My Impression Of The Liberal's Filibuster Strategy

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Liberals Suicidal Or Colluding With Conservatives

Warren does not provide a link, so I am not sure where this is coming from. But, if it is from Liberal HQ, I would say it either means the Liberals are delusional about their chances to form a majority government, or the faction in charge of the party likes things as they are, with the Conservatives in charge (my preferred theory). Such a strategy confirms my suspicions that the blue Liberals have a defacto coalition with the Conservatives, but want to pretend otherwise so as to protect their own positions with their party and ward off civil war with the reds.

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Red Liberals Pay Attention

Your blue masters are an unhappy lot:

Liberals, who hit 25 per cent in public opinion last week, are not happy with Grit Leader Michael Ignatieff, but his leadership is surviving on life support because as things stand there is no viable candidate who could take his place, say Liberal sources.

Really? No one, or just no one acceptable to the blues? H/t to the Jurist.

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On Coalitions

Jeff Jedras has an interesting post about coalitions today. For what it is worth, I think the Liberals would be wise to float the possibility of creating a "grand coalition" with the Conservatives, or vice versa, if the Liberals get more seats in the next election. It would dampen the Conservative attacks and it is a much more plausible scenario, given who is running the Liberals, the Conservatives and the NDP. Such a strategy would show that somebody in the Liberal Party is actually thinking about things, as they are, rather than wishing their lives away, praying for the return of the good old days. It would also show that the Liberals are putting country before party and who knows, it might prove to boost the party's popularity.

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The Liberals Have Lost The Plot...Again

Isn't it passing strange that Liberals are spending their time shopping around climate protest conspiracy theories, while at the same time helping the government block C-311?

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Economic Update Hijinks

The government is set to release its economic update and the Liberals are set to reject it without even reading it. Clearly, they are not a serious party. Sorry all, I just couldn't help myself.

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Liberal Caucus Split?

Well, let's see, we have an "anonymous Liberal" claiming that Iggy is going to lead the Liberals off a cliff and then we have Warren Kinsella threatening the anonymous Liberal with political capital punishment. Aside from that, they are one big happy family.

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Where The MSM Goes Off The Rails

From a CP story about the NDP change in direction:

The decision puts the NDP in a position similar to one the Liberals were in for months: supporting a government it despises in the hope of extracting benefit for its causes.

Where to begin. The Liberals were not in the same position as the NDP. It voted with government on issues on which it agreed with the government (like Afghanistan), or because it wanted to forestall an election while the internal civil war over Dion played out. If I look back over the last three years, "extracting benefit for its causes" is not a phrase I would associate with the Liberals -- patrons yes, causes no. Aside from this misstatement, the article is well worth a look.

Update: Robert has more examples of Liberal/Conservative co-religionism, over the years.

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Mr. Ignatieff Ponders

Michael Ignatieff is troubled by his party's governing record.

The party, he said, needs to look hard at why Liberal governments have difficulty delivering on their best intentions, such as ideas for helping native people and building infrastructure.

There is no mystery here. The Liberal Party is composed of two groups, one that cares about such issues and another that actually runs Liberal governments. There is a disconnect between the two groups and the only thing that keeps them together is the "promise" by the governors that "someday" the wishes of the progressive wing will be realized. That that day keeps receding in the distance, is of little consequence to the governors, as long as the progressives keep voting Liberal. Because as we all know, voting Liberal is the most important thing.

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Dion Non-Post

What the Liberals and Mr. Dion do about the leadership that party, is strictly none of my business.

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Riddle Me This

Why is Steve cruising for votes among Liberals? Surely, Liberals are progressive, salt-of-the-earth types? At least, that's the story they tell us every day.

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Said With A Completely Straight Face

Adam Radwanski wrote:

The thing is, refusing to attack the NDP actually delegitimizes it as a serious opposition party - thus prompting stridently anti-Conservative voters to choose the Liberals over the New Democrats on election day for fear of wasting their votes. (emphasis mine)

Yet another ringing endorsement of the "logic" of our present electoral system by a Liberal-friendly opponent of MMP in Ontario. Tell me again why I should care if Harper's life mission is to wipe these guys off the map? To me, it would be the political version of the Darwin Awards.

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Political Karma

It will be fun to watch the liblogs respond to this little number:

But the party that has been so skillful at complementing its progressive arm with a business side appears to be flying on one wing these days. The so-called natural governing party of old has allowed itself to be characterized as just one of a cluster of parties on the left of the political spectrum, competing for limited votes. In the second week of the election campaign, the Liberals who slew the deficit in the mid-1990s are portrayed by their political opponents and commentators alike as a risky economic choice.

I can hear it now. Instead of "But, but, but, we're progressives, too!", the new mantra will be: "But, but, but we're cold-hearted bastards, too". Liberals, take this as a lesson. This is what happens to you when you abandon your Bay Street masters.

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Sounds Very Familiar

Dennis Perrin, who is quickly becoming a daily read around these parts, has this to say about those progressives who support the Democratic Party. Just for fun, as you are reading this, substitute Liberal Party of Canada for any allusion to the Democrats, in your mind.

Truly, there are no bigger masochists in America than those who pledge allegiance to the mule. You can beat them, kick them, piss and shit all over them, and they'll come crawling back for more, hopeful gleam on their soiled faces. Why they don't break out the leather hoods, slapper whips, and ball gags and fetishize their surrender is a mystery, but then, libs are often the biggest teases. Maybe they're saving that for election night.

It goes on and on for several, wonderful, paragraphs. Read it. He speaks the truth.

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Why Are We Talking About Biker Chicks?

The answer is quite simple. We can't talk about the budget, Afghanistan, climate change, immigration, the faltering Ontario economy, or any issue that might lead to an election, because the Liberal Party hasn't got the guts to bring down the Harper government. So, all we are left with is the burning issue of who Maxime Bernier is squiring around Ottawa. Yes, Bernier is an idiot. I get it. But, in the bigger scheme of things, it is small cheese. However, when you have mice running the official opposition, small cheese looks like a big deal.

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Let Me Explain It Dana

Since you have turned off your comments (a move I understand, well). You write:

Or why the Conservatives, who loathe everything the NDP has ever stood for, are more palatable than the Liberals, who've cooperated with the CCF and NDP on numerous occasions throughout the 20th century. Which cooperation has resulted in some of the legislation that the Conservatives would like most to do away with or change beyond recognition.

The answer is simple. NDP voters hate both the Liberals and Conservatives and want their own party in charge. You (and this is common among Liberals) think that the Liberal Party is interchangeable with the NDP. That is wrong (although Layton is doing things lately that may make that true in the future and not in a good way). The Liberal Party is seen by NDP supporters as the party of corporate Canada, par excellence.

You talk about history and how the NDP has changed, let me leave you with one thing to chew on. The Liberal Party of Dion is not the Pearson/Trudeau Party. That party is gone. The blues run the Liberal Party and have done so for a quarter of a century.

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