Apparently NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair hasn't figured out what the ball is in Canadian politics today.
He also took shots at both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Trudeau.Trudeau, in particular, bore the brunt of Mulcair's attack.
The Liberals under Trudeau have been trying to court middle-class voters in the run-up to the next election, scheduled for Oct 19, 2015.
Let me be abundantly clear, Tom: The problem in this country today is sitting two sword-lengths away from you in the House of Commons. It is not the third party in the house, it is not the leader of that party, nor anybody else in the house - it is Harper and his government.
If the NDP is truly "The Government in Waiting", as the official opposition is often characterized, it needs to be focused on the malfeasance of the governing party. There is no shortage of material to work with. The "Fair Elections Act" (one of the most ironically named pieces of legislation ever tabled in the House of Commons) comes to mind, as do the government's abuse of omnibus bills, time allocation, and a litany of other topics that could be used to make political hay.
The only person that profits when Mulcair attacks the Liberals is Stephen Harper. If he can show the NDP as unfocused, and just for fun gains a little bit from Mulcair's random attacks on the Liberals, he wins.
Every time Mulcair takes a shot at Harper, he seems to think he has to take a shot at Trudeau. I have no idea who is telling him this is effective rhetoric. It isn't. It dilutes his message, it takes the focus off the malfeasance of the governing party and actually makes Mulcair look like a dog who can't figure out what to bark at.
Mulcair has done an excellent job in the House of Commons grilling Harper over the Senate Expenses Scandal, so we know he's capable of excellent rhetoric and focused attacks on the government.
The ball that he needs to focus on is NOT Justin Trudeau and the Liberals ... it is Stephen Harper and his band of criminals who are madly trying to steal Canada's democracy from Canadians. Want to make political hay, Mr. Mulcair? Keep your eye on the ball - in this case Harper and his government.
6 comments:
Trudeau's leading in the polls and if Mulcair keeps treating Justin with kit gloves Justin will win based on Charm and his nostolgia for his last name and ABC vote.
So far the damage Mulcair has done to Harper has done more to help Justin then it has the NDP.
The cold hard real politics of the situtiation is its not Harper whose in the Mulcair's way to becoming Prime Minister,its the Trudeau brand and so if Mulcair wants to be Prime Minister he has no choice but to turn the claws on Trudeau and destroy Justin's popularity, which will allow Mulcair to siphon off the Liberals leftwing.
Just as the Orange Wave was based on damaging not Harper, but rather Gilles and Iggy who were the rivals for votes during the debates. Damaging Harper is only fully valauble when the competetion for leftwing votes has been crushed, or at least can't steal the benifits from Mulcair.
I respectfully disagree.
Let me be abundantly clear about this: HARPER IS TRYING TO STEAL CANADA'S DEMOCRACY FROM CANADIANS.
This is NOT something we can trivialize. Mulcair SHOULD NOT be watering down his message with respect to what this government is doing to Canada and Canadians with sniping attacks on the other opposition parties.
If Mulcair DOES NOT get his focus on the ball, he hands Harper the victory that Harper craves.
Can you imagine what another CPC majority will do to this country???
One additional point: the "Orange Wave" had much more to do with Jack Layton's personal charisma and Quebec voters responding to the combination of choosing between a BQ who had lost a very powerful leader in Gilles Duceppe, and a very charismatic Layton.
Neither Harper or Ignatieff had a chance in Quebec.
Mulcair will not be able to repeat that success unless he manages to convince Canadians as a whole that he is in fact ready to govern. Acting a like a dog that doesn't know what to bark at next isn't going to do that.
It's all about FOCUS ... and Focus doesn't mean treating Trudeau with kid gloves, it means keeping your message clear, consistent and focused on the government.
Trudeau is NOT the government.
Both Trudeau and Mulcair should put the interests of the country ahead of their own partisan interests and focus their attacks on the real threat to our democracy: Harper and his party.
In fact, every time the Libs and NDP attack each other, I feel like staying home the next election and allowing Harper to win just so that the Libs and NDP will be forced to co-operate in the next election.
Let the voters decide who they prefer: Libs or NDP to lead them once Harper is sent back to Alberta.
But first, we have to get rid of Harper and surely you'd think that the Libs and NDP would be smart enough to see this?
Agreed that Mulcair should be focusing on the damage to Canada that Harper and his merry band of Thugs have done, and are still doing. 'Stop Harper' needs to become a rallying point.
Just remember you either stand for a free, fair, and equal Canada....or you stand with the Cons.
"Just remember you either stand for a free, fair, and equal Canada....or you stand with the Cons."
Very nicely said!
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