NDP vs the Greens

Some supporters of the NDP and Greens claim that their parties take the high road, use only positive campaigns, and would never behave like the Liberals or Conservatives.

Well I say not so fast boys and girls. I think The Battle for the Left will be just as nasty as any other political battle - it's human nature. I believe that two parties that depend on the same voters for their relevance and very survival will be throwing the mud in record time.

Check out some of the positive campaigning so far.

First the NDP on the Green Party:

1) Jacek recommends that in the leadup to the next election the NDP attack the Greens ...."I think in the next election people will understand that the Green Party is not progressive—it’s a right-wing, regressive party…. I think with scrutiny and closer examination people will see the Green Party for what it really is."

2) Green party Leader Jim Harris said it looked like New Democrats went so far in Ottawa Centre as to get hold of a Green party member list and use it to target voters. One is a letter from former Green party leader Joan Russow urging voters to jump to the New Democrats, calling it the only real environmental party. Another pamphlet paints the party as right-wingers who will cater to the business community with subsidies.

Second, here are Green Party on the NDP:

1) "The NDP on the other hand is run by a hardened bureaucracy (atripartite bureaucracy actually) whose interests are their own jobs and careers. The bulk of membership has given up seriously challenging that situation. The leaders are able to dump policy and turn on a dime. We saw that with EdBroadbent's reversal on the NATO policy in the election of 1980. We've seen a stinking awful record on many things including Rae's welfare police among many other things as well as the record of all the NDP provincial governments on the environmental issues in particular. The argument that Mike Harris or Tom Campbell are worse is not exactly a useful assessment. The real problem here is that their policies don't mean anything. Only in a democratic organization does policy have real significance".

2) "In week 4 of the campaign, in what appears to be an orchestrated attack, within days of each other articles were published in the Globe and Mail, Eye and Now magazines in Toronto comparing the Green Party unfavourably to the NDP. The basic tenor in each of the articles seems to be that the Green Party is unfairly bleeding votes away from the NDP. "

3) The NDP candidate for Vancouver-Hastings called his Green Party opponent Ian Gregson “delirious” today, after Gregson accused the New Democrats of sabotaging his campaign by saddling him with his own kids.

Ian Gregson, the Green, is married to Sharon Gregson, the president of the NDP riding association in Vancouver-Hastings. The couple split last year and have joint custody of their children. Mr. Gregson told The Tyee that his ex took off to the Dominican Republic with her new boyfriend last week, leaving him to care for the children and thereby hampering his ability to campaign.

4) NDP they are borrowing planks from our platform and calling us "right wing" at the same time - nice trick - if you are a hypocrite.

It should be a fun election!