So from this article it seems Layton told his supporters out in Manitoba that he is planning on blowing as much money as possible on the next campaign. Because of course they’re due after all these years to this time finally get more seats than the Bloc! Oh wait, he actually thinks they can form the next government? Well ok Jack.... Or is it just that you want another Conservative government and you think these kinds of tactics might give you an extra 5 seats or so (which is after all, all you care about).
Aside form Jack’s dreams though, one of his delusions in this article caught my eye (or perhaps its a new shift in fed-NDP direction):
There is, however, a perceived distance between the Doer government and Layton's party, with Doer often described more as a Liberal in NDP clothing. Doer's centrist policies are one of the reasons the provincial Liberals have struggled to gain a foothold since he came to power. Some traditional NDP supporters have expressed disappointment in Doer, accusing him of selling out to tax cuts rather than sticking to helping the underdog. But Layton said he doesn't think there is a gap between the federal and Manitoba wings of the party. "Doer's policies are the same as ours," said Layton.
Ok so what are some of Doer’s policies? Do they sound like the latest federal NDP platform to you?
- Doer supports keeping our troops in a combat role in Afghanistan
- Doer supported the Clarity Act (Layton vowed to scrap it in the 2004 election)
- Doer opposes the federal gun registry
- Doer opposed Harper’s nation resolution (which Layton supported)
- Doer fully endorsed Tony Blair’s “Third Way” ("public-private parnerships") and supported
him as leader of British Labour (whose policies I would bet many NDP supporters have
trouble with)
- Doer supported Harper’s 2006 budget and his supposed “solution” to the fiscal imbalance
- Doer enacted and supports tax cuts for corporations (something Layton loves to rail about)
- Doer opposes legislation that would ban replacement workers in strikes (something
Layton put forth in the last Parliament and made lots of hay about)
Are any of these Jack Layton’s NDP’s policies? If so, his supporters must be surprised.
If not, with the blanket statement Layton made, he's clearly redirected his stance on some policies. There's some things Doer's done that I agree with, some not, but these don't sound like "the same" policies as Layton's NDP to me. Which is it Jack? Misleading info or a huge change of course? I suspect the former.
So how can you have any credibility when you tell the media such contridctory info? And why do you make such comments, when many members of your own party know they aren't true? And while you can hope to gain more seats, do you truly expect to form the government, especially when you’ve never been higher than 20% in the polls? And yes, there has been a lot of bad press for the Liberals recently, but there's been ZERO new support has drifted your way?
Well keep dreaming Jack, I’m sure that majority NDP government is just one election away….
Failing that, you can keep complaining about the Liberals and how they're somehow endorsing the Conservatives, so far it's brought you so much new power and influence.
Recommend this Post
3 comments:
Jack doesn't think he can form government in the next election, but he wants to form the official opposition, which he then hopes he can grow to a possible government in the future. He wants to replace the Libs as the "progressive" party and marginalize the Liberals, much as the PCs were marginalized by Reform.
The NDP is a more ideological rival to the Tories, from a left wing, right wing perspective. That may work to their advantage if the "Liberal/Tory, same old story...." rings true with more people. The Libs abstaining on multiple confidence votes is playing into Jack's hands.
Jack is delusional if he thinks his party can even become the official opposition. Virtually every poll pegs the NDP support in the mid-teens. With those numbers he's not likely to get more seats than the Bloc, let alone catch the Liberals.
And as for the "Liberal/Tory same old story" tack, as a former NDP supporter I can tell you that nothing pisses me off more than when the NDP uses this strategy. A Conservative majority government is far more of a threat to progressive policies than a Liberal government would be. True progressives realize this. That's why they, like me, have left the NDP.
Concise post and no indeed they do not seem like similar people. It's like Harper claiming that the PC and Wiliams in NFL and Labrador are like him.
Post a Comment