The NDP are proving that they are cut from the same cloth as the Conservatives this week… or at least that Mulcair is. Peter Julian’s actions in the house, while technically allowed, went against tradition, established procedure and decency. One of their excuses?
REUTERS/Chris Wattie
Well, the Liberals are no different.
Doesn’t that excuse sound familiar. We’ve been hearing that from Harper and company for the past 6 years.
The problem with this argument is that it’s like a kid taking a sip of Dad’s whiskey, and his siblings drinking the rest of the bottle. When are caught, the siblings say “But Dad, we all drank some”.
It is true, but it isn’t honest.
Mulcair and Harper seem to agree on a lot these days. The NDP’s new “do anything to win” strategy mirrors Harper’s own. But it also seems that Mulcair agrees with Harper on another point: The Liberal Party should be destroyed.
The NDP and the Conservatives don’t want Canadians to have the choice of a progressive, balanced party in the centre of Canadian politics. We annoy them because we don’t deal in ideology, we deal in science, fact and evidence. We balance the need for social justice with the need for fiscal responsibility. They don’t want Canadians to be able to choose the balanced, prudent approach. They want Canadian politics to become about extremes.
I hope that the more moderate members of the NDP see what Mulcair is, and realise that they have made a mistake. I hope that they will reject his “mini-Harper” tactics and decide that perhaps the Liberals represent their views and ethics more than their own party does now. I hope that they will come to support the only party in Canada capable of delivering a progressive drug policy, a balanced budget and protection for Canadian values both at home and abroad. I hope the moderate New Democrats don’t hold their noses and reject the legacy of Mr. Layton in favour of Mulcair’s take no prisoners approach.