Raise the Hammer

If Michael Ignatieff thinks he is going to be leading an LPC majority government before he starts collecting OAS cheques I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell him cheap. Some one in the LPC sold him a bill of goods when they convinced him to leave the safety and sanctity of Harvard to come "home" to political life. He was no doubt convinced that he would be PM by now. His ego got the better of him.

He surely knows it will not be by actually winning the most seats. When Mansbridge asked the question, he should have not even gone there, rather than opined on constitutional technicalities and procedure. With his answer he left open the door to what everyone has accused him of and at the same time given his opponents the opportunity to slam him on it.

The Liberals are in the trouble they are in because for three years they have supported the government more often than not, complaining about it all the while, and not doing the hard work required to come up with policies that resonate with Canadians outside of the Island of Montreal and downtown Toronto. That is not entirely Mr Ignatieff's fault. For 13 years under Chretien and Martin they were unopposed. They had the opportunity to do something great, something visionary. Instead we got Adscam, Shawinigate, almost lost a referendum on Quebec seperation, and oh yeah gay marriage ( great for those inclined, but I would argue not on anyone else's list of priorities then). They have what? 3 seats west of Kenora? They are a rump party at best, waxing about the good ole days of being "the natural governing party" whatever the hell that is supposed to mean. The political landscape is changing rapidly in this country and passing them by.

Having worked in Toronto for the last 21 years as a civic employee, and seen Jack Layton's political rise, and how he got there, I can honestly say I would not buy a used car from him. However, if the current trend holds he may have accomplished what no other NDP leader has done in a generation, which is make that party nationally relevant. Combine this with the apparent continued implosion of the LPC and I can see a day when many left leaning Libs migrate to the Dippers and those on the fiscal and social right of the LPC move to the Tories.

Who said this election was about nothing?

Comment edited by Shempatolla on 2011-04-26 21:39:02