Why leftist ideology will NEVER solve our social problems

It's rather ironic that this post is going up today of all days, the day of Jack Layton's funeral in Toronto. But someone left a comment here on the blog today, once again fundamentally misunderstanding my views on helping the less fortunate in our society, and once again calling into question my faith for being a "Conservative".

Anyway, I responded with pretty much what I'm about to say, but then thought that with what's going on today, I'd post it for my general readership too. (plus, it's been a while since I last posted anything of substance, so I figured it's time to stir the pot again)

For all of you out there, my long time readers, long time haters, and those of who who've just stumbled across the blog for the very first time... Did you know that I acutally SUPPORT INCREASING welfare benefits? And did you know that I STRONGLY SUPPORT a strong social saftey net? And I do so based on my firm convictions as a CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE... as I'm a Christian FIRST, and a Conservative SECOND. And the two, despite what many on the left would have you think, are NOT mutually exclusive.

Where I fundamentally disagree with those who are on the left, like the late Jack Layton for example, is they way that most folks on the left envision the solution to these problems. Most of them (and I recognize that I'm making some significant and non-encompassing generalizations, I know) believe that by simply throwing more money at the issues, we'll be able to solve these significant and long-term issues. A large number of them also incorrectly believe that the way to get this money is to over-tax hard working people, thereby "leveling the playing field" as it were.

Personally, I think this is a REPREHENSIBLE philosophy, and only ENCOURAGES more of the same behaviours that are the root cause of SOME (but obviously not all) of the problems we face. In essence, it's a a fundamentally Communist perspective... take away from those who have, in order to give to those who don't. The problem with that perspective is that there are many of those who don't "have", who in fact COULD "HAVE", if they weren't repeatedly making bad choices.

For example, I've worked in front line healthcare, working daily with folks who are on social assistance. Of course, many of them VERY legitimately, who have conditions that prevent them from being able to provide for themselves. (see related ASIDE below) It's really sad to see the generational welfare families, who've figured out how to "work the system", and have taught their children how to do the same... kids who have now grown up with a "sense of entitlement", and have no desire nor inclination whatsoever to get themselves off the system. They look to the state for EVERYTHING, and blame all their problems on society in general, rather than looking to themselves and learning the benefits of hard work to improve their own lives. It's a desperately sad and vicious cycle, one that will be IMPOSSIBLE to break if we just keep throwing more money into the system.

(RELATED ASIDE: I remember one guy who really WANTED to provide for himself but just couldn't... was in a wheelchair, and had numourous conditions that prevented him from holding a job, because his body wouldn't co-operate with any kind of consistant schedule. So what did he do? When he was in good health, he'd spend a lot of time doing voluntary work, like sorting at the local Food Bank, and in general just trying to give back to the society that was supporting him. Had a GREAT attitude, and didn't convey any sense that he felt "entitled" to Government assistance. Now THAT's someone who more than deserves our support!)

So, I've come to the conclusion, as have many other Conservatives, that it's ONLY when we revamp the entire system, and get the "freeloaders" off the system, that we'll then have more money available to actually increase benefits to those who are genuinely in need. You see, I'm focused on the ROOT CAUSES of the problems we see, not the SYMPTOMS... but I percieve that most folks on the left are focused on the symptoms, not the solutions. Of course, most of them will turn around and say that the REAL root cause of our problems is the dreaded evil of "capitalism"... at which point I just roll my eyes, once again.

You see, I wouldn't call myself a "capitalist"... we just live in a capitalist society. AS HAS MOST OF THE WORLD SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. You know, the general principal of "If a man shall not work, he shall not eat." Which, interestingly enough, is a Biblical principal too.

Now of course if a man CANNOT work, then OBVIOUSLY we need to support him or her in our society. For the record, I want to HELP solve these issues, to "Do unto others as I'd have them do unto you", as the Lord Jesus taught us. But I have a fundamentally different perspective from those on the left as to HOW we need to go about solving them.

That doesn't make me an evil person... it makes me a "Christian Conservative". I'm just someone who wants to see the lives of ALL his fellow countrymen improved, without having to pay too much in taxes, of course.

LINE OF THE DEBATE goes to... LAYTON!!!

No question about it, Jack Layton had the line of the night with this barb he threw at Michael Ignatieff, over his lack of attendance in the House of Commons.

Our Political Leader's Theme Songs

Buddy of mine sent this my way... pretty fun. If all our political leaders had a theme song, what would it be? Of course, I don't think Harper deserves to get "The Imperial March", but even I had to smile. I think this Tyrone guy's got the other leaders pretty much nailed... and I LOVE Lizzy May's!

Jack Layton


Ignatieff


Elizabeth May


Stephen Harper

Welcome to the fold Mr. Fantino!

Congrats on a hard fought, and well deserved, upset last night in Vaughan for Julian Fantino, one of Canada's newest Memebers of Parliament. With a hard fought 997 vote margin, Mr. Fantino stole for the CPC a supposedly "safe" Liberal seat, even with all the resources thrown at them by Ignatieff and the Liberal Party of Canada.

For Mr. Ignatieff, however, last night was not a total loss... in what's sure to shock many, the Liberals managed to upset the NDP in Winnipeg North, and stole from them what thought to have been a safe NDP seat. In all likelihood, look for this seat to swing back to the NDP in the next General Election, as it may well have been low voter turnout that allowed the Libs to swipe this one.

Last nights results do mean one all important thing, however... NO SPRING ELECTION. If the NDP are losing seats to the Liberals, with a guy like Ignatieff at the helm, I'm guessing that they'll think twice before pulling the trigger. And with Iffy losing seats to Mr. Harper in the GTA, right on the doorstep of "Liberal" Toronto, look for them to also dial down the rhetoric somewhat.

Downtown Toronto gives the ROC the finger

Take a good look at the electoral map for Toronto's election, and tell me what it looks like to you...

Yup... once again, Downtown Toronto gives everyone else the finger.

Official Liberal/NDP Coalition begins in Alberta

Despite how much they try and avoid talking about it, the reality is never far below the surface... if the can't beat us, they'll just join forces.

For now, it's just in Alberta. Not likely going to happen anytime soon in BC. But who knows what might happen nationally if Harper wins another minority after the next election?

Tories fund raising outpaces Liberals 2.5 to 1

YIKES... $4,023,923.14 vs. $1,589,953.81 raised during the first quarter of 2010.

For the record, the Tories hauled in $1.17 MILLION dollars more than the rest of them COMBINED.

I guess it's no wonder that the likes of even rabid Conservative hater Ralph Goodale is whistling a happy tune about finding a solution to the Speaker's ruling.

Classy NDP MP's leave Liberals high and dry

In what can only be described as a classy move, the NDP has withdrawn their support for a House Committee probe of the Gurguis-Jaffer saga.

In a move clearly aimed at staying out of the political mire, and away from the dirty and almost gleeful political mudslinging of the Liberals, the NDP have effectively left Michael Ignatieff and the Liberals holding the bag (of what most Canadians would describe as manure...) as the only Party left trying to make political hay out of this non-issue.

Once again, the NDP shows why they deserve to be the standard bearers of Canada's political left... because they're able to tell the difference between real issues that need to be addressed, and non-issues that amount to nothing more than political gamesmanship.

Tories to run on elimination of $30-million dollar policital subsidy in next election

Thanks once again to the "Unthinking Opposition", who have opened the door WIDE OPEN for us to reintroduce this sensible idea.

With the Opposition recently banding together to pass a motion restricting the use of "ten percenters", which they said was an effort to save the taxpayer millions of dollars, the Tories have indicated that they're perfectly willing to go along with the Opposition's idea... IF they're willing to also eliminate the political subsidy.

If you'll recall, this is exactly how I said this one would backfire on the Opposition... another strike for the Liberal Don-OLO.

Just try backing out of that one now guys. I think the Canadian public will support BOTH of these measures, and will link them together as both being "wasteful spending" that should be eliminated. Thanks for your help once again!

CFS attempting to kill UofG's CFS Referendum

Well, so much for "democracy" from the folks at the CFS. No sooner do I post that previous article about all party support for a referendum on the CFS, do I learn of the CFS-O's attempt to squash it like a bug.

No wonder the UofG's NDP pulled out... the article is reposted here in full...

CFS-O referendum denied to student organizers
Posted by The Ontarion On February - 11 - 2010
Written by Daniel Bitonti

According to the chairperson of the Ontario component of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS-O), there will be no referendum held at the University of Guelph in March on continued membership in the federation.

In September, Guelph student organizers had circulated a petition requesting a referendum to be held on membership in CFS-O on March 29, 30, 31. According to CFS-O bylaws, the federation must receive a petition initiating a referendum process six months in advance of the referendum date.

The Ontarion confirmed in October that a process server delivered a package to CFS Ontario on Sept. 29, including the petition and a letter from the University registrar verifying the signatures of 10 per cent of the undergraduate student body, a CFS-Ontario de-federating requirement.

But CFS-O bylaws stipulate that petitions must be delivered by registered mail.

Shelly Melanson, CFS-O chairperson, told the Ontarion on Tuesday that the Guelph petitions had arrived by registered mail on Nov. 9.

“Any petition that is going to initiate a referendum process must be received six months prior to the date of the referendum. Because this petition failed to meet the notice provision under Article 5 bylaw 2, the petition is not in order,” said Melanson.

Melanson also explained there had been problems verifying signatures and student numbers on the petition, a problem that currently mirrors the situation with the University of Guelph petitions sent to CFS-National.

In October, Gavin Armstrong, the CSA’s communications and corporate affairs commissioner, told the Ontarion, “that it would be very poor of CFS-Ontario to deny the petition based on the fact that it was served by a process server and not registered mail.”

“We are currently looking into our options and into the bylaws,” Armstrong told the Ontarion on Wednesday.

UPDATE: Looks like it's not the first time that the CFS has used dirty tricks to attempt to stifle any sort of democratic review of a school's membership in their organization.

CFS losing their grip: UoG has all party support for a Referendum on representation by the CFS

It just shows you what our youth can do when they put their heads together, set aside their differences, and take a stand on an issue... TOGETHER.

In last week's "The Ontarion", the University of Guelph's student newspaper, there was a "Letter to the Editor" signed by the political campus clubs of three of the four major parties, calling in part for a referendum on whether or not the CFS will continue to represent the students at the University of Guelph.

Here's the letter:

We the undersigned, as students of the University of Guelph, support democracy. We believe that Students should be allowed to speak and have their voices heard. As such, we have come together to call for a referendum so Students can choose their representation. We demand, in order to gain the support of Students, that the Canadian Federation of Students:

1. Advocate effectively on the issues that matter to Students.
2. Decentralize power.
3. Demonstrate financial and administrative transparency.
4. Take a non-partisan stance during elections.
5. Acknowledge Students’ right to choose through a referendum.
6. Cease unjust litigation of your own Students.

Let Students choose the movement! Let Students Speak!

Guelph Campus Conservatives
University of Guelph Young Liberals
Guelph Campus Greens

I have it on good authority that the NDP campus club had also signed on to the letter, but withdrew their name and support at the last minute before the paper went to print.* I'm thinking someone from the CFS got wind of the letter and "got to them", pressuring them to withdraw their support, or else. (* NOTE: See UPDATE II below)

Here's hoping that this is a start to a real democratic movement in student politics at the University of Guelph... and that the leftist stranglehold will be broken, so that ALL voices can be genuinely heard, and so that REAL debate of the issues can happen in an unrepressive environment of learning.

UPDATE: Turns out that the CFS is attempting to stonewall this referendum on a technicallity... the required paperwork wasn't sent to the CFS by "Registered Mail", and therefore no referendum will be held.

According to CFS-O bylaws, the federation must receive a petition initiating a referendum process six months in advance of the referendum date.

The Ontarion confirmed in October that a process server delivered a package to CFS Ontario on Sept. 29, including the petition and a letter from the University registrar verifying the signatures of 10 per cent of the undergraduate student body, a CFS-Ontario de-federating requirement.

But CFS-O bylaws stipulate that petitions must be delivered by registered mail.

Shelly Melanson, CFS-O chairperson, told the Ontarion on Tuesday that the Guelph petitions had arrived by registered mail on Nov. 9.

“Any petition that is going to initiate a referendum process must be received six months prior to the date of the referendum. Because this petition failed to meet the notice provision under Article 5 bylaw 2, the petition is not in order,” said Melanson.

Looks like they're seriously worried about losing access to all that funding... they see that their losing their grip on the UofG, and are desperately trying to hold on.

Stay tuned, more info as I get it...

UPDATE II: As for the NDP's support, I've been corrected by a source. It turns out that the UofG's NDP did not in fact withdraw because they didn't support the letter, but because they didn't want an endorsement of the letter to be confused with support for withdrawing from the CFS. While they advocate remaining within the CFS and will campaign to that effect in any refurendum, they DO apparently support the idea of allowing the student body to make their determination for themselves. As such, the letter apparently DOES have all party support within the UofG, while they differ on the merits of membership within the CFS itself.

Coalition threat not dead yet

An interesting article from the Globe and Mail about an upcoming book entitled "How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot", by Brian Topp, one of the coalition "insiders" from the NDP... think I'll have to pick up a copy myself.

JACK JUMPING SHIP?!?!?UPDATE - It's prostate cancer, get well soon Jack!

WOHA... The National Post is reporting via Twitter that, NDP Leader Jack Layton to "make an announcement about his personal status and his immediate future as NDP leader".

THIS COULD BE HUGE, stay tuned, press conference at 2PM EST

UPDATE: Rumour is via Kady O'Malley that he's just announcing a temporary stepping down for health reasons.

UPDATE II: Consensus seems to be growing that he's going in for back surgery... which means there's NO WAY we're going into a Spring election, as the NDP will be more than reluctant to jump into the fray without their leader. Which is likely why he's doing it now... perhaps he's got some good intel that says Iggy won't change his mind about forcing an election, and therefore Jack wants to get it done now to be ready for a Fall or 2011 campaign.

UPDATE III: Layton announced that it's prostate cancer, and that he will be remain as Toronto-Danforth's MP, and Leader of the NDP, during his treatment. All Canadians wish him well, and I know I will pray for a speedy recovery.

Those "Non-Partisan" rallies? Organizers get BUSTED

Sorry to all of the genuine "non-partisans" who participated in last month's anti-prorogue rallies... but it looks like you've been sold a very partisan bill of goods.


Someone has done a very thorough investigation into the partisan political links of rally organizers, and has come up with the hard evidence that most of us BTers have suspected all along... that the VAST majority of these rallies were in fact organized by hard-core Liberal and NDP partisans, with a not so "hidden agenda" of attacking the Harper government.

That's right folks... these rallies weren't about "democracy" or "non-partisanship". Turns out that they were nothing more than a partisanly organized political stunt to score points. AND THEY DELIBERATELY USED YOU MANY OF YOU TO DO IT.

Humm, Liberals and Dippers, working together in an effort to attack the Conservatives. Is this just another pre-cursor to what Mr. Harper warned us about... are they trying to revive the coalition?

h/t to Alberta Ardvark

"Liberals, NDP 'testing the ground' on..."

...a new coalition? Who knows, perhaps this is just the first baby-step towards that ultimate goal of the left.

Liberals, NDP 'testing the ground' on joint anti-prorogation legislation
Jane Taber - Monday, February 1, 2010 1:13 PM

1. Plotting prorogation strategy. Liberal House Leader Ralph Goodale and his NDP counterpart Libby Davies met for more than an hour last week. They were trying to determine if they could put together a joint strategy on limiting the Prime Minister’s powers of prorogation.

The meeting was characterized as at the “discussion” phase with no decisions taken. Indeed, whether the parties will be able to agree on a joint proposal to take to the House when it returns in March is not yet clear.

“The idea of a joint bill was not discussed,” a senior Liberal official says. “So in short, [we were] testing the ground to see if they would support us – and the feeling is they might, at least for some elements.”

Liberals and NDP takeover Prorogue rallies

So much for "non-partisan"... the Liberal Party and the NDP managed to takeover much of the agenda of KW's "Rally for Democracy" today, turning it into not much more than a "We Hate Harper" rally. And yes, I was there to see it all for myself.

Why don't we lead off with this little gem...
Yes, that's right, once again we see the left equates our Right Honourable Prime Minister with a mass-murdering Anti-Semite. And they think we're NUTS? And for the record, I didn't see ANYONE even trying to get that offensive sign taken down.

What's that? Accusing our troops of "War Crimes" again? Have you guys been talking to John MacCallum or something?


Notice the logo on her touque? That's right, we've got a Greenie!
An interesting and inadvertent little "poll" they conducted for me with this sign. In the hour or so I was there? Around 15-20 horns honked... TOTAL. And how many hundreds of cars do you figure pass through uptown Waterloo on a given Saturday?

Another "FASCISTS" slur... at least he's somewhat original with his baseless attack.


And we see the Dippers out in full force... there were a dozen or so of these signs floating around the crowd.


While the organizers did a half decent job of at least putting a venere of non-partisanship on the surface of things, it wasn't very thick, and didn't hold for very long. The various speakers were doing their best to attack all things Harper, on just about every issue. Basically, things turned into a partisan "Anyone But Harper" rally... with keynote speakers being none other than former MP's Karen Redman and Andrew Telegdi, of course!!! You'd almost think they were running for their old jobs again... oh wait, THEY ARE!!! Leave it to a Liberal to turn a "non-partisan" rally into a "VOTE FOR ME!!!" pitch. These two never miss an opportunity to get their faces in the media, they're lobbying HARD to get back into Parliament... so of COURSE they're going to jump on the chance to publicly bash the Government! They got their troops well organized for this event, it was interesting to be a "fly on the wall" and watch their interactions with the "grassroots" at the rally. Let's just say there were a LARGE number of card carrying members there.

Then we have the NDP... we had the "official" NDP signs in the crowd, and of course, we had the unions...
Here's your local NDP EDA showing up, banner in hand.

Get'em while they're young... what was it Comrade Lennin said about that? Oh yea, "Give us the child for 8 years and it will be a Bolshevik forever."

The good old UFCW, showed up of course.

And the Postal Workers... all loud and proud lefty-union types. I'm thinking they never were Harper fans in the first place...

The CAW and CUPE also showed up over at the Guelph rally, since we're talking about union involvement. The rally there was fairly small, and all the regulars from in town you'd expect to see were there... but I'd say there was no more than 120 there, which is pretty small considering the massive Liberal, NDP and Green base that you have in that lefty town.



Of course, there was one minor incident in KW where someone was trying to shout down one of the speakers, for something clearly inaccurate that they'd said about Trudeau... the speaker had said something about Trudeau having "respect for Parliament", what a LAUGH that was!!! Anyway, the organizers had him SHUT DOWN PRONTO, a couple of them went up to him right away and tried to get things diffused quickly. Cause you know, when you're at a "Rally for Democracy", you wouldn't want things to go off the pre-approved script or anything. Wanted to get a photo of the situation and some more info, but the gentleman didn't want that, so I'm respecting his wishes.

The organizers had also invited an independent candidate to give a few remarks... remember what I said about a "vener" of non-partisanship? Well his little talk, although intended to make things look non-partisan, actually blew the lid off that little sham. He's standing there making so very accurate remarks about the state of our democracy, taking to task not only the current Harper government, but also PREVIOUS Liberal governments... he took Trudeau to task once or twice as well. Anyway, the best way to describe the crowds reaction to him was... well, subdued. Polite applause here and there when he said something they really couldn't object to, and of course loud applause and cheering when he took a shot at Mr. Harper... but the rest of the time, when he was discussing some of the real issues related to our Parliamentary system, well... you could hear crickets. Guess he didn't know he was supposed to stick to the "All anti-Harper, All the Time" script. While I didn't agree with a lot of things he said, he was BY FAR the most honest and genuine of all the speakers there today. But by being genuinely "non-partisan", he helped expose the partisans for who they really were, and shredded any semblance of credibility the organizers of today's event had. And for that, I tip my hat to you sir! If anyone can get me his name, I'd appreciate it.

On top of the local parties and union support, you have the two Universities, Waterloo and Laurier, just a couple blocks up the road. Kinda makes it easy to boost your numbers when they're around. Overall I'd say there were about 300 some odd people there, but considering that they had weeks to get the word out, the combined resources of three political parties (Liberals, NDP, Greens) from three cities good sized cities (Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, all 120,000+ EACH), along with the support of at least two unions, plus the student body of two major universities just blocks away, with GORGEOUS sunny weather at +1 degrees, I'd have to say that turnout wasn't all that good.

Compare today's rally with last year's anti-Coalition rally in KW... in a matter of days, they managed to pull out well over 120 people in -20 degree weather!!! Comparing apples to apples, today's rally was pretty much A FLOP.

So there you have it, that was my "non-partisan" take on the KW "Rally for Democracy". Hey, if those Libs, Greenies and Dippers can claim that they were being "non-partisan" today, why can't I?

Of course, I stand by my statement from the other week... it was a big mistake for the Liberals to fan the flames of this one. When they support our Throne Speech and Budget in March, a good number of the folks who attended today's rally are going to find a new scapegoat for their anger.

Iffy's getting worried about the Prorogue

The whole "backlash" against the Prime Minister for Proroguing Parliament must be going beyond the wildest dreams of the Liberals... and I don't mean good dreams. I mean wildest nightmares.

Do you see how furiously Iffy is backpeddling already? The natural reaction of an Opposition Party, at least you'd think, would be to capitalize on what the media is spinning as a potential major blunder by the PM. But check this from the CBC on Friday...

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff called the decision by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to prorogue Parliament and muzzle the opposition "a crazy way to run a democracy," but he stopped short Friday of threatening to bring down the government.

You catch that? He's ALREADY trying to lower expectations. He's ALREADY trying to lower the heat on this issue, while trying to at least get one or two shots in on the PM. But when it comes to actually pulling the trigger, A FULL THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE NEXT THRONE SPEECH, he's already putting the word out that he's NOT going to pull the trigger.

If you're a Liberal, or just someone who's opposed to Harper 24/7, you might be asking yourself "Why is he not all over Harper on this?" Well, just taking a good look at the level of heat in the anti-prorogue Facebook group might give you a hint as to why. There are a whole lot of folks who are hot under the collar about this issue, and it's going to take a whole lot of effort on the part of the Liberals to ensure they don't end up on the receiving end of that hatred when this is all said and done in early March.

Go ahead and take a look at the commentary in that group... I dare you. Amongst the typical left-wing drivol you'll find in every anti-Conservative group, you'll see one thing repeated over and over again... calls for Mr. Harper to be removed from the PMO.

Now, I'll say again what I said earlier this week... what exactly is going to happen when Iffy let's all these folks down and allows Mr. Harper to remain the Prime Minister? EXACTLY... all of a sudden, the anger swings from Mr. Harper, to the man who's actions are allowing Mr. Harper to remain in power.

Which is precisely why he's ALREADY trying to walk the fine line of gaining some points over this, but not aligning himself to closely with it, lest he get tagged with the backlash when he does diddly-squat after the Throne Speech in March. And you can bet you know who will be doing everything he can to capitalize on that redirected anger... that's right, good old Jack Layton, who's right now quietly sitting in the corner, just enjoying the show, and biding his time until the moment is right. I'm betting at LEAST a 2% jump in the polls for the NDP once this is all said and done, with a corresponding 2% drop for Iffy's Liberals. Maybe even 3%, all depending on how well Jack plays his cards.

Go ahead, quote me on this when the polls come out around March 10th. I've never been a betting man, this one's a sure enough thing that I might be willing to make an exception! A 2%-3% drop for the Libs when they vote Confidence in Mr. Harper's government, with a corresponding uptick for the NDP. That's my guess come March 10th-ish.

Why Iggy must tread carefully on Prorogue issue

Been thinking about this whole tempest in a teapot from the anti-prorogue folks, and how it has the potential to backfire HUGE on Iffy's Liberals. Just stop for a moment, and think it all through logically... either way he plays it, Iffy's screwed.

If Iggy tries to fan the flames of discontent to capitalize on the supposed "anger" out there, then what's going to happen when he backs down in the Spring and votes in FAVOUR of our Throne Speech and Budget? All of a sudden, all that anger is going to swing from Harper to Iggy... and you know that Jumpin Jack's going to make sure Iggy wears the blame for propping up the Tories.

Option Two, which seems to be the course being taken so far by the Liberals, is that Iggy's gonna try and keep his head down on this one. But that's another failing strategy, as some folks are ALREADY starting to ask, "Where's Iggy on this issue? Why isn't HE speaking out? We hear some of his MP's saying things, what about Iggy?" Then once again, when his Liberals back down and vote confidence, WHAMO... Jack beats them over the head with it yet again.

Either way, Iffy gets screwed on this issue, no matter which option he takes. Furthermore, NDP Leader Jack Layton can jump on the bandwagon, look like the hero in the eyes of disaffected Liberals who are angry with Iffy for supporting Harper, and further grows his tent.

Iffy, LOSE-LOSE. Jack, WIN-WIN. Harper... BIGGER WIN-WIN, as he either remains PM, or gets a Spring election, one where Iffy's already taken a severe body blow.

So I must say I'm somewhat amused to see various Libloggers signing on to the anti-proroguation rallies, like YappaDingDing, The Progressive Right, PoliticsCanada, Scott Tribe, former Liberal candidate and CAITI blogger Brent Fullard, Impolitical, Liberal PC(O) candidate for VP of Organization and blogger James Morton, and rival Liberal PC(O) candidate for VP of Organization and blogger James Curran, all jumping on the bandwagon. I suppose it's going to make the climbdown all that more entertaining, when these guys blow their collective stacks at Iffy for supporting the Harper Government.

UPDATE: Paul Wells nails it today in his post... his message to the Opposition? Go Big, or GO HOME!

Could Coderre cross the floor?

You're thinking I mean to the Conservatives, right? Think again. With Coderre possibly on the outs with the Liberal Party this weekend, what if another former prominent Quebec Liberal is able to entice him to make the same switch he did not too long ago... into the open arms of Jack Layton's NDP?

A well connected organizer like Coderre would give Jack that extra credibility he needs in La Belle Province to snag a few more left-leaning seats... and would solidify Mulclair's status as the NDP's next "Leader-in-waiting".

Coderre just gave Layton his opening

Unbelievable. if anyone of you thought we weren't going to the polls, this just changed everything... by suddenly up and quitting today, Denis Coderre has perhaps give Jack Layton just the cover he needed to join the Liberals in forcing an election.

With the Liberals in complete disarray, and their Quebec organization is shambles, there's never going to be a better time to go to the polls for Jack Layton's NDP. They're going to be able to poach a whole whack of seats, perhaps even a couple in Quebec, from the disorganized and demoralized Liberals.

I've been checking the Parliamentary website today, watching for the official tabling of the Liberal's non-confidence motion. If they're going to table it, it will be after Question Period around 3:00PM today.

If they Liberals are really worried, watch for the unthinkable... watch for them to take a pass on introducing their motion!

UPDATE: But it shall not come to pass... Layton will continue to prop us up. Wonder how long he can keep this up without his own caucus revolt...