Green Party, reducing it’s carbon footprint one volunteer at a time.

When Elizabeth May attempted to make deals with the other parties I knew she was going to have problems with her base support. Going by this article it seems May is willing to kill the goose to get the egg, which in this case is a seat in Parliament. What people like May, Dion and Iggy forget is that they are given the reins of the party by the people who make it run (Well maybe not the Liberal party, more like two feudal lords scheming to take over the throne now that the king is gone)
A political party depends on a huge number of unseen volunteers who make the wheels go around. They get donations, make signs, wave them, bang on doors, answer phones or make coffee for those that do. When your leader fails to lead and makes bad decisions, then the volunteers lose hope and wither away. May, Dion and Iggy seem to fail to understand these basic fundamentals.
Now if you want to see a political machine at work look at the CPC and to a lesser extent the NDP. The CPC has an advantage, it’s voter base is older and mature, but also issue specific. They know exactly what they want to see from the politicians and aren’t shy at reminding the CPC politicians are there at their sufferance. The people who vote and volunteer for the CPC are also willing to open up their pocketbooks, something the other parties are not good at doing. This is why the Conservative attempt to end the subsidy for each vote was so bitterly fought by the other parties, without that money they are dead and they know it.
The NDP is better off than the Greens and Liberals. They have a stronger grassroots organization and the support of union organizers who know how to fill rooms. The problem that stifles Layton is that he only represents the elite portion of the party and seems disconnected to the less urban portions. He does have enough sense to allow his MP’s a free vote on the gun registry as he knows that would turn the gap into a un-repairable rift.
While I have no love for the Greens or Liberals I do feel sorry for the volunteers that feel forsaken. My free advice, never take volunteers for granted you will regret it.

A little update
This article says lot about Elizbeth May's contempt for process.