Liberals Roll Over

Over the past few years, most of the criticism of the Libs' weakness has been laid at the feet of the party's leader. And there can't be much doubt that both Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff have done plenty to prop up the Harper Cons.

But at the same time, it's worth noting that the problem goes far deeper than just a single leader. After all, for every time where Dion held off in the face of calls for an election from within his party (see summer 2008), there was another where the party's "nervous nellies" talked him out of taking a stand (such as early winter 2008). And likewise, while Ignatieff was entirely happy to make the call to leave Harper in power rather than pushing for the progressive coalition earlier this year, all indications were that he was relatively inclined to take a stand this past week before deciding that a split decision within his caucus should be taken as reason to preserve the status quo.

All of which suggests to me that it's time to start taking the message a step further. Simply put, the Libs' weakness isn't linked only to any particular leader. Instead, it's part of the party's nature to roll over and play dead when challenged. And it's entirely deserved for the party's brand to include that weakness, rather than having the problem attached to a single leader who can be discarded.

Which leads to a theme you'll be seeing a lot of on this blog over the summer: Liberals Roll Over.

I already have more than a few ideas as to how to spread the word, and will be working on using the theme while working on some more multimedia than you've seen on Accidental Deliberations to date. And I'll encourage other NDP supporters to both send along any ideas, or take the lead themselves in getting the message out.

For now, I'll close with my first stab at an animation to fit the message. (Edit: which seems to work if clicked on, if not on the blog.) But rest assured that there's plenty more to come.