as in the past.
- The Bloc Quebecois will have about the same amount of seats as they do now.
- The NDP might get a few seats from the harpercons in BC and maybe one or two more somewhere else, but no real difference.
These results having been gathered, we will again have a choice: Recall the five years of political brinkmanship, the five years of contempt for parliamentary democracy, the five years of incompetence and lies, and allow it to continue, or, ignore whatever manufactured, incoherent, ignorant outrage that the cynical, contemptuous harpercons will manage to dredge-up out of the populace and simply form a coalition and consign the harpercon bullies to the scrap-heap.
That's it.
Done.
Finished.
Finito.
I can't stand the Liberals because they're liars. If there was no NDP in Canada forcing them to strengthen their left flank they would be as revoltingly pro-rich as the Democrats in the USA are. I hesitate to give them an opportunity to redeem themselves after they savaged the welfare state and doled-out the tax cuts for the wealthy under three majority governments until Mr. Dithers came to power. But the Liberals are not as bad as the harpercons, especially when it comes to social policy. The Liberals do not believe that marijuana and homosexuality cause autism and insanity. The Liberals do not believe that the theory of evolution is a leftist plot like global warming is. The Liberals do not believe that sending young offenders to Christian-run private prisons is the answer to unreported crimes.
A coalition will at least help retrieve the Canadian values of tolerance and moderation that the harpercons have been using the power of the public purse to undermine.
Let the right-wing idiots howl. Let them scream. Let them whine. Let them bitch. Let them demonstrate. Let them protest. Let them lie.
Out of power is out of power. Out of power they can do nothing but complain. The same way we can now do nothing but complain. The only difference is that with a coalition, there will be an effective majority (unless Ignatieff is as incompetent governing in a coalition as he is as Opposition Leader). If we have an effective majority, and realize the benefits of it, the harpercons will NEVER have power in Canada again. Because the best they can do is a minority and there will always be a coalition to prevent that.
They will NEVER have power in Canada again and Canada will be the better for it.
6 comments:
Prime minister Ignatieff. Maybe the NDP could force him to restore Canada's political centre. Maybe.
Perhaps Iggy's arrogance is the only thing that will force him to accept reality.
I'm in complete agreement with you on this, thwap. I wouldn't want a Liberal minority right now, so better to push for a coalition government (NDP-Lib) than ABC which would give a Lib minority, if it succeeded.
Liberals dependent on NDP for survival usually get through some good policies for the reasons you gave. Might help them remember who they are there for as well, but that's hoping for a lot.
I have always liked the three party system for the reasons you gave as well.
No time tonight, but I'm going to push your idea on my quiet little blog. I am very happy to see a few Liberals and NDP bloggers leaning that way.
I had a long chat with a veteran Tory insider from Ottawa today. Word from the Dark Side - another minority and Harper gets the boot. Iggy, he claims, is a Dead Man Walking although he may be the only person in Ottawa who hasn't realized it yet. My old friend says Bob Rae isn't anxious to take Iggy down just yet but he does have his finger on the trigger.
I've known this guy for almost 40-years and his political acumen has always been very solid.
Thanks for commenting people.
I didn't really give those specifics much thought, but it's interesting to speculate.
Who would replace harper? Day? Flaherty? Baird? Clement? I suppose that if they were out of power thanks to a coalition, it won't matter.
I would also hope that if the Cons are out of power that the other parties treat them with the contempt that the harper gov't treated them.
If, say Ignatieff were to be a disaster, losing seats for the Liberals to every other party everywhere, and Rae were to step-up I could imagine the shrieking: How Rae was the NDP sleeper agent all along! Blar-har-har-har!
In the end though, what's important is that the harpercons be turfed and the NDP force the Liberals to pass some sane policy for the ordinary person.
Curiously enough I'm told there's some buzz among Ottawa Tories about James Moore, Heritage & Official Languages minister, from Port Coquitlam in BC's Lower Mainland. Most of the rest of the likely suspects apparently either have skeletons in their closets or are in the closet. There's simply not a lot of depth in Harper's front benches that is suitable to take over.
Moore would be a real Dark Horse contender. Until today I'd never heard of the guy. Before he became a Reformer he was in broadcasting but, again, I never heard of him.
Old School Tories get panicky when they detect a West Coast upstart in their ranks. When Kim Campbell first appeared in Ottawa I was squeezed for dirt on her. All I could come up with was Campbell, Margaret Sinclair, some commune on a gulf island, pot and a mysterious death that supposedly led to strings being pulled to keep the girls' names out of the investigation and the public eye. Or so the rumour went.
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