Revolutionary Moderation

On the board (C-5, L-7, BQ-3, ND-1)

Calling your opponent a Nazi is pretty dumb. Saying you're a fan of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro is not a whole bunch smarter.

Admittedly, Leo-Paul Lauzon is a candidate you're never going to hear of ever again. As an NDP candidate in Quebec, he wasn't exactly risking the seat with his declaration of solidarity with a couple of Heroes of the Revolution. But he's representing the NDP, and this sort of talk reflects the worst images of the NDP as radical left-wingers, even as the NDP has been working to stake out a huge piece of the centre. Quite aside from judgments of either Chavez or Castro, I think we can all, left and right, agree: any of the four federal leaders in Canada would poll higher. Hell, throw Jim Harris into that, too. I'm taking a stand, here: the Green Party could take Fidel Castro in a Canadian federal election.

A political nobody says something dull-witted that won't stick to the party in any real way. (Sig)1 x (Prom)1 means the NDP finally goes up on the big board, despite Layton's smart reversal on the Clarity Act. (Thank you, Jack, for your smart reversal on Clarity. I feel much more comfortable casting a ballot for the NDP. Or would, if I wasn't in Edmonton Centre. As it is, I have a decision to make.)

Thanks to sharp-eyed reader Trevor Mangion for spotting this gaffe. Now someone find me a picture of Layton that isn't him on the bike at the pride parade - it's hilarious, but useless as a headshot.