NDP wants to date Greens. No thanks, we're busy.

well said Ard and thank you !!

You are completely correct and as a former ndp (now done party) member I know they have an agenda completely still  under the ...LOL...what shall I say..hmm....under the  guidance of the labor movement....yes sadly ... even if that means only decriminalizing because ...get this...all those penitentiary workers ...all those social workers...all those police workers and all the thousands and  thousands of others involved in ruining the lives of cannabis users and other citizens ...are get this...yes.....ndp dues paying union members !!

They had to back track just  because of union pressure... as after all ...as even the police themselves say 70 % of all crime is drug related.....and with crime now going down for 5 years in a row except for murder and likely to continue for sure under only decrim...well no one needs loosing their well paid job just for the weak in society ...the dreaded drug user...of course the ones with jobs are free to continue till their number does come up but until we jail the obese in society as I am sure some would like...well Ard the ndp  needs the law the same just for its members....Yes Sir!

No one has more experience with the ndp on this issue than I...period.

They are cowards...hypocrites and are now know to me as the jack layton ndp and will until he is gone and as such completely untrustworthy.

I know for a fact this is only being discussed because of my and my groups work !!

We have them on the ropes and I will use it to strangle them in the next election....

LOL...of course ....I mean ...once I beat back my back stabbers here !!

We don't need the ndp or dp's as they seem to want to change to !!!

(my old man would roll over in his grave if they do change to dp's as he as a Ukrainian worked very very hard to not ever be referred to as a "DP" !!)

They need us

WE DON'T NEED THEM

We will be dating quite a few of their members soon !! ANY WAY DAN !!!

42% did not vote last time....they will be ours

That's 6 % more than Harper now runs the country on and we already have 7%

Who's with me on this?

 Trust me...people...as some one attacked even by harpers Internet goons ....over my issue...our most feared policy  is in fact ...Cannabis......just watch and wait !

I suspect that the NDP really has no clue as to what the Green Party is all about.  The policy overlap is very limited and the "internal culture" of the two parties are polar opposites.

I guess anybody can wily-nily mention "initiating dicussions" regarding a merger but in reality the idea of a Green / Orange merger is dead on the vine.

Clearly they wish to talk merger as, at the moment, both us and them are perceived as the places to vote if you are sick of the Liberals/Conservatives (I see them as pretty much the same thing - both want power and will do anything to get it).

What the NDP (and many in general society) miss is that we are unique.  We do believe capitalism can be a force for good, it just needs a tax system that encourages that 'good' behaviour rather than a convoluted system that encourages 'bad' behaviour.  We need to also have laws that discourage practices that are known to destroy the environment and to enforce those laws (go to Northern Ontario on the dirt roads and you'll quickly see how the forest industry ignores a lot of laws due to poor enforcement).

Many differences, with the main thing in common being that we are both viewed as '3rd choices' right now.  Nowhere near enough for a merger.

The merger mentality is certainly not from the top of the NDP.  The upper quarters would surely like to see us disappear, and while hardly homogenous, there is a huge distrust of a decentralized ideology which goes against the notion of "solidarity of the proletariat" and "class warfare" which many old school socialists have spent their life perpetuating.  We are much more likely to allow individual freedoms, less government, and individual responsibility provided basic needs are met and we maintain a sustainable economy and don't wreck our environment.  (I believe Green values are much more inherently universal, even if self interest rejects them.)

However, I think most NDP supporters and even many of their candidates and some of their elected politicians do not necessarily universally share the old marxist mentality, and many would probably feel much more at home with the Green Party and our value set.  

Some, may even see the talk of us combining as a way to reject or rethink some of their outdated principles.   (Others may just like our colours, as Orange is so unfashionable :-)

Remember, many voters and average Canadians who support either of our parties are unfamiliar with the nuanced differences and leanings.  NDP is associated with social justice, Greens are associated with sustainability, and many social progressives can't understand why we can't find common ground.   

In many ways they are aware we are cannibalizing their vote, and more dangerous to them, we are the party that more actively attracts younger Canadians, essentially eroding their young voting base.  We pull from the right as well, mainly because we do not carry the marxist baggage as readily and do not as often attack engage in anti-business language.

The problem is, for any consideration to occur, THEY HAVE TO CHANGE.  It would have to be under different leadership which did not have the baggage and it would require them realizing that our policy, almost en masse, it superior to there's.

One of our troubles, is that we focus on the ideal and how to get their, rather than who benefits from a certain policy.  We don't perpetuate societal divisions for the sake of raising funds or solidifying our base.