I see that Murray Dobbin closed out 2006 with another article about why Canadians should vote for the NDP. Fair enough. But Dobbin revisits some of his long-discredited arguments about the NDP relationship with the Green Party:

[The NDP] could propose a deal that would see Greens withdraw from winnable NDP seats in return for bowing out of Elizabeth May's Nova Scotia riding and pledging to make proportional representation a key plank in its platform. That would avoid the 2004 scenario where Green support defeated seven NDP candidates and elected Conservatives instead. There might be no deal to be made, but it needs to be tried.

There are enough invalid assumptions and arguments in this one paragraph that I'll respond to them one by one.

It could propose a deal that would see Greens withdraw from winnable NDP seats in return for bowing out of Elizabeth May's Nova Scotia riding

The Green Party and the NDP are two separate parties with distinct platforms and ideas. Canadians have a right to review both platforms and vote for either party as they see fit. It is undemocratic to support a backroom deal that would deny some Canadians this right, and it seems most likely that voters would turn against both parties if such a deal was struck.

Also, the idea that multiple Green candidates would need to be withdrawn in return for the withdrawal of a single NDP candidate shows that Dobbin's proposal can't be taken seriously. The Greens are within striking distance of the NDP in many national polls, and the NDP finished third with only 20% in the Cape Breton--Canso riding where Elizabeth is most likely to run.

and pledging to make proportional representation a key plank in its platform.

This has been a key plank of the NDP for the last two elections:

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Layton's eyes shone at the prospect of moving the country towards a voting system of proportional representation. That was key party issue in the 2004 campaign, but was pushed aside when the NDP came up two seats short of holding a real balance of power in the last Parliament.

Despite being a key plank, the NDP has never made any serious attempt to move forward the idea of proportional representation. If the issue was really important to a party with elected MPs then there are many concrete actions those MPs could take to move things along.  But in practice, the NDP uses the pro-rep argument to make political hay while ignoring the clearly identified need for electoral reform. The Greens have every reason to believe that the NDP would find another reason to not follow up on any promises about pro-rep, should it suit the NDP's political calculations after the election.

That would avoid the 2004 scenario where Green support defeated seven NDP candidates and elected Conservatives instead.

As I outlined here and here it is unlikely that support for Green candidates caused any NDP candidates to lose their elections.

When I read Dobbin's articles I keep thinking that he and the NDP leadership in general can't see the forest for the trees. As much as anything, it is the raw political calculations, empty promises and manipulation of facts that is causing Canadians to tire of the NDP and the other "grey" parties and move their support to the Greens. They see in us an opportunity to start anew, with a focus on making things better for everyone rather than making things better for a specific interest group, whether that group be business or labour. It will be a lot of work to follow through on these expectations, but we are getting more help by the day.