At least two opposition leaders say a federal election just might be the bitter cure needed to rid Canada of the Harper government.
NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe said Friday they've heard from voters this summer who are tired of the Tories and want them gone.
Both admit there's little public appetite for an election, but they say people are telling them it's time to get rid of Stephen Harper's government.
If Harper is preaching "stable" government, and these two parties are arguing that Harper must be turfed, then I see a wide swath for the Liberals to occupy. Particularly in Quebec, if this is the Bloc argument, then the Liberals have a very logical, sober counter. Voting for the Bloc is the surest way to ensure that the Conservatives stay in office. With Quebec dead to the Conservatives, they see the Bloc as an obstacle, to thwart the Liberals. Take Duceppe at his word, the only solution is to rally behind the Liberals. While this argument has been made before, I see great potential, given the fatigue dynamic.
As for the NDP, the next question that should come after "get that Harper out of there" is- who should replace him? Putting the hilarity of Layton for PM aside, if this election debate centers around perpetual political instability (and it is starting to emerge as an important issue, particularly if the Cons float this "majority" argument), then it may just focus people toward the only realistic options. When Layton says Harper has to go, it's simply intuitive to conclude he means Ignatieff should lead. Even if you want to entertain the coalition angle, it still boils down to Michael Ignatieff for Prime Minister. As cut and dry as it gets, and the Liberals should jump all over this theme in a cohesive and repetitive fashion- not the 9th inning desperation plea to unite behind the Liberal banner, but right out of the gate, over and over and over. One thing I've learned from the Conservatives, co-ordinated REPETITION can drive the discussion towards YOUR talking points. Narrow the debate down to a choice between two approaches, using the other party arguments to support your own ambitions.
11 comments:
LOL!!! wow, must be rough times at Liberal HQ... normally this "vote for me if you want to live" stuff doesn't start until after Labour Day. Thanks for the chuckle ;)
No problem. Don't let the most basic logic deter one from good laugh. Harper gone, guess what you get? Cam, who does Jack think will be PM once we rid ourselves of Harper? If the Liberals are no better, then why the desire to take out the Conservatives? You're stuck in a contradiction.
I don't care if Count Chocula gets to be the ceremonial head of government in an anti-conservative coalition government - the important thing is to elect as many NDP MPs and possible and as few Liberals as possible so that the NDP gets maximum leverage in negotiating a coalition, the more NDPers elected the more NDP cabinet ministers and the harder a bargain Layton can negotiate with Count Chocula.
Steve, you are trying to touch the old blarney stone yet again. Its not as if Liberals haven't tried this before. Remember Paul Martin with his bromides about how "Canadians face a STARK CHOICE!", "Canadians, CHOOSE YOUR CANADA - you have only TWO CHOICES - (good vs evil??)" meanwhile millions of Canadians are sick of having their intelligence insulted and continue to vote NDP or BQ or Green.
I'd like to see the Tories gone - and replaced with a party that will implement different policies.
Your party does not meet the second criteria. Just as Chretien carried forward the Mulroney agenda unaltered, so Ignatieff would carry forward the Harper agenda unaltered.
After all, if Liberals actually disagreed with the Conservative agenda, surely they wouldn't have voted for it 79 times.
(Verification word is "awkthud" - sounds like an apt description of the Liberal talking points.)
Good grief - this silly tactic of the NDP, who have apparently learned to count all their fingers and toes on how many times Liberals vote - have you ever heard anything to silly? Honestly, that's suppose to influence what people think?
Oh, the LOL's about the votes from those who seem to forget that Layton wanted Libs to lend their votes - unbelievable. When something is lent, it is to be returned.
Mulroney had no plan to get rid of the deficit, and I have no clue how the PM who'd serenade a US republican prez would have done with the 'coalition of the willing' argument. I do know what Chretien did. Apparently you'd rather have the other possibilities?
What abunch of predictable flotsam from the NdP crew. If you want cartoon cereal logic, I guess Layton's 'Capt'n Crunch' may fare better in an all-sugar, no content battle, but I think most Canadians will again (and again and again...) come to the conclusion that the NdP is only an option in a bizarro world.
Steve,
If the Liberals take your advice and call for voters to unite against the CPC they have helped the framing of the "coalition".
Strategic Voting does not work. Check Punditsguide nice article.
The Liberals need their own identity and not tied to the NDP/Bloc hard left policies.
Iggy is much farther right than Dion and trying to tack left will not work.
The Liberals can't regain credibility by swinging left-centre-right trying to pitch the big tent.
The handlers/strategists of Iggy/Dion are making the wrong decisions and it is starting to reflect badly.
Iggy should be using getting his grassroots and ridings prepared for a 2011 campaign. Trying to force another "no confidence vote" during the expected height of the H1N1 pandemic is a mistake.
Harper pledging stable government! What f%@king planet are you on? Harper politics is wedge politics. Harper's regime has been one of dividing east from west since day one. Harper has never respected the wishes of the Canadian voter who have spoken in two elections, you can govern, but your ideology scares the hell out of us, so where going to put you on a leash! When Harper spews his radical western ideas, or acts like a tyrant, his polling numbers tank. When he acts civil and like a democratic leader, his popularity goes up. Harper cares only about Harper! Canadians fear Harper's hidden agenda, which has kept a majority from becoming reality. The way for Canada to achieve stable government is to have the CPC caucus oust Harper, and replace him with someone more palatable to eastern Canada. Harper has had his chance, but now it is time for him to move on, for the sake of the nation!
The NDP will win those ridings where they are competitive with the Tories, the Tories will win those where nobody is competitive with them, Elizabeth May may take a seat, and the Liberals will take the rest, with all the vagaries of Quebec thrown in to narrow all the margins with Bloc seats. Harper is done. Most of us want him gone, the sooner the better.
I would love to see a sociologist take a good look at the collective delusions of NDP supporters. I am certain it would make for a very interesting and groundbreaking study.
For more than half-a-century Canadians have chosen between two parties to govern them at the Federal level. The Liberals and some incarnation of the Conservatives. That's it!! No other party has even come close to changing that dynamic and there are no signs that it is going to change any time in the future either.
Stephen Harper knows this. He knows that when he loses the next election his government will be replaced by a Liberal government and it makes him crazy, as he hates Liberals, and cannot stand the idea of them replacing him.
It is just a matter of time before a critical mass of Canadians finally decide they have had enough of Mr. Harper and the Conservatives. At that point the vote will coalesce around the Liberals, handing them the government. It is really that simple, all other scenarios put forward by Conservative and NDP supporters is just wishful thinking at best, self serving delusions at worst.
ottlib seems to forget the Progressive Party of Canada, a forefather to the NDP had the Opposition in 1921. Keep talking in absolutes though ottlib and show you have no knowledge of history please.
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