Liberals ready to push Dion off a ledge

Given the choice of dumping Stephen Harper as PM or Stephane Dion as their leader, Liberal MPs would prefer to heave Dion overboard.

CTV’s Bob Fife was just reporting on the mood among Liberal MPs as they face the prospect of a brutal reception from Canadians when they come a’ knocking this March.

Rolling back the Ti-vo, when asked how deep the Liberal divisions are, the conversation with Mike Duffy went like this:

Fife: Very deep, Mike. Virtually every senior member of the Liberal caucus from the Bob Raes, the Ralph Goodales, Senator David Smith, Michael Ignatieff, all of the senior people, including some of the people who run the campaign, including Gordon Ashworth, they do not want an election right now because they don't believe the party is ready to go into an election. One senior Member of Parliament said to me we're going to have to get him change his mind or push him off the ledge.

Duffy: That's Stephane Dion they're talking about. So in a way, Stephane Dion's tough talk, his bravado has put them in a tough corner and Stephen Harper upstairs has decided that's it, we're going.

As was reported here as well, Liberals would, to paraphrase Garth Turner, rather have involuntary surgery than an election. They would rather deal with Stephen Harper’s right wing agenda than beg Canadians to vote for them. And if they must, they’re prepared to damage their party even further to prove it.

Nobody does internecine warfare better than the Liberals. Stay tuned.