Of the coerced and the bribed

PMPM fires what's apparently the last bullet left in the Liberal gun, trying against all available evidence to claim to be a coalition-builder on the left:

Martin is calling for a "coalition of progressive voters," to unite behind Liberal candidates in order to deny the Conservative party an electoral victory.

Let's leave aside the questions as to whether or not the Liberals can be considered to be progressive at all, and look mostly at the strategy involved. PMPM's idea of a coalition seems to closely resemble that of another prominent North American politician. Rather than such a coalition actually making room for differing viewpoints and legitimate challenges to Martin's direction, the plan is for Martin to continue to give orders, and for more people than usual to make themselves subject to them.

The problem is that it's exactly that type of attitude that's pushed the Libs into electoral purgatory already. And NDP/Lib swing voters don't have any real incentive to heed Martin's call, only to drive a few more voters into the Con camp in an effort to end the culture of entitlement for once and for all. A vote switched to the NDP, on the other hand, helps to defuse Con support - not only by shifting the balance in ridings where it's the NDP and the Cons slugging it out, but also in giving the wider public a better idea of the fact that there is a progressive choice that isn't mired in more than a decade's worth of scandal.

Mind you, if Martin really wanted to form a coalition, this Dipper for one would be more than willing to play along. (Not to speak for the party of course.) But that would involve the Libs showing some humility, backing the NDP in races where doing so would likely defeat the Cons, and focussing their own resources on the Cons rather than trying to eradicate other progressive voices.

Of course, Martin's ego (along with the number of his pet MPs running against strong NDP opponents) would never let that happen. And Canadian voters have learned their lesson after the scare-from-the-left, govern-to-Harper's-satisfaction strategy the Liberals used in 2004. Which means that while Martin continues to claim entitlement to lead a coalition of the willing-to-be-duped, Canadians know better than to think he speaks for the benefit of anybody other than himself.