What makes the opposition think Harper would be gone if he lost a confidence vote?
Over the past week, I have never seen a more engaged electorate on any political issue. To be honest I expected many partisan reactions on both sides to be predicable which they were. What has really amazed me is how many "non-political" friends of mine on Facebook, through email, calls etc. have contacted me about this issue. Some have never been engaged in politics before but are angry about what has happened with this coup. Others do not like Stephen Harper for whatever reason and want him to resign now (most never voted for him in the last election either by the way). Support for the government on this issue has been easily 75-25 in support of the Conservatives from what I can tell. The poll numbers and rallies tomorrow will speak for themselves.
What I don't understand is that if you head over to Liblogs, if you pick up the Globe and Mail and see Bob Rae taking over the pro-coalition campaign and when you hear coalition supporters continue to promote overthrowing the government, I really give my head a shake and say what is going on here? Maybe it is only Liberal leadership politics at this point. Maybe it is Layton and Duceppe not seeing the writing on the wall. Maybe it is the final push before this whole thing all collapses next week along with Dion's resignation. For those still hell bent on taking out Stephen Harper, give these issues some thought please:
1, The verdict is clear. Canadians do not want a coalition government. Going forward and defeating the government as part of a coup with separatists is not going to be popular with Canadians. How can this campaign be continued without doing even more damage to the Liberal and NDP brands? How can it be continued without causing more unity damage? How can this be done without splitting the Liberal caucus? How can parties work together when Bob Rae is campaigning across the country trying to rally support around toppling Stephen Harper before he has a chance to present a budget with a stimulus that Liberals claim Canadians can't wait for?
2. Even if by some miracle the coalition stays together, picks a new leader/spokesperson and is successful brining all the votes in the House of Commons to vote down the budget; how do the opposition parties know that the Governor General will simply not call an election rather than allow a coalition to govern. Have all three parties forgotten they cannot afford to fight an election right now nor are the polls favourable? I mean the Governor General can see the same polls, rallies, speeches and newspapers that we all do. Most Canadians prefer another election over a coalition government. Right now I would think she would lean towards an election for a variety of reasons that include lack of public support, instability, unity and the toxic atmosphere in the House of Commons. Either way after two hours, I bet the Prime Minister knows for certain one way or the other and will act accordingly.
3. Even if the GG allowed the coalition to govern, why would we turf Stephen Harper as our leader? He and the party are currently polling at 44-51% depending on what poll you believe. Conservatives look certain to form a majority government in the next election at this point in time. Harper has won two elections and has a mandate. He proved he was a uniter when he brought together the Alliance and PC Party. He was elected leader of our party and has not been defeated in an election. Even if Conservatives wanted Jim Prentice, Peter MacKay or whoever else; what mechanism do we have to force Harper to step down if he doesn't do it on his own?
Sore loser opposition supporters should really take a step back and ask themselves what they are thinking and hope to accomplish. Is taking power for a few months only to have Harper eventually come back with a majority government worth it? Do you really want to destroy the unity of this country, the NDP and Liberal brands, get hammered in the next election and hurt the economy simply for a personal vendetta? Can someone explain to me why all of the media and coalition suppoters think Harper would be gone if he lost a confidence vote and the coalition governed for a few weeks? Why would he not stay on as opposition leader given that it would be short lived and polls show he could win a majority today? How can Liberals say it is about the economy when he will deliver a budget that will address most of their concerns? How can Liberals say it is not possible to work with Harper when Bob Rae is campaiging across Canada telling Canadians that Harper needs to go no matter what he does for the economy?
For the good of this country, for the good of the Liberal Party, for the good of our democracy; I hope Michael Ignatieff gets off the fence and begins showing some leadership. If Rae wants to travel the country promoting the coalition, Iggy should travel and campaign against it, instead focused on rebuilding the Liberal party and working with the government for the good of Canadians. Someone has to end this insanity so that politicians can get on with working on the issues Canadians care about.
-Darryl
