Two Things

First, will someone in the Liberal Party please help Iggy with the coalition question? For Christ's sake, Paul Wells has been warning you for two years that this was coming. Iggy looked evasive and when you are trying to frame the election as "Who do you trust", that's a bad thing.

Second, Iggy, do not tell NDP and Green Voters that they will kill kittens if they don't vote Liberal. It looks desperate (especially given that the writ hasn't even been dropped), is insulting and it won't work over a month-long campaign.

If this is what we can expect from Team Liberal, an Ontario 1990 may become a possibility.

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Dare To Compare

To understand why we on the left may have some difficulty with Iggy's idea of "coalition", you need to take a look at a case study of Iggy style "coalition" in action. The key concepts to remember if you are a leftist in such a "coalition" are, sit down, shut up, don't criticize us even if we our policies are right wing.

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Hey Here Is A Surprise

Iggy is going to spend his summer telling rural Canada he is just as blue as Stephen Harper. Of course Liberal progressives will eat it up with a spoon.

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Michael Ignatieff, Two Beats Behind

Funniest headline you will read today: Harper may be ‘ragging the puck’ on detainee records: Ignatieff Really, Mike? Might be, Mike? Jesus, Mike.

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Quote Of The Day

Kady O'Malley:

Finally, guess who won't be at committee, or anywhere else within the parliamentary precinct this week? The leader of the official opposition, that's who! Because really, when you've spent the last two months going on and on and on and on about the sovereignty and importance of the House of Commons, and the need to show respect for our democratic institutions, it just makes sense to abandon the Hill while said House is sitting in favour of yet another meandering speaking tour. Don't worry, sir -- we'll let you know how that whole battle for parliamentary supremacy turns out.

Don't worry Kady, Iggy wasn't serious about parliamentary supremacy, anyway.

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Give A Dog A Bone

The Conservatives ran roughshod over our parliamentary democracy for three months and now they toss Iggy some scraps. Rather than being outraged by their cheek (as Derek Lee seems to be), Iggy seems pleased to be offered a way out of the whole distasteful business of asserting the power of Parliament.

Update: If you read between the lines here, it is obvious what is going on. The Conservative know Iggy will do almost anything to avoid a confrontation. So, they are stalling for time and are hoping to give Iggy just enough so he can whip his caucus back from the brink of actually growing a spine. Derek Lee may be a bit of a problem here, but he has withdrawn his motion for the time being (no doubt at Iggy's request) and that must count as a win for the government. Now, the Harperites can futz around with the terms of reference and if the poll numbers start looking good for them, call an election before Iacobucci has a chance to report back.

Update 2: If the opposition goes along with this farce (and by the opposition I mean Iggy), and let a third party tell them what they can or can't see, they will be admitting that Parliament is not supreme.

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Ouch

When your own newspaper starts to compare you to Bob Stanfield (and not favorably), you are in trouble as a politician.

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Quote Of The Day: Blindingly Obvious Edition

From the sage of the Sunday Star, Angelo Persichilli:

The problem for Ignatieff is not that he doesn't have ideas. Rather, I believe his problem is that his ideas to cope with the economic crisis, aside from some partisan packaging, are the same as those of Harper's government.

What can one add to such an insight?

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