A Confederacy of Dunces and What About Bob?

That's how I'm thinking of this coalition between the Liberals, New Democrats, and Bloc, a Confederacy of Dunces.

Wednesday will show if the Grits have the Grit to realize the mistake they've made. Dion claims he will step down as party leader as early as Wednesday. Noble hero, or puppy with tail between his legs, only history will tell. Either way good riddance to bad rubbish. In the wings is Michael Ignatieff, chosen by the party mucky-mucks to take over the reigns until the party holds a convention to vote him in officially. The question is will he back out of the coalition. As a new party leader he can rescue the Liberals with honor, or such honor as a politician might have.

Yes, I can hear the national anthem playing in the background, the maple leaf waving in glorious splendor as---screeeeeccch! (record scratching sound)

What About Bob?

Bob Rae was one time leader of the Ontario Provincial New Democratic Party who in his tenure as Premier in the early 90's nearly destroyed the province. Some still remember Rae Days, government imposed unpaid days off for all civil servants. To this day the party is still trying to recover from the damage he'd done.

But since then he's written books, dipped his toes in whatever social concern made him look good so that history is remembering him as a noble hero. And, as is well-known in almost any political arena in the world, constituent memories are short. No one remembers the lying cheating Peterson Liberals, of which a certain Dalton McGuinty was a member, and yet here he is serving a second term as a mediocre Premier. And no one seems to remember Bob Rae, who has reinvented himself as a contender for the Federal Liberal Crown and my-freakin-God Prime Minister of Canada!

But old Bob is still a socialist at heart, and a closed door caucus deciding the next Liberal leader does not sit well with his political aspirations. Leadership should be decided by the liberal rank and file who rarely have a say in such affairs. The same political soldiers who, given the chance, just might vote for him instead of an elitist like Ignatieff. To that end, he is beginning his own campaign, and leadership might not be so cut and dried.

In a time when the Liberals need to show solidarity, they are proving to be less than stable. And these are the guys who want to lead a coalition?

Meanwhile, trying to wring the blood from his hands is Jack Layton, who rifled a letter off to the the Liberals 'reminding' them of agreements put into place for the coalition. In other words, the man can read a newspaper. Polls suggest either Ingatieff or Rae will easily defeat Harper in a real election. Why bother with an unpopular coalition? And what would it hurt to leave Jack hanging in the wind?

And the Bloc? Still laughing at all of us.

Mike