Heather Mallick weighs in
Oh for a quiet life, Jack Layton thinks as he shuffles about asking his members to please vote to support the national long-gun registry because if they don’t, he’ll be remembered as the guy who finished it off.
All he has to do is tell them how to vote. He’s the boss, and besides, it’s hardly a matter of conscience.
But he’s worried that he’ll anger voters who’ve been suckered into the Conservative mindset that registering your gun is a failure of manhood.
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Why did this happen?
A smart NDP friend once explained that life is actually very nice for the caucus. Even though they aren’t in power as such, they have comfortable lives on the high moral ground. No radical or even interesting ideas emerge because it would disrupt the picnic. New ideas and brave stands are messy, like sand on the rug or spilled jam.