Points of Information has an interesting post about the attack on the NDP by what he calls the far left; Buzz Hargrove and Jim Laxer. And their defense of supporting the Liberals as a progressive alternative to the Conservatives, thus abandoning the NDP.
For a Blogging Tory he does a downright good job of defending the NDP as NOT being the Liberals. For being the real voice of progressives and the left. He actually says there is no difference between the Liberals and Conservatives, Harper having softened his stances by going towards the centre.
As for his characterization of Buzz and Laxer as the far left, they are far from it.
The actual left is the NDP Socialist Caucus. And candidates like Bev Mezlo who ran for leadership of the party as a member of the NDP SC.
Unlike the pink social democrats like Judy Rebick and Jim Stanford who created the NPI and then Rabble.ca, only to abandon the NPI intiative once Layton was elected Leader. The left in the NDP comes from a mixed political heritage of the socialist movement in Canada, predominated by Troskyists.
And unlike these liberal pink social democrats the socialist left in Canada does not call for strategic voting, it calls for workers to vote NDP.
No support for Martin – vote NDP – and build the movements
In the January 23d Election: Elect an NDP Government Fight for a Workers’ Agenda
Canadian elections herald a dramatic intensification of class conflict
Laxer is an academic not an activist, an ex Waffle member, we could call him the Old New Left, like Rebick and Stanford. Academic leftists if you like, rocking chair activists at best.
Some veteran members of the NDP, such as Waffle movement founder James Laxer, recently expressed concern with what appears to be a party strategy of focusing primarily on the Liberals -- saying Mr. Layton will bear responsibility for electing a Conservative government.
No Jim its not the NDP that is going to elect Conservatives or defeat the Liberals it is Canadians. Here are more of Laxers moaning and groaning.
Is Harper not for turning?Mulroney's children are poised for powerCanada Conservatives face tricky task in minority
Buzz is well Buzz, an opportunist. Now that Sam Gidin is gone from CAW, he was the socialist behind Buzz, Buzz pronouncements about being Left Wing are more akin to the Wizard of Oz.
Buzz is only concerned with the bread and butter issues of his declining auto industry membership. And the Liberals both federally and provincially have bailed out his auto industry. That's what he is worried about.
Stanford his right hand man is working for the Liberal Candidate who is a Toyota Executive member.
Jan. 20, 2006. 06:45 AM
TONY VAN ALPHEN
BUSINESS REPORTER
Politics makes strange bedfellows. And no one knows that better than Buzz Hargrove these days.For example, Hargrove, the president of the Canadian Auto Workers union and a long-time card-carrying NDP member, is endorsing Windsor area Liberal candidate Susan Whelan. She's trying to unseat a Conservative who just happens to be a CAW member in the riding of Essex. And what's more, CAW locals are supporting the NDP candidate in the same riding.If you think that's confusing, Hargrove gave Prime Minister Paul Martin a bulky black CAW jacket recently and the two of them hugged in front of almost a thousand union members. Hargrove has also endorsed a few other Liberal candidates around the country including auto parts heiress Belinda Stronach, whose former company has fought union organizers. These moves are part of the CAW's national strategy to stop the Tories at almost any cost from gaining power in Monday's election.
Laxer, Stanford and Buzz will be judged by their actions in this election which have been more of a discredit to themselves than the NDP. They will be subjected to the political post mortems after Monday night. And the autopsies will be nasty.B.C. labour grapples with Harper's surge
"We're going to be on the job next Tuesday, no matter what the election result, unlike the Liberal Party, that's going to be out of business until it cleans itself up,"Using even stronger language later, Mr. Layton said: "Who is really going to stand up for working Canadians? The smoking hulk of a defeated Liberal Party? Or a strong, united, renewed and effective NDP?"
More of my Buzz Stories
Also See: It's All About Paul
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