Oh, Dipper's and Con's are going to hate this story. The Dipper's will continue to deny it of course, but the con's will be hard pressed to do the same, when the word's come from none other than Flanagan himself.Both groups have denied this reality, because it's one that has been blogged to death by the Lib's. The reason for that, is it's the truth and it was obvious to all who cared to pay attention.
I've never been a Layton fan, but what he did during the last election, cinched it for me. Layton is all about Layton, even at the expense of the country and his principles. I've yet to figure out if he's stupid or just so full of ego that he's blinded. Whatever the answer, that's not a good leader. I chose the phrase, "not a good leader" as opposed to the trite "weak" expression, because having the strength to do the wrong thing, takes no strength at all. All that's required there is opportunism and I'd apply that expression to Harper and Layton equally.
Thanks Tom to giving credence to what most of us have been saying forever.
3 comments:
One of the most embarrassing moments in Canadian election history, was watching Layton in the leaders debate. Here we had supposed hard-right leader, and Layton never even glance his way, too drunk with the prospects of usurping the Liberals. When people claim that the NDP operates in a different realm, soley rooted in principle, the hypocrisy of Layton's campaign exposes the same old opportunism that is so vilified in others.
I watched a bit of Mulclair's victory speech on CPAC - as much as I could take of it anyway. Not Mulcair - but Layton gloating in the background - but it did occur to me that Mulcair has much more karisma than Layton, smart, communicates well - I think Layton better stop gloating - Mulcair will be his rival - I'll bet on it.
As you know KNB this is exactly why I do not respect Layton nor the NDPers that support his strategy of making the Liberals their primary target instead of the true threat to NDP core values, the Harper CPC. While I was angry about it during the last election campaign and thought it was a mistake for Layton and the NDP in terms of short term gains for long term damage both for the party and the nation, I at least could understand it then being Liberals primarily targeted because they were the ones in government at the time.
It is the fact that this strategy has been followed ever since until perhaps very recently (I say perhaps because I am not convinced it is over for long if really at all) despite the CPC forming the government that really offends me, for the first target of the opposition parties is supposed to be the government whomever they are. The fact that the NDP still appears more interested in destroying the Liberals for their own partisan gains purposes instead of eliminating the Harper CPC threat (which is the greater threat by far to their agenda, especially if he gets the majority he needs to start devolving powers from the feds to the Provinces, and once those powers are gone this limits the ability of the NDP to create any new national social welfare/justice programs like say Medicare, day care, and so forth) underscores that they are far from the party of principle that places partisanship second to their principles and that their much vaunted "principles first" approach to politics to be nothing but myth when push comes to shove.
Since the Leader appears to be supported extensively by his party in this strategy therefore it belongs around the necks of all those supporters and not just Layton and the leadership. I have a real problem with those that try to pretend that they and theirs are somehow inherently more moral, be it from the right left or center. One of the things I've always appreciated about the Libs and the former PCPC was the recognition that while one tries to do the best one can there will always be failures and inabilities to do all one wants to do in government. They also don’t tend to be as moralistic in their attitudes towards the rest of us that do not share their attitudes. That goes a fair bit with me. In any event, Layton may make short term gains for his party, but he will almost certainly damage the rest of the nation (since his best chance at wiping out the Libs was the last election and they still got over a hundred seats) by giving Harper his only real chance to get that majority he so desperately and blatantly craves. So will Layton and the NDP yet again place the Liberals as their first targeting priority or will they finally start placing it where it most needs and has needed to be?
BTW, I am not saying the NDP should give the Libs a free ride, far from it, just that they should make (indeed, should have been making ever since they came to power) the government of the day, a party and leader whose beliefs are truly antithetical to core NDP principles/beliefs, their main target and make the Liberals their secondary one. Harper's biggest advantage is that too many Canadians think he isn't that radically conservative thanks in no small part because the NDP have not been going after him/them anywhere near as harshly as one would expect them to do to any real hard core conservative leader/PM. The NDP have to accept that they share some responsibility in not just getting Harper elected to government (although the Libs ran the worst campaign I ever saw that time out, so that responsibility is significantly less in this respect than I would otherwise classify it as) but in keeping him there and keeping him looking relatively responsible and moderate by claiming they can work with him (despite it going nowhere see Clean Air Act as one example) and that there is no difference between Lib and CPC (Liberal Tory same old story) when that is clearly nonsense where the CPC is concerned unlike with the PCPC where that did hold a fair amount of truth/validity. Layton and the NDP sell out their principles every time they let Harper slide/skate on something that should have been really hammered at so as to beat up on the Libs more instead, and there have been so many examples already for them in Harper's "new" Canada even with this minority government.
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