Thursday, March 13, 2008

Liberals deliver a hat-trick for Harper

It’s baffling to read Liberals musing about bringing the Harper government down now.

What precisely would be the point of that, when as of this evening they have given the Conservative government the three things it wanted most:

1) To strip the federal government of its ability to afford new programs;
2) To kill the prospect of any real action to on climate change; and
3) To extend the war in Afghanistan for another three years.

Just moments ago, Liberal MP after Liberal MP voted to hand the third item in Harper’s agenda to him on a silver platter.

All three are things Liberal MPs said they were dead against. And all three are things a Harper minority government could never have accomplished without help from the Liberals.

Yet through their irresponsible abstentions, and now their disgraceful flip-flop on ending the war, Liberals have given Harper his hat-trick. They have handed him more than Conservatives dared to dream possible 26 months ago. The Liberal caucus has proven more useful in impliamenting Harper's agenda than any backbench Conservative.

Through two elections and their recent leadership race, Liberals have tried to convince voters they share the principles and strength of the NDP – yet they've proven so much the opposite.

That Harper’s agenda has been so victorious tonight is a shameful consequence of a party that has been allowed to fake values and integrity its leadership simply doesn’t possess.

4 comments:

ARK said...

Well, you said it all and said it well.

Methinks I'll echo an earlier comment by saying: The Libs evidently deem calculi and timing for regaining power more important than being on the principled side of an issue.

On the bright side, we've got the NDP here in Canada. There are many other democratic/parliamentary arenas where no such opposition exists...

Thanks for blogging the horse...

Blogging Horse said...

Thanks, ark.

To paraphrase another blog post that is popular at this moment: "what are we doing to help former Liberal supporters today?"

These people deserve something to believe in again -- that something is Jack Layton and the NDP.

susansmith said...

Well, they can campaign on "we are not Cons" (in name only).
That will persuasive, after easter that is.
Perhaps they see themselves as rising from the dead on the 3rd "hat trick."

berlynn said...

Wow! I am totally flabberghasted by tonight's news! WTF are the Liberals doing letting Harper control the agenda? The strategists have lost their effing minds!

And yes, it is good news for the NDP, but Jack's clip on CBC Radio One's, The World at Six, was the most dispassionate bit I've heard from him in a long time. He was trying to sound sad, I think. But he really should have let his anger out. He came off dispassionate, which is not good on these issues.

I'm not very confident in the Party people who are handling him and the national campaign. Too disconnected from the grassroots, I'm afraid. And way too smooth!