For all the heat Jack Layton's taking today for his hypocrisy and cant in hiding behind "principle"so as to avoid an election he knows his party's not prepared to fight, let's not forget that it was Ig who took what one of my regular correspondents referred to as "the lemming leap."
A not-too-close look at the record reveals all kinds of backing and forthing as the Leader of the Opposition tries to justify an election that 70 per cent of the public would much rather later than sooner. Just last Thursday Ig was telling the Tories that "I don't think there's been a socialist in the NDP for thirty years, so let's all relax." Yesterday he thundered in the House that "I am just wondering whether the Prime Minister could confirm his new-found love for socialism and does he not think it prudent to change his attack ads?"
Now I know that Ig was being "ironic," but still that's a long way to travel in three days. And here's the thing, lots of Liberals in caucus aren't crazy about following Ig into the breach. I'm told that Grits in caucus are privately "begging" their NDP rivals to save them from the perils of déjà vu all over again. Still, the red team's war room are ready to go as is their leader, who according to a friendly interlocutor "hates opposition and I think would quit faster than he could be thrown out if it looked impossible to gain power reasonably soon. And the only way to do that is…"
I'm reminded in all this of a poem describing another righteous crew spoiling for a fight:
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.