Saturday, October 20, 2007

Jack Layton: Leader of the Effective Opposition

The Toronto Star reports on Jack Layton's first public address since Stephane Dion announced that he would not be opposing Harper's agenda.

Layton is quoted:

"When Stephen Harper's wrongheaded policies come up for a vote, we will be standing and we will be voting against the direction that Stephen Harper is taking this country. When it comes to a vote, we're not going to be thinking about our own posteriors and whether they're going to be glued to the chair . . . We're willing to put our jobs on the line to do it whereas the Liberals ... are thinking about their own seats in Parliament rather than about the issues being faced out there, unfortunately," he said.

If the Dion Liberals aren't prepared to bring Harper down over a Throne Speech that puts the last nails in Kyoto and does nothing about the prosperity gap, then when can they be expected to? For the foreseeable future, the Liberals will be keeping Harper in power.

Liberals say they don't want Harper to get a majority, but they've effectively given him one by their absence.

In light of the Liberal's decision to put their posteriors ahead of their principles, Layton has staked an unassailable claim to the title "Leader of the Effective Opposition."

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