Is this bad politics?
punditman says...
At this point, I do not necessarily agree with Peacenik's sentiments below. This may surprise some readers who know me as someone who rails against neo cons and the corporate industrial nexus whenever I can. You think I'd be as happy as a Canuck in Cuba. Not so. I fear that this "no turning back" coalition could be very impolitic for Canada's leftish/centrist parties -- perhaps even an historic blunder of monumental proportions. No matter how arrogant, vindictive and blinkered Harper is, all you have to do is read the Toronto Sun to realize that the venom of Joe Six pack will be felt against the Left in this country for years to come. I urge readers to take a look at this article and read some of the hundreds of comments that follow.
Why am I torturing you? Because like it or not, that's how a lot of folks think. They see this as a profoundly undemocratic exercise.
Harper is crazy (like a fox). No dummy, he goes to where the puck is going, not to where it is.
Perhaps the opposition, especially the Liberals (get new leader, already!), should have just taken their licks from the government's "fall fiscal update," bided their time until the real budget arrives in January and let Harper dig his own grave? Another election was coming soon enough anyway; as the recession deepens, Harper's gang of neo-cons would have continued to show their true colours, sinking in the polls and shocking even some of their supporters. But now what?
Now, Punditman is worried that the Canadian populace will not be happy with this move by the opposition parties, because even many who voted against Harper will be annoyed at all the political bed hopping and blatant power grabbing. I could tell by my brief stint at the pub last night that people don't know about parliamentary procedures, much less give a give a damn about them. Most people won't understand how a guy that was not elected by the populace can possibly be the new PM -- even for a short stint. Leftish friends, get used to hearing this mantra everywhere you go: "Like it or not, Harper was elected, not Dion."
You won't want to leave your cubicles.
Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.
So what's next? Will a coalition survive? Will voters blame them as the recession kicks into overdrive? Would it have been better to wait and let the Conservatives implode? The glee that some are feeling on the Left may well be short-lived.
Another hockey analogy is in order: For his shenanigans, Canadians would probably have issued a double minor penalty to Harper in the form of two-minutes for delay of game and two minutes for "instigating" -- with further review and probable rebuke to follow after the current parliamentary game ends. Instead, I fear that Canadians could issue a game misconduct to the opposition in the form of a massive Conservative majority -- the first chance they get. That, dear progressive readers, will all be the fault of Canada's "coalition of the willing."
Punditman hopes very much that he is 100% wrong.
