May/Dion Romance: Other Views

To find out what the political pros think about the May/Dion romance go here. For those of you who don't want to bother, here is a taste from Jamey Heath:

Hey, it's Ottawa's very own Red Green show, with enough laughs to keep Stephen Harper happy for some time to come.

Let's put aside the whole emissions record under Liberals. And ignore that Mr. Harper has, so far, done better on toxics and wildnerness protection than Liberals did. And just for the fun of it, throw out trying to get voting reform or triviliaties such as Elizabeth May ranking the NDP and Greens as interchangeable on environmental issues in the 2006 and 2004 campaigns. Instead, let's look at the helping hand Mr. Dion has just given the Tories.

News--well, it's not really news, but a continuation of the last few years--that Ms. May is a Liberal stalking horse may excite a few folks in ridings where Tories have no chance. But like Buzz Hargrove's Liberal endorsement in 2006, it's unlikely centre-right voters will be enamoured much of a Liberal Party now supporting someone whose first policy announcement as leader was to abrogate NAFTA. This is a gift for Tories. And if the next election is about Mr. Dion's greenness, Mr. Harper will win.

Were I a Tory strategist, I'd consider making the revised global warming bill a confidence test. Ms. May has already said she wants an election over the budget; Mr. Dion is firmly on record that 2007 is the only year we've got to save the planet. Left unchallenged, the Red Green show is about to become a whole lot less funny. And the chance to bring in practical, workable global warming legislation lost in the mire of politics where all that counts to many is not being Mr. Harper--you know, the guy atop the polls.

and one from SES pollster Nik Nanos:

Nik here - From a polling perspective, this is likely a good strategic move for the Liberals. First, Green support is soft. Second, their voters are more likely to be issue driven. Elizabeth May has in fact validated Stephane Dion as an acceptable place for Green Party voters to park. If we try to take a look forward to the next election the world will likely be made of voters who are "for" or "against" Harper. If that truly does transpire then today's "agreement" will well position Dion and the Liberals.

That last bit by Nik Nanos is essentially what I have been saying all Day. May has told Green voters to vote Liberal. In other words, the Think Twice Coalition is alive and well and is running the Green Party.

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