The NDP are the New Left Wing Liberals

[SamStranger]

Prediction: In the next General Election the NDP will be the Official Opposition.

Seat Breakdown:

Conservative: 157 (MAJORITY)

NDP: 60

Liberal: 39

Bloc: 50

Green Party: 1

Independant: 1

Now, don't put much faith into my seat count- it adds up to 308 but its not that realistic (yes I admit )

I have a strong sense that the Left Leaning voters in this country are slowly turning away from the Liberals. Now, recent polls are showing the same old thing- Tories and Grits virtually tied- I don't buy that for a second. Ordinary everyday Canadians, who arent interested in politics, are supporting the government right now. Why wouldnt they? Their cuting taxes, giving handouts to familys, cracking on crims, reducing wait times, and brining honesty to government.

Now, the Liberals would have you believe their gonna win the next election. Theirs one catch Mr. Ignatieff (Liberal Leader in 2 months), you have to beat Stephen Harper (who has the support of Canadians) and Mr. Layton- who the Lefties are turning too. Ive been watching all the Liberal Leadership Debates, and one thing that struck me is that they talk alot about the NDP. They are scared of the NDP. The NDP is the perfect alternative to the Liberals, and would make a damn good opposition.

What do the Liberals do in opposition??? NOTHING. They just rant and rave about how good they were for 13 years, and won't acknowledge the fact that they only won 3 Majority's from 93' to 2000 because their was no party that could take Government. Lets be honest, I dont think many people wanted Preston Manning or Ed Broadbent to be prime Minister

Now, the NDP has clear prioritys and clear oppostion to the tories, even though right now they are techinically the "4th party" in the house, with no leverage of power at all. The Liberals have turned into a party that just seeks power. They dont care about policy. They have no policy. They just want Canada to be "theirs"- even though our founding Prime Minister was a proud Conservative, who used strict Ideologys to rule his government.

Now, the NDP in government is a scary thought. My only fear to the NDP being the official opposition, is that they may one day (down the road... 2050??) take power. Im scared for that generation. Don't get me started on what the NDP would do to our finanaces.

Example from their last campaign: Increase Social Program spending by 15% in the first year, and 60% by the fourth year.

Man that gives me chills....

Anyways, I still stand by my notion for a Harper Majority and an NDP official opposition.

[geoffrey]

If there is anyone uglier than the Liberals now, it's Layton and the NDP. With such an incompetent leader (coming to Alberta to get support by being hugely critical of our province, uh huh) the NDP will always be a second class party doing very little for Canada or it's supporters. They will not be the opposition.

[SamStranger]

If there is anyone uglier than the Liberals now, it's Layton and the NDP. With such an incompetent leader (coming to Alberta to get support by being hugely critical of our province, uh huh) the NDP will always be a second class party doing very little for Canada or it's supporters. They will not be the opposition.

I agree that the NDP will NEVER, EVER, EVER get a seat in Alberta- but thats not to say that they wont be the official opposition, cause they will...

[geoffrey]

If there is anyone uglier than the Liberals now, it's Layton and the NDP. With such an incompetent leader (coming to Alberta to get support by being hugely critical of our province, uh huh) the NDP will always be a second class party doing very little for Canada or it's supporters. They will not be the opposition.

I agree that the NDP will NEVER, EVER, EVER get a seat in Alberta- but thats not to say that they wont be the official opposition, cause they will...

Where are they to get seats?

[SamStranger]

If there is anyone uglier than the Liberals now, it's Layton and the NDP. With such an incompetent leader (coming to Alberta to get support by being hugely critical of our province, uh huh) the NDP will always be a second class party doing very little for Canada or it's supporters. They will not be the opposition.

I agree that the NDP will NEVER, EVER, EVER get a seat in Alberta- but thats not to say that they wont be the official opposition, cause they will...

Where are they to get seats?

Honestly, I think they could pick up a few in Quebec, British Columbia, and Ontario- not to mentino their strong holds in Manitoba. Dont get me wrong. I am not a New Democrat AT ALL- I am a Tory- but I would rather have an NDP opposition that has policy ideas, then a Liberal Opposition that votes down everything but has no alternative to present to Canadians.

[M.Dancer]

If there is anyone uglier than the Liberals now, it's Layton and the NDP. With such an incompetent leader (coming to Alberta to get support by being hugely critical of our province, uh huh) the NDP will always be a second class party doing very little for Canada or it's supporters. They will not be the opposition.

I agree that the NDP will NEVER, EVER, EVER get a seat in Alberta- but thats not to say that they wont be the official opposition, cause they will...

Without getting a seat in Alberta, and zero chance in Quebec, the NDP is truly a regional party that most Canadians are happy to ignore andf forget.

The NDP have no chance. They will have done extremely well if they add 2 seats to what they have now, but as the Green party grow, they feed on the NDP's natural contitiuency......my guess is the NDP will lose a seat next election, and either the libs or CCRAParty will have a minority

[Black Dog]

If there is anyone uglier than the Liberals now, it's Layton and the NDP. With such an incompetent leader (coming to Alberta to get support by being hugely critical of our province, uh huh) the NDP will always be a second class party doing very little for Canada or it's supporters. They will not be the opposition.

I'm sorry, but what's the problem with Layton coming to Alberta and criticizing the government here? Anyway, the NDP's biggest problem is messaging. They need to do a better job of repacking their views into bite-sized, feel-good soundbites that resonate with voters' emotions, like the Conservatives have done.

[August1991]

Now, don't put much faith into my seat count- it adds up to 308 but its not that realistic (yes I admit )

It's not just your seat count I lack faith in - it's also your political judgment.

The Liberal Party is not about to disappear anytime soon. It will either form the government or the official opposition after the next federal election.

[SamStranger]

Now, don't put much faith into my seat count- it adds up to 308 but its not that realistic (yes I admit )

It's not just your seat count I lack faith in - it's also your political judgment.

The Liberal Party is not about to disappear anytime soon. It will either form the government or the official opposition after the next federal election.

hahahhaa- Whats makes you so god-damn sure? Check out this link http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...me=&no_ads=

Just the fact that the Liberals are even mentioning the NDP shows their fear. At their Leadership Convention, they spoke on the NDP many times- because they know that the NDP will beat them.

Also, the NDP stole 905,000 votes from the Liberals in the last election.

[Black Dog]

I agree with August: the NDP won't replace the Liberals. I mentioned message control above. I neglecte dto mention the fact that the media hates the NDP.

[Canadian Blue]

An NDP/Green opposition would be great for the country. I actaully found out that I agree with quite a proportion of the NDP's policies, however the problem right now is their leadership. With the right leader the NDP could form a successful government, someone like Gary Doer would do well.

The NDP also has to allow MP to vote freely on votes of conscious and allow pro-lifers some leverage in party politics.

[M.Dancer]

An NDP/Green opposition would be great for the country. I actaully found out that I agree with quite a proportion of the NDP's policies, however the problem right now is their leadership. With the right leader the NDP could form a successful government, someone like Gary Doer would do well.

The NDP also has to allow MP to vote freely on votes of conscious and allow pro-lifers some leverage in party politics.

It would be great for the Liberals......small L liberals who might be tempted to vote strategically with an NDP vote will probably shy away from the raving lunacy of the greens...(or is that capital G Green?)

That being said I will say this again. The NDP have never even come close to winning a single riding in Quebec and without Quebec and Alberta, no party can hope to be anything more than a regional blip.

[Canadian Blue]

I think it still depends on who the leader is. The provincial ND's were able to win nearly 30% of the vote in conservative Alberta despite the name.

When Garth Turner went back to his riding some constituents wanted him to work with the Greens, some to compromise with the conservatives, and virtually none to join the Liberals.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics...265&k=89000

[jdobbin]

I agree with August: the NDP won't replace the Liberals. I mentioned message control above. I neglecte dto mention the fact that the media hates the NDP.

In Manitoba, there are a few people who are NDP members who are not fond of Jack Layton but who like Bob Rae. Also, there are numerous CAW union people who are looking to vote Liberal this time. They are not happy with Layton. Likewise, in the north of the province, some are still stinging from the boot that Bev Desjarlais got.

I don't know that the media influenced their feelings. Layton pretty much did that by himself.

[watching&waiting]

Even though I believe that the Liberals will implode over their leadership race and I see that the party does not even have a chance of uniting under any of the leadership hopefuls, I am just not ready to to say that they will be so far gone that NDP will over take them. If the party split and because of divisions became two parties, yes there would be a chance, but not the way it is now.

Layton to me is nothing but an attention seeker. He is always willing to pose for the photo-op, but what he feels is his best tool, really makes my skin crawl. To me he comes off as a used car saleman. His ideas are so way out there, that even he must know that they will never fly. But when you are an NDP supporter I guess you grow a very thick skin.

[Black Dog]

His ideas are so way out there, that even he must know that they will never fly.

Such as?

[geoffrey]

His ideas are so way out there, that even he must know that they will never fly.

Such as?

- Running away from terorrists makes them like us and leave us be!

- Telling al-Qaeda that killing more Canadians to encourage us to withdraw faster is the way to go

- Proportional representation... no better way to increase Canadian regionalism.

- Public health care (Cuba or North Korea style) is the only way to deliver services... any private company in health care is just for the 'rich'.

- Paying people more EI will encourage them to get jobs.

- The best way of dealing with our child care situation is to make massive child warehouses... afterall, parents can't be trusted to make good decisions, only an NDP government.

- University students will do better if they don't have to pay for school... we need more fine arts folks! The best way to recruit new NDP members is to have more humanities and fine arts students.

[Canadian Blue]

I wouldn't say all those ideas are bad. PR would be great for Canadian democracy, if PR were to be enacted in Parliment, and the senate were also to be elected people would feel they have a greater say in the decision making process.

[mcqueen625]

If there is anyone uglier than the Liberals now, it's Layton and the NDP. With such an incompetent leader (coming to Alberta to get support by being hugely critical of our province, uh huh) the NDP will always be a second class party doing very little for Canada or it's supporters. They will not be the opposition.

I agree that the NDP will NEVER, EVER, EVER get a seat in Alberta- but thats not to say that they wont be the official opposition, cause they will...

Where are they to get seats?

Honestly, I think they could pick up a few in Quebec, British Columbia, and Ontario- not to mentino their strong holds in Manitoba. Dont get me wrong. I am not a New Democrat AT ALL- I am a Tory- but I would rather have an NDP opposition that has policy ideas, then a Liberal Opposition that votes down everything but has no alternative to present to Canadians.

Who are you kidding, In Ontario? Especially since Bob Rae is now the leading contender for the Liberals and both of these parties have in mind to be all things to all people from birth to death. That costs money, mega-money and Bob Rae NDP/Liberal showed Ontarians just what the NDP/Liberals will do if they ever get a chance at the pursestrings of Canada. We think we are overtaxed as Canadians now, we have seen nothing if either of these parties gets another chance.

[Black Dog]

- Running away from terorrists makes them like us and leave us be!

- Telling al-Qaeda that killing more Canadians to encourage us to withdraw faster is the way to go

I don't recall either of these being proposed. Can you provide a cite instead of your interpretations?

- Proportional representation... no better way to increase Canadian regionalism.

I can think of one better way to increase canadian regionalism: first past the post. Given that virtually every other western democracy uses some for of PR, it can hardly be called an "ot there" idea.

- Public health care (Cuba or North Korea style) is the only way to deliver services... any private company in health care is just for the 'rich'.

Again: cite (especially the Cuba/NK comparison: I'd like to see a quote on that).

Paying people more EI will encourage them to get jobs.

I looked around and could find nothing on that. What I did see was a lot about how the EI system should be reformed so that people who pay into it can benefit from it if necessary.

The best way of dealing with our child care situation is to make massive child warehouses... afterall, parents can't be trusted to make good decisions, only an NDP government.

Again: nothing in the platform on child care warehouses. The NDP is on record as supporting a national child care plan. Which is at least aplan, unlike the CPC's "throw money at the problem" approach.

- University students will do better if they don't have to pay for school... we need more fine arts folks! The best way to recruit new NDP members is to have more humanities and fine arts students.

Spoken like a true apostle of economism.

[blueblood]

His ideas are so way out there, that even he must know that they will never fly.

Such as?

- Running away from terorrists makes them like us and leave us be!

- Telling al-Qaeda that killing more Canadians to encourage us to withdraw faster is the way to go

- Proportional representation... no better way to increase Canadian regionalism.

- Public health care (Cuba or North Korea style) is the only way to deliver services... any private company in health care is just for the 'rich'.

- Paying people more EI will encourage them to get jobs.

- The best way of dealing with our child care situation is to make massive child warehouses... afterall, parents can't be trusted to make good decisions, only an NDP government.

- University students will do better if they don't have to pay for school... we need more fine arts folks! The best way to recruit new NDP members is to have more humanities and fine arts students.

-no government funding for corporate oil companies - case in point proposed rig manufacturing plant in Roblin Mb. corporation went to provincial NDP for help with the start up costs, NDP gov't says go fly a kite, result, no new jobs created, blow to the local economy. Seems like they prefer handing out social assistance than allowing job creation smooth move.

[Ladyjen]

Their cuting taxes, giving handouts to familys, cracking on crims, reducing wait times, and brining honesty to government.

What a bunch of naive people if they think that this is all going to continue if Harper gets in again. I bloody hope the NDP get in and the Liberals are the oposition. Reducing wait times? Hand outs to families? What Province do you live in? Can't be the same one I'm in. Bringing honesty to Government? We don't know the half of all the sweet deals that are going on that will line their pockets and all the corporations.

[Canadian Blue]

So are you asking conservatives for proof the conservatives haven't been corrupt.

Now I might not be a big city lawyer, but what evidence is their that the people in this court room other then the accused didn't commit the murder.

But then again your province had a corrupt NDP government, I lived in a province with a conservative government and never noticed anything terrible happening their. Listen its all relative, I live in a province with a decent New Democrat government, a province with a good conservative government. So far I've lived in 5 different provinces, and to be honest with you never really noticed much of a difference between any of them. All politicians are cut of the same clothe in todays world. I haven't seen a huge shift since the conservatives have gotten in power and I work for the government.

What a bunch of naive people if they think that this is all going to continue if Harper gets in again.

Give us the inside scoop deep throat!!!

[Ladyjen]

So are you asking conservatives for proof the conservatives haven't been corrupt.

Now I might not be a big city lawyer, but what evidence is their that the people in this court room other then the accused didn't commit the murder.

But then again your province had a corrupt NDP government, I lived in a province with a conservative government and never noticed anything terrible happening their. Listen its all relative, I live in a province with a decent New Democrat government, a province with a good conservative government. So far I've lived in 5 different provinces, and to be honest with you never really noticed much of a difference between any of them. All politicians are cut of the same clothe in todays world. I haven't seen a huge shift since the conservatives have gotten in power and I work for the government.

What a bunch of naive people if they think that this is all going to continue if Harper gets in again.

Give us the inside scoop deep throat!!!

No inside scoop, just plain common sense! Thanks for the laugh though!

[Canadian Blue]

I might not be a big city lawyer, but I've got nothing to back up what I'm talking about. But do any of you have proof to say that what I'm saying can't be backed up.

Honestly Ladyjen, really, thats one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. When people say oh its plain old common sense you know their idiots. Thats probably what white guys said during segregation as well.

Well their coloured and were white, those two just don't mix its common sense.

The tories in Ontario also had a common sense revolution, but by the end of it I didn't really see any of the common sense in it.