Second Thots

It's quite fascinating to see emerging on the left what Canada grew accustomed to seeing on the right: a divided opposition. Yet, perhaps for the first time in a long time, that's exactly what's happening as the next election approaches and Harper tries for a majority victory.

What both the NDP and Liberals don't yet seem to realize, and what took the PCs and Reform almost a decade to do so, is this: It doesn't really matter how the vote splits. That it does split is the one thing that will allow Harper to go up the middle and maximize his electoral prospects.

In other words, only a united movement will probably stop Stephen Harper. Since that won't be happening any time soon, the potshots that the progressives in Canada are taking at one another right now can only serve the interests of one man: Stephen Harper.

However, if you ask me who would I vote for to stop Stephen Harper, the answer would have to Liberals (not that I think Harper has to be stopped or that I would vote Liberal, of course. It's just a theoretical point). That's why Jack has his work cut out for him, and why a deal on the environment could be crucial for his own electoral survival.