Look north repubs, look north.

[Bellowing4DaBills]

You make it sound like winning with 40% is something new when it is standard in every election. 40% is good for the left, but bad for the right. You lefties are so predictible. lol

You are so predictably lousy at arithmetic.

40% was good for the Liberals at one time. Unite the Liberals, NDP and Green and we'll never see another federal Conservative government in your lifetime.

[jimmifli]

You are so predictably lousy at arithmetic.

40% was good for the Liberals at one time. Unite the Liberals, NDP and Green and we'll never see another federal Conservative government in your lifetime.

I think that would make things much worse. A merged Lib/NDP would move right and become similar to the democrats. The NDP forces them to stay in the middle. The NDP also keeps social issues on the agenda and prevents undue focus on economic issues.

I was worried about a Harper majority, but aside from the prison **** and stupid jets, he has been surprisingly moderate. That's a testament to the issues that voters value.

[ticatfan]

I think that would make things much worse. A merged Lib/NDP would move right and become similar to the democrats. The NDP forces them to stay in the middle. The NDP also keeps social issues on the agenda and prevents undue focus on economic issues.

I was worried about a Harper majority, but aside from the prison **** and stupid jets, he has been surprisingly moderate. That's a testament to the issues that voters value.

That is because you put to much value in the MSM. They made fools out of all of you that believed all that secret adgenda stuff. We knew all along what harper stood for.

[Bellowing4DaBills]

I think that would make things much worse. A merged Lib/NDP would move right and become similar to the democrats. The NDP forces them to stay in the middle. The NDP also keeps social issues on the agenda and prevents undue focus on economic issues.

I was worried about a Harper majority, but aside from the prison **** and stupid jets, he has been surprisingly moderate. That's a testament to the issues that voters value.

I agree about Harper's government. They are basically the Progressive Conservatives of old sans the Quebec influence or fixation.

I am not convinced a Canadian left merger would move them to something similar to the US Demcrats as that is a long way right for the assimilated NDPs to go.

I also do not think it would be "worse" for the country to have a Liberal party influenced and populated by ex-NDPs with the power of government as opposed to a continuous succession of Conservative rule.

[sukie]

Repubs just need to stop repackaging loser retreads

[gebobs]

Repubs just need to stop repackaging loser retreads

Ah...so you think a platform that includes a total prohibition on abortions, no gay marriage, no change in immigration policy, voodoo economics, and "drill, baby, drill" is just dandy, eh?

[sukie]

Ah...so you think a platform that includes a total prohibition on abortions, no gay marriage, no change in immigration policy, voodoo economics, and "drill, baby, drill" is just dandy, eh?

with the correct charisma... yup.

[jimmifli]

I agree about Harper's government. They are basically the Progressive Conservatives of old sans the Quebec influence or fixation.

I am not convinced a Canadian left merger would move them to something similar to the US Demcrats as that is a long way right for the assimilated NDPs to go.

I also do not think it would be "worse" for the country to have a Liberal party influenced and populated by ex-NDPs with the power of government as opposed to a continuous succession of Conservative rule.

Look what happened to the PC-Aliance Merger, it might have moved right initially, but it didn't take long to move back towards the center. Think of their platform, they start with either balancing the budget or cutting taxes and workout which programs to cut to achieve that. But, they're limited because too many cuts and Canadian voters will take notice.

The opposite situation is true for the left parties. Start with what services need to be added or improved and then figure out a way to fund it. While the center would be a long way for NDP MPs, they wouldn't be in power, so there influence would be limited to behind the scenes. The NDP has always had the luxury of not needing to answer tough questions about funding their policies since election seemed unlikely. They get to be our social conscience, framing the debate.

A combined party would need a platform that spelled out what we should do but also would require hard details on how to pay for it. Over time the platform would move right, since if they propose more taxes, Canadian voters take notice. So the platform becomes about balancing the budget and making do with what we've got.

[jdaltroy5]

Canadian and American Conservatives aren't even in the same stratosphere.

Canadian Conservatives are fiscally responsible and stick to issues that matter, like the economy, jobs, and the banking industry.

American Conservatives claim to be fiscally responsible, but never are, and try to push their agenda on rape, religion, abortion and all kinds of other stupid irrelevant crap.