... and the knives come out for Stephen Harper.

Oh, dear ... via Jeff Jedras, we learn that Stephen Harper should really start watching for a quick shiv in the back from none other than Blogging Tory co-founder Stephen Taylor:

Is Harper's Conservative coalition falling apart?

While Stephen Harper has managed to hold it together now by sheer force of his captivating personality, rigidly-enforced party discipline, and a collective lust for power, there is increasing evidence that after two minorities and no prospect for improvement, the fractious Conservative coalition is beginning to crumble.

Take two new Web sites launched recently designed to lobby the Conservative government. Cut The Fat.ca and No Bailouts.ca were launched under the auspices of the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation, a group that has traditionally been quite supportive of the Conservative Party, and can count a great many Conservatives as its members. Both are petition-sites, and make clear they're not pleased at all with the fiscal policies of the Harper government, even if they never use the words Conservative or Harper.

And interestingly, the apparent creative force behind the campaign, and the admin of the corresponding Facebook groups, is none other that Blogging Tory-poo bah and well-connected Conservative Stephen Taylor.

What does it say when staunch Conservative supporters need to launch Web sites to lobby their own government?

Ah, but that's not the best part. No, the best part is that, if you pop over to Canada's Blogging Whiners, you find:



In other words, Stephen Taylor has pulled a Cherniak -- he started a political aggregator, groomed it carefully over the years and raised its profile and, now that it's a fairly popular political watering hole, he's going to use it to push his personal, ideological agenda.

One wonders what Taylor's BT minions think about this, especially the ones who so howled with laughter when Jason Chernial pulled this classless shit over at liblogs.ca and got his pee-pee whacked for it. Those same BTs are now on the receiving end of the same douchebaggery, and one has to be curious as to how they feel about, especially the ones who might not agree with Taylor's "Cut the fat" philosophy but are still being used to bring visitors to the site.

Yes, this should be entertaining to watch. Especially the part where, just when you think Stephen Taylor couldn't possibly be any more of a classless, traitorous, self-absorbed, back-stabbing douche, well, he can always surprise you.

If I was Preston Manning, I'd be keeping an eye on Taylor. Strictly out of a sense of self-preservation, if you catch my drift. And I think you do.