Was NDP the big winner in postal dispute/filibuster!

In the minority on the political ramifications of the whole postal dispute/filibuster, I argued the Liberals didn’t "lose", and the NDP weren’t the big winners most assumed. Not a question of merit argument, but simple positioning on the issue, while the NDP grabbed the headlines, that doesn’t translate to political victory, at least not in this case. Today, I see a poll which tends to support my perspective, rather than Liberals being irrelevant, perhaps wise to not look extremist in tone, all the NDP did is reinforce their big labour moniker. As was clear, Harper is the only winnner in this dispute optics wise, there was nothing to be gained for the Liberals, letting the NDP corner themselves fine politically:

Pollster David Coletto says he’s rarely seen public opinion line up so strongly with a decision by the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"When an issue hits people in how they live their lives, and whether they can travel, or whether they pay their bills or get their magazines in the mail, you get a reaction like this," said Coletto.

What is fascinating, even the NDP supporters are conflicted:

NDP led the filibuster in the House of Commons against the Canada Post back-to-work bill, only 44% of New Democrat voters said they opposed the bill, while 43% supported it.

A review of the pdf shows regionally, only in Quebec can the NDP cling to any upside, elsewhere well offside with public mood. The polls also shows union households split over back to work, 49% support, only 40% against. In vote rich Ontario, support is highest in the country at 68%.

My read of this whole debate never saw this great triumph of the NDP, despite pundit claims and supporter angst. Nobody was watching the filibuster, nobody cares about the great NDP caucus morale as new MP’s can actually string together two sentences, nobody cares about PROCESS. This poll supports that assertion, which shows once again the disconnect between those of us engaged on issues and the more general mood, based on tertiary focus. Personally, I supported the NDP position and thought the Liberals struck a good balance. However, that belief is truly what’s "irrelevant" to the wider picture, in terms of politics, the one sided NDP position wasn’t wise, it got attention, but not necessarily attractive. Moving forward, I’ll share outrage if the Liberals don’t look engaged, relevant, loud and attention grabbing. That said, this wasn’t the issue to throw up your hands and say "where were the Liberals?", at least not in a strategic sense, wherein one is weighing political fallout.