Just look at this:
Finally, a sign of sanity. Better late than never. A first serious sign of leadership from the presumptive leader-in-waiting. Senior Ignatieff insiders are tantalizingly whispering to Bourque that the Toronto MP is having grave doubts about supporting the shocking Dion coalition bid, now labelled by many as the “Separatist Coalition”, given the defining support it has from both the BQ’s Gilles Duceppe and former PQ Premier Jacques Parizeau. One longtime senior Ignatieff backer, under condition of anonymity, confided that “Michael is in a tenuous situation and he is feeling a lot of heat from caucus colleagues and constituents alike. Frankly, we think we got snookered by Bob Rae on this one”. It nets out to this, according to this longtime Liberal and echoed by many other key backroom players: ordinary Liberals across the country, the card-carrying bbq-ing door-knocking envelope-stuffing phone-banking kind who make up the backbone of the party and who would need to be counted on to support his leadership aspirations, are vehemently rejecting the Dion argument that a deal with the separatist Bloc Quebecois is in the best interests of Canada. …
Insiders are telling Bourque late this evening that “at least 15 opposition members are ready to break ranks and, if necessary, sit as independents. This group includes Dryden, Tonks, Bevilacqua (from Grits) and Angus (NDP)”. Bourque is also hearing that “at least three Bloc members are considering same course of action and there maybe at least two Tories thinking of going the other way (as independents) – Michael ‘Cheech’ Chong and backbencher Lee Richardson.” … Developing …
I don’t believe any of that — the Liberals I know are overjoyed right now at the prospect of finally taking down Harper. (For good, they hope.)
But it’s fun to watch the wild speculation.
But wouldn’t it be wild if the PM found fifteen votes on the opposition benches? That’d cap off the whole week.
Wow – Ken Dryden and Chuck Angus both sitting out would be some heavy duty speaking for Canada. If there was a play to stand above the crap that has been going on since about 2002 and Dryden and Angus were speaking for Canada, that would be either effective or another whole new weird angle on the whole thing.
Would that qualify as a “coalition for Canada”? :p
Can’t see it — much as I like Dryden, he saw national daycare as the fulfillment of Canadian identity.
Ideology matters.
Forget policy and even substance. We need icons at this moment in time. We need Dryden and Angus standing with a host of great non-political Canadians – Juliette and the Irish Rovers, William Shatner and Christopher Plummer, the ghosts of Glenn Gould and the Franklin Expedition’s dead – all coming together to kick the asses of everyone in charge at this moment in time.
That would be pretty awesome, I must admit.
THANK YOU!!!
[I'm here all week. Try the pot roast...]
Maybe Dryden and Angue would lead an iconic rendition of “The Logdriver’s Waltz” while they’re at it?