What Are the N.D.P. up to These Days? And What do they Stand For Now?

Questions I keep asking myself as of late.

I have heard many talk of Iggy resembling Brother Steve, only a lighter version. However, what about the NDP, here?

Everytime we see or hear Thomas Mulcair talk, he can’t seem to resist slamming the Liberals at every turn. I think he slams them as often as the Harpercons, perhaps even more?

It seems to me, more and more, Layton would rather get into bed with Harper than agree on much of anything with the Liberals, let alone form a coalition with them. Hell, Laytong must be smart enough to know that his own party will never ever govern.

One thing that seems to be lost in the memory hole amongst both the right and the left is that the Bloc and Yes, the “socialist” NDP were ready to topple the Paul Martin Liberals in 2004. Here is the letter to refresh our memories:

As leaders of the opposition parties, we are well aware that, given the Liberal minority government, you could be asked by the Prime Minister to dissolve the 38th Parliament at any time should the House of Commons fail to support some part of the government’s program. We respectfully point out that the opposition parties, who together constitute a majority in the House, have been in close consultation. We believe that, should a request for dissolution arise this should give you cause, as constitutional practice has determined, to consult the opposition leaders and consider all of your options before exercising your constitutional authority. Your attention to this matter is appreciated. Gilles Duceppe, Jack Layton and Stephen Harper, September 9, 2004

Layton basically brought down the Paul Martin Liberals because Martin had refused an all out ban on private health care. Ok, great! But did Layton honestly think that Stephen “Let’s scrap the Canada Health Act” and “Time to allow market experimentation” Harper wasn’t going to ban private health care??   While Liberals may well have been and still are today, divided over the Americanization of our health care; the Harpercons are pretty much in line with their puppet master on this one.

Recently, when Charest introduced that proposed ‘user fee’ every time we use the health care system,  Layton, who was supposed to be a staunch defender of the Canada health act and universal health care; the medicare party, didn’t even speak up. Neither he, nor Mulcair, his Quebec man responded until after Iggy clarified his position on the issue.

Since Brother Steve came into power, we hear more about meetings between Jack and Steve far more often than Iggy and Steve or Gilles and Steve.

Jack too, has voted  on motions to keep Steve afloat. At first,  I thought it was because if  the NDP didn’t vote along with Steve,  there was the risk of a Harpercon majority.  Now, I wonder…

Sometimes I wonder if Jack simply has an axe to grind with the Liberals more than he does with Steve? To me, it seems he does or doesn’t do certain things, simply because he wants to be different from the Liberals. Remember when we wrote our MPs to go back to work when Steve shut down parliament this past winter? The Liberals did go back to Ottawa to work; the NDP pretty much refusted to do the same thing.

Just before prorogation, Layton was in a private meeting neither Iggy nor Gilles were invited to. Yes, Jack could well have been trying to negotiate to  get rid of the corporate tax breaks, but what else could there have been? The cancellation of thes corporate tax breaks never happened.

Now, the NDP has decided to pull out of the Guergis/Jaffer parliamentary committee.  Something Pat Martin just yesterday on Question Period was all gung ho about. Today, he’s just as adamently against it, supposedly after speaking with Layton. What happened? And why?

While I still don’t believe this scandal goes outside the circle of Mr & Mrs Guergis, and doesn’t involve any other ministry or Harpercon MP, this isn’t about them anymore, this about Steve and how he mismanages a situation.  How he is all secretive. Even when a situation reveals nothing to write home about,  Steve goes into his arrogant secretive mode, just like the way he does everything else.

I have always said that Iggy should step away and concentrate on other matters, however, given the NDP’s propensity for supporting Harpercons since the Paul Martin Liberal government, I can’t help but wonder what their motivation is besides looking at more important issues.

I have also said the opposition should keep an eye on the situation as well, in case there is something damning. Harper is in his paranoid control freakish mode for a reason.  Does the NDP plan to keep away from this entirely?

No, sadly enough, a Liberal /NDP coalition ain’t happening  anytime soon. However,  I believe the NDP should share responsibility for that.

I can’t help but wonder if they would rather get into bed with the Harpercons rather than the Liberals if push came to shove.

I’m not the biggest fan of the Liberals other than to say they’re needed to unseat Brother Steve, my priority of all. In fact, I always preferred what the NDP stood for, support for the working class; the kitchen table instead of the boardroom and all that, but lately, I have to wonder what is motivating them, knowing that they will never get into power. I only wish they shared the same views as I did of unseating Brother Steve, even if that means finding common ground and working with the Liberals.