Yes We Can, Yes We Can - No We Can't, No We Can't

The little coalition that could has run out of steam.

NDP'rs and the many "everyday people" who were all aboard to end Harper and restore peace, order and good governance will have to switch tickets to Obama's Abe Lincoln style train ride and inauguration for any hope of change. Of course, that too has potential to disappoint as emulating JFK while taking the same track as Abe Lincoln may be an ominous express ticket to a pre-destined stop.

Jack Layton has been tied to the tracks. Departing from New Democratic principles to fast track a deal that provided our corporate conductors with unlimited, unaccountable access to the public purse will leave Layton whistling in the wind. When the bail-outs do not "trickle-down" to Main street and taxpayers are left with the multi-billion dollar tab from this fast-motion train wreck Layton, as the coalition's engineer, will take the full brunt of the blow back.

How the NDP managed to take the single best opportunity the party ever had to deliver on its agenda and have it twisted into one of the largest corporate welfare debacles in history is a wonderment of gargantuan proportion. That no one chose to blow the whistle on Harper's deceptive strategy, but instead cleared the way for an express route to his self appointed destiny is a moment in our history that will alter the political landscape to the degree the completion of the CNR had, complete with exploits and corporate cronyism.

Now that Iggy is clearly on track to restore Canada's traditional coalition of Liberal/Conservative governance and cooperative pillage and plunder policies, they can rejoice in the limelight of getting Ottawa back on the rails while offloading the baggage of throwing good money after bad at the foot of the fringe parties and hapless leaders that cobbled together the coalition of the willing.

Politics is the art of the possible and while it was possible to restore majority rule, Layton got sidetracked, abandoned his principles and will be run over while Dion was simply thrown under the train and then backed over again to ensure any progressive gains on the environment and wealth redistribution were derailed and stopped dead in their tracks.

The inevitable train wreck that is the little coalition that could is more like a one way ticket for progressive Canadians through the vast expanse of the bleak Canadian political wilderness. If we do not change tracks soon Layton, the NDP, and by extension, Canada's majority of progressive thinkers, will be forced to live out the plight of the modern day Hobo bickering over how best to distribute the wealth we have left tied to our stick for years to come.

Yes We Can End the Divide

As a result of the election, Harper's single most significant vulnerability is the fact that 22% of Canadians - a very slim minority - support him. Harper attempts to ignore this reality by claiming a strengthened mandate regardless of the fact that he did not achieve his coveted majority. However, it is obvious the pundits of the right recognize this vulnerability and have begun spinning us in all directions..

At this site you will find details and the spin of the right wing punditry that has been working overtime trying to perpetuate the myth that uniting the left is a near impossibility. They babble on about how Harper worked for years to unite the right and how his success was due to shrewd tactics and acute acumen. Many talk about how the parties of the so-called centre-left are not the centre-left at all, but a hodge-podge of diversity straddling the entire spectrum with complex ideological differences to complicated to overcome.

Like most spin parts of this mythology are true, but realistically speaking what we have is a very, very slim minority of right wing power players trying to define the left. And I don't blame them as they have had tremendous success in the past defining their enemies and then driving over them. Power players with minority support have this tendency and Harper well illustrated the success of the tactic in his bold and unrelenting effort to define Dion as an absent-minded academic and non leader.

Even old haunts of the centre-left like Lloyd Axworthy took to the mainscream media to define this vulnerability of the right while encouraging the opposition parties to work togethor and better represent the majority of Canadians. He well defines the conundrum and even suggests that a coalition would best serve Canadians, but he comes up short and attempts to steer us off course with this;

"I am not suggesting that a combined opposition can quickly give birth to a new progressive agenda. This is going to take time and the involvement of a lot more Canadians than just the political parties."

Here is where he is dead wrong. We must move on a coalition agenda right away. This is the best option available. The parties just undertook the most significant outreach they ever do and received the results of the largest poll undertaken, its called an election. We know were Canadians are at and how they feel, we need not get bogged down in further consultation and debate with respect to the merging of parties or the finer points of coalition governance.

The people of Canada have overwhelmingly voted for the opposition and it is their responsiibility to restore majority rule by establishing an agenda based in their shared policies and common vision.

We can establish an agenda for the majority while preserving the partisan integrity of the respective parties and we can do it now. We do not need to merge parties, we need them to agree on an agenda and defeat Harpers minority to implement it. The only ones telling us we can't are the ones who support Harper. They understand how easily and quickly this could be achieved and they fear the potential of the idea.

Go here and learn more about establishing a coalition agenda, defeating Stephen Harper and restoring Majority Rule in Canada.

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The Might on the Right Took Years to Unite

In todays Glib and Stale, Rod Love (Ralph Klein's former flask filler) shows the left the light from the right and observes how, just the day before, Norman Spector offered his insight from the right on how the left might unite.

Love lures us into thinking its too hard and there is too much time involved to unite the left in the short term while Spector observes the left lacks the leadership to do it anyway. However neither acknowledges the simple yet deadly strategic notion of uniting on an agenda that restores majority rule while leaving intact the egos and partisan integrity of all the players involved. It was Lord errrr, Lloyd Axworthy who touched on this strategy to bring down Harper and he is the one who has come the closest to the raison d'etre of our little site.

With the insight of Love, Spector and Axworthy makin' the rounds in the mainscream media it is time for Jack or Gilles or even Stephen to do the right thing and take up the lead on establishing the coalition agenda to defeat Harper .

The Fun Has Just Begun for Gary Lunn

The saga of S-GI has not ended simply because we had an election! Dirty "Tricks" Gary and his campaign continue to be the source of intrigue as the desire to Shun Lunn grows.

From the mirage of conservative popularity created by the 4 or 5 support groups conjured up days before E-day, to the fraudulent Robo-Calls of an Association of Progressive Voters with an identity crisis, the spectacle of Lunn's so called "New, Strong Mandate" will be the Achilles Heel of Harper's Conservative agenda.

The S-GI saga will continue to be the model of what is to come as people uncover the trail of "Lunn Loonies" leading to the deep pockets of the oil patch and coalesce around a common progressive agenda to turf him and his government's new mythical mandate.

In S-GI, people understood early the challenges facing the nation and worked tirelessly to bring attention to the divide and conquer agenda of those who prefer the status-quo over progressive gains. Those very same people will not simply stand by and let Harper claim a renewed mandate with the slim support of 22% of Canadians.

The Saga of S-GI has the potential to expose the underhanded practices of Harper and his ilk. Lunn will very likely see his cabinet post whittled away as Harper surely recognizes the vulnerability his incompetence continues to present in unearthing what is at the very heart of the Harper agenda.