With no political recourse left to him, Stephen Harper is spinning in every direction possible in an effort to halt his own demise.

Harper, ...told the House of Commons during Tuesday's fiery question period that Dion was about to make the "worst mistake the Liberal party has ever made in its history" by agreeing to support from the sovereigntist Bloc Québécois.

Conveniently ignored in this statement is that Harper himself sought the support of the Bloc in a 2004 coalition against Paul Martin's minority Liberal Government.

But the Liberals and NDP said those arguments were undercut by Mr. Harper's 2004 letter to then-governor-general Adrienne Clarkson, which requested that she turn to him if Paul Martin's newly elected government were defeated in the Commons.

"We respectfully point out that the opposition parties, who together constitute a majority in the House, have been in close consultation. We believe that, should a request for dissolution arise this should give you cause, as constitutional practice has determined, to consult the opposition leaders and consider all of your options before exercising your constitutional authority," the 2004 letter stated.

Equally of note is that the Bloc are not formally part of the coalition. They have pledged their support but will play a formal role in that government nor hold cabinet posts - a fact being strategically ignored by the Conservatives.

The opposition is not acting 'undemocratically'. They are acting in the best tradition of democracy by forging representative government for the people of Canada in the face of the failure of the Conservative minority. Harper has understood this principle well in past years. His comments today show that both his memory and his outlook are short-term.

Meanwhile, events in the years 2004 and 2008 and are proving similar on two fronts. 1) The same democratic options were legally and rightfully pursued by our opposition parties, and 2) history will have Harper on the losing side both times.

Thanks to Kevin Grandia and The Tyee.