Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Darth Harper and the Divided Left That Eats Itself



I think it safe to say that with less than three weeks to go before the election, and Darth Harper and his Aussie alien Lynton Crosby preparing to use the foulest wedge issues to try to win another mandate.

As you can see by this latest tweet from Great Ugly Leader.



The last thing I probably needed to know was that the NDP and the Liberals are fighting each other. Again.

Or see the gratingly Con friendly Jen Gerson crow that the left is eating itself. 

If the debate was worth watching, it was for the sudden epiphany that this was the left eating itself. Trudeau and Mulcair bloodied each other over who could claim the more principled stand on C-51, who had the correct balance between security and state power until Harper emerged, stage right:

“The threat we face today is not CSIS, it is ISIS,” he said.

Or worse, have her compare that to a scene from Star Wars.

Granted not every situation can be compared to a scene from the original Star Wars trilogy, but this did seem like the climax of the Return of the Jedi. Emperor Harper cackles in the background, toying with his minions Darth Mulcair and Luke Trudeau as they battle to become his apprentice — and successor. 

“Good, good,” he says, “your hate has made you powerful.”

And know that what she says is true.

It is Darth Harper ...



Or Lord Palpatine...



And know too that our divisions could kill us. 



“We have an electoral system where a majority of people can vote for change and still see the Conservatives win seats because the parties refuse to work together,” says Amara Possian, election campaign manager for Leadnow, a national advocacy organization campaigning for strategic voting.

Because we never seem to learn the lessons of history.

Indeed, while the chances of Harper winning another majority are looking bleak, winning a minority government is still firmly within his grasp. And that’s because the opposition vote is split between the Liberals, NDP, Bloc and Greens. 

After all, as long-time Toronto-based election consultant Warren Kinsella points out, the only reason Harper has won the last three elections is because “the opposition parties are exactly where he wants them – splitting the progressive vote… Until the progressive side gets its act together he’s going to win.”

Just keep doing the same old thing, and expecting a different result.

Back in 2011, of 14.8 million ballots cast, 5.8 million went to the Conservatives, and a combined total of 7.9 million went to the Liberal, NDP and Green parties – a difference of more than two million ballots. And yet the Tories picked up an extra 23 seats and wrested control of the House.

Which is as we know the very definition of insanity...



Especially since we also know that they must fight each other until one or the other is wounded enough to prevent Darth Harper from splitting the vote. Which is also madness.

We should have learned our lesson after the last election, and started working to unite the parties. But we didn't and now of course it's too late. There are things we can still do to try to limit the damage. And I'll discuss that with you in the next few days.

But right now what we need to do is demand that our parties spend a little more time attacking the foul Con regime and its depraved leader, and a little less time fighting themselves.

Remind them that this election is about saving our beautiful Canada.

And that our only mission, the only one that counts, is to defeat Darth Harper.

And blow the Con Death Star to smithereens...



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22 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:38 AM

    Guess it was just too simple a strategy for the Liberals to challenge the Cons in Ontario and the NDP in Quebec. Instead they assumed there would be a minority coalition government and they started jockeying for the position of minority leader. That still may come to pass but they have certainly opened up a big hole in Quebec to the benefit of the Cons and the Block. The two parties that if given the opportunity will lever bigotry and distrust of each other to enslave the freedom and rights of all Canadians. Why travel 8000 km to find Marxists and socialist leaning governments when you can find them on Canadian shores and vise versa. Stage 2 of the Con plan will start to unfold once the externally focused Stage 1 reaches successful conclusion. What happened to the Canadian vision of working together for a better future and why didn't the opposition adopt that value?
    RT

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    1. We can still do it with strategic voting. Isn't there a group working now to identify ridings where either the Liberals or NDP are most likely to win the seats? Die-hards, like myself, will stick with their party. But, if you're torn between which party to vote for, surely that group is the one to be guided by to get rid of the Cons. Liberals and NDP can work together if it comes to that but neither will work with the Cons.

      Now if I only knew who they are it would help.

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    2. hi RT...as I said above I think that the NDP played it a bit too cautious, and forgot that when you want to stand for change perception is important. But as for Quebec, as soon as that niqab judgment came down it only poured fuel on a fire that was already burning. Unfortunately for many Quebecers that battle is part of a wider struggle to retain secular values, and was influenced naturally enough by what was happening in France. So Lynton Crosby got a huge break. And the idea of desperate refugees "invading" Europe also worked to his advantage. It's a combination of things that have brought us to this desperate place, but I am still confident that a progressive wave is waiting to break, and as the election day approaches that will become more and more evident....

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    3. hi JimL...we can still do it with strategic voting, there have never been so many ABC voters out there, and there several excellent websites that offer advice in that regard. I will list them all after I dig up some articles on the advantages and dangers of strategic voting. So that we can be well educated on the subject, and at the very least avoid voting for a candidate who has no chance of winning...

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  2. Why is it that polls, proven startlingly wrong time and again, are still being intoned for the most ridiculous of 'what ifs?' As for the Left and infighting, it has always been so..it happens on the Right, too..
    There may indeed be a minority government but can't believe that after all this bs Harper would still come out on top..I think many of his previous voters will switch to the Libs or NDP..and anyone who thinks that ex-Cons won't become NDP supporters should study BC politics for some lessons in party politics..there has always been a so-called Lib alternative here, but it is either the NDP or the Libs who win and no one calling themselves Conservatives...even in Quebec no one predicted the NDP sweep, or in Alberta..which polls were accurate in those particular situations?
    I'm sick to death of polls...

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    1. Polls are simply statistical estimates. Nanos has been close very often for me. And, if you're going to go by polls, the totals support right now would indicate that the Liberals, with NDP cooperation, could form a minority government for a good while, at least long enough to undo some of the damage done by the Cons.

      I think the pollsters' motto is about the best, "But, I could be wrong."

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    2. hi mizdarlin...I share your frustration with polls that have been all over the place. But actually the trend line is encouraging. It shows that the Cons are still far from a majority and that if Stepphen Harper can't grab another forty seats, which seems unlikely, he will at best get only a minority which means that we will be able to topple him. As I've said because there are so many ABC voters, and our strategic voting sites are better than ever, they're could be a last minute wave like there was in Quebec last time, and it could sweep the Cons out of power. Small issues can briefly inflame the situation, but the forces of change are very hard to resist...

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  3. Anonymous11:51 AM

    As an ABC voter, I would have no problems if the Liberals end up with the most number of seats in a minority government and form an accord with the NDP to govern. However, most polls are now showing that Harper is leading in the number of seats while being in a tie with the Liberals in terms of percent votes. Recall that the NDP was leading significantly in the polls and in the number of seats as well until recently. Much of the NDP loss happened in QC with most of the loss going to both the Cons and the BQ with little gain for the Liberals. And a lot of it most likely had to do with the Liberals attacking the NDP over the Clarity Act (the Niqab issue was probably only a small factor since the Liberals did not lose votes in QC despite sharing the same side as the NDP on opposing the Cons and BQ on this). Therefore, if we end up with another Harper minority, it would seem to me that the Liberals more than the NDP would be responsible (the NDP is not blameless too as it did attack Trudeau too).

    All this uncertainty could likely have been avoided if the Liberals and NDP had formed a coalition and run a single candidate against Harper. It was Trudeau who had soundly rejected the last offer from Mulcair to form one (they both had flip flopped on whether to form one but it was Mulcair who was on record as being the one making the last offer and Trudeau who rejected it).

    Yes, the divided left keeps eating itself because it would seem the Liberal and NDP partisans hate each other as much, if not even more, than they hate the Conservatives.

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    1. hi anon...it was mainly the niqab issue, and his support for bringing in a larger number of refugees, that hurt Mulcair in Quebec. The Clarity Act is not popular with most French-speaking Quebecers, so that might hurt Mulcair in places like Ontario, but not in la belle province. But look Mulcair bravely stood up for our Canadian values, as she should have done. And if he can show that he is still strong in English Canada a lot of those votes could still flow back to him, for Quebecers are still basically interested in backing anyone who can defeat Harper. as for assigning blame I wouldn't. Let's just put our shoulders to the wheel and work even harder to end this nightmare....

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  4. Anonymous1:05 PM

    Come, let us reason together.

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    1. hi anon...yes let us reason together, close our eyes in prayer, and then hit the Cons harder than ever.... ;)

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  5. Anonymous1:21 PM

    "It was Trudeau who had soundly rejected the last offer from Mulcair"
    B.S. It was trudy who rejected EVERY mention so far to form a coalition front to oust heil harper.
    If there is another adolph harper majority, you can blame the whole goddamn thing on trudy and his prima donna attitude. "Does not play well with others" doesn't even start to cover it. The NDP DID NOT vote for C51. Besides, in his delusions-of-grandeur because his daddy is famous, why would he ever give up any of the powers now bestowed on the "king" (or in the present tense, the queen) of Canada? Guess who DID vote for C51 all you CON wannabes! Guess what kind of a government we're going to see AGAIN because of your narcissistic so-called leader!

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    1. Ah, the progressive misogyny on full display in this comment underscores a particularly ugly strain of such within the NDP partisan sphere. Not only can you not use Trudeau's proper name, you feminize it as if that is an insult to boot, just as the CPCers love to do with either "trudy" or "justine". Then to add salt in the wound you go for the homophobia "queen" crack for your finish. The modern progressive is something to be so proud of...*sarcastic tone*

      Simon:

      I know this isn't true for all or possibly even most Dippers, even the partisans, but I have seen a lot of it over the last several months, and it is what it is, and ugly to boot. Seeing it used by those out to claim the moral high ground is quite odious The naked appeal to homophobia with that queen reference underscores my point. Yet this anonymous clearly is an NDP partisan/booster. What really saddens me is that for the most part Trudeau and the Libs have attacked Mulcair and the NDP on policy grounds and differences, while the Mulcair NDP have been going too often for the personal character attacks, and worse, chiming in chorus with some of the personal character attacks the CPC and Harper has been using for the last several months. I think that speaks volumes as to who really deserves support in this election, and it isn't the smear artists in my books.

      Scotian

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  6. There are still 3 weeks left in the campaign. Plenty of time for the NDP to damage the Liberals, (which they intend to do) Lead Now are active in the riding I'm in in BC which, at this time, is leaning NDP. However the NDP is seeing its vote collapse by as much as 6 points to 26%. (Layton got 30% in 2011). Either the NDP totally collapses attacking Trudeau or they both go down allowing Harper a strong minority or even a small majority government. Harper couldn't dream of anything better and I think the Con strategists knew this all along. This is why they initially attacked the Liberals. They knew the Liberals would bring down Mulcair for them. Now is the time to vote for the candidate who is the most positioned to defeat the Conservative in your riding, whether they be Liberal or NDP. Otherwise it will be 4 more years of Harper or another election should his minority government not get support from the opposition parties.

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    1. hi John...yes as I said anything is still possible. I think the Cons recognized very early on that when it came down to the crunch Trudeau was the greater threat because he embodies change. But if Mulcair manages to recover the forces of change could back him. And as you say for the rest of us the challenge is to make sure we vote for the progressive candidate best able to defeat the Cons in every riding. If we are able to do that successfully we can still win, and dare i say it by quite a decent margin...

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  7. e.a.f.9:04 PM

    In B.C. a blogger, Bill Tielman, wrote an interesting article., which appeared in Bob Mackin's blog. If Steve and his Cons achieve the most seats in the House, they get to form government again. Then Steve, according to our Constitution doesn't have to call the House to order and present anything for one full year.

    The other parties can not combine to defeat him with a non confidence vote, because there won't be a parliament to call one. Steve after that year would call another election and perhaps win or loose, but we could have steve for another yr. Pleasant thought isn't it.

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    1. hi e,a.f...yes I've read several articles on that same subject. And I have no doubt that if Harper gets a minority he will use every trick in the book to try to remain in power. I very much fear it could lead to a constitutional crisis and a lot of ugliness. So all the more reason to fight the Cons even harder and make sure he doesn't get enough seats to give him any reasonable chance of doing that and getting away with it. ...

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  8. Anonymous9:18 PM

    Votetogether.ca are monitoring the swing ridings and will recommend the candidate who has the best chances of defeating the Con candidate in that riding. As of now there are approximately 79,000 voters who have taken the pledge to vote strategically. Votetogether / Lead Now need all the help they can get to try and even up the heavily stacked deck of cards the Cons are playing with. I am not in a swing riding but have supported Lead Now with a donation and plan on voting for the party that handily defeated the Cons the last time. Its not my party of choice but way better than oily Steve.
    RT

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    1. hi RT...thanks for the Votetogether.ca link. There are several others which I will include in a post on that subject soon. Strategic voting is being widely embraced across the country, and if we are smart we can still teach the Cons a lesson they will never forget....

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  9. http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorial_cartoon/2015/09/18/patrick-corrigan-fight-on-the-left.html

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  10. PRIME MINISTER HARPER AND LIBERAL LEADER TRUDEAU CLASH IN BIZARRE IDENTITY SCANDAL
    http://www.oliverhack.com/prime-minister-harper-asserts-reincarnation-emperor-palpatine-justin-trudeau-comes-luke-kissed-sister-skywalker/

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  11. https://twitter.com/BenPowless/status/648591497412091904

    http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/andrew-coyne-to-uncover-or-not-to-uncover-why-the-niqab-issue-is-ridiculous

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