Stand Tall

Now that we have had the pitches for Mr. Harper & Mr. Dion, the PM should go ahead with the vote in the House, as scheduled.

Politics is a contact sport, and you need to be able to take the hits as well as dish them out. The rules still need to be followed and are the same for everyone.

There is a big difference between being in opposition and being in power. In opposition you can talk all you want, but in power, you actually have to walk the walk. Deliver things. Its not as easy as most would believe. Mr. Layton and Mr. Duceppe have never had that responsibility. They both have campaigned in campaigns where they knew they would not be PM when it was done.

Thus far, when called upon to deliver in an election, Mr Dion has offered up one of the worst electoral results in Liberal Party history. He was called upon to deliver three of the "four wise men", two of whom didn't join on. He has been called upon to deliver a 10 minute videotape, and came in an hour late and a few pixels short. What has he actually delivered on? Not much.

Next Stéphane Dion will be called upon to deliver his MP's in a confidence vote. I don't think he will be able to deliver them either. I predict that enough Liberal MP's (and maybe one or two Dippers) will find ways to make themselves absent, that Harper will carry the day. I believe Ignatieff and some of his prominent supporters will find a way to not follow through and defeat the government at this time. They owe nothing to Dion and have already declared they don't want him as party leader anyway.

As overwhelming as the Liberal lust for power is, there is a strong streak of self-preservation instinct as well. Mr. Ignatieff knows the party will be his soon enough, and if the coalition is sussessful in gaining power it will only be for a short period. There will be further job losses in the automotive and other sectors in the next year and the party in power, most likely thouugh no fault of their own, will take some heat for it. If that party is the Cerberus Coalition, who will be portrayed as coming to power without electoral legitimacy, the Liberals will be crucified in the next election (which will happen in at best a year and a half) and he will wear it.

Prorogueing parliament, while legal, isn't the best solution here.
Call the bluff. Put the cards on the table.