My last idea-centric blog post got some positive attention, and maybe got some people thinking of ways we can "re-discover" liberalism and build up again. However, a quick look at Liblogs today shows that we are in danger of falling into bad habits, slandering each other, thinking plots are behind every corner, and acting overly defensive. I don't want to bog myself down in the same things I have just criticized, but I do feel the need to say that as someone who volunteered for Adam Miron for the past several months, I know he is as dedicated and committed to the Liberal Party as anyone who you will ever find, and who has done/did an excellent job both pre and during the election in ensuring that the Young Liberals, and particularly our online vector, were prepared, ready, and active during the writ period.
Now, on to more substantive ideas for renewal and invigoration of the party:
-Don't ghettoize women's issues. I am very proud of the Liberal Party that in the last election we ran the most female candidates of any party, exceeding the quota of 1/3rd that Mr. Dion had set out, and we elected strong female candidates like Bonnie Crombie. However, overall, this election was a failure in terms of reaching out to female voters. As Harper noted (correctly, sadly) during the election, "We no longer have a female problem, the Liberals have a male problem." The Conservatives elected a number of new female candidates, have lots of women in cabinet, and made gains with women despite only running 20% female candidates, attacking women's funding, etc, while the Liberals made great efforts to promote and present female candidates and women's issues, including the Pink Book. These results I think bust a few myths about winning the female vote. One of them was that the centre and centre/left can take the women's vote for granted. I think after we rolled out things like the Pink Book, going over the quota, the gender equity etc, we assumed we would maintain our advantage with female voters. During the election, other then a couple of times when we "highlighted" female candidates, we never really focused on women's issues, and never gave female voters a strong message to vote Liberal other then "Hey, we are running lots of women and have a 2 year old policy document! Vote for us!" Tied into this approach was our attacks on the Conservatives for attacking Status of Women and closing regional offices. Rather then tie it into an overarching theme as to how Conservative ideology damages the advancement of women as individuals, which in turn damages our society and our economy, we tried to turn into into the "scandal of the day" approach, like we did with ever issue we thought we could nail the Conservatives on, which in hindsight broadly failed. The Conservatives, while offering a weak platform, that while not going into specifics, was broad and generally pushed themes like security, while attacking the Liberals as dangerous. While this attempt may not have directly focused on women (although the kitchen ad released near the end of the election was definitely targeted at them) but the gains the Conservatives made over the last weekend of the campaign reflected overall growth across demographic lines. I think this speaks to the need for broad platforming and messaging, particularly as we re-build from the centre. We need to learn how to send a message to Canadians that cuts across demographic lines, rather then tailoring policies or issuing demographic specific documents that speaks to Canadians as individuals. Obviously women do bring different skills and perspectives to the table, and they need to play a big role in crafting party policy, but we cannot ghettoize the important policy inputs and perspectives they have. The exact same thing goes for multicultural groups as well, another important groups of individuals we can no longer take for granted.
-Don't abandon the environment. Many pundits are speculating that the party will move away from environmentalism in order to escape the shadow of Dion's defeat and the Green Shift. This is something we need to avoid. Certainly, we need to re-focus our message into one of individual based, market-driven Green Liberalism, rather then of a redistributionist environmental plan, but the environment and the economy of tomorrow are both pillars the Liberals must continue to tie together. The need to maintain active on this file is demonstrated by the recent moving of Jim Prentice into the Environmental portfolio by the Conservatives. Unlike the climate-change denialist Rona Ambrose, and the hyperpartisan John Baird, Prentice is not a man who is sent in to neutralize an issue, but to develop a moderate, pragmatic solution. If the Liberals back away from the issue, expect Prentice to deliver an actual Conservative plan for the environment, to fill any policy vaccum left by a Liberal retreat. We cannot allow the Conservatives to own any issue.
-Do fight the Conservatives on their own turf. A few months ago, I was talking to a high-profile Liberal who is identified as being on the left of the party, and I asked him/her about any potential danger our new Green Shift could be painted as a tax grab, and that by focusing on the environmental aspects of the plan, the tax cut aspects would be overshadowed, and they answered that we weren't going to really attempt to fight the Conservatives on the tax issue, that we wouldn't do things like match or go beyond tax cuts promised by the Conservatives. As it turned out, that the Conservatives did, in fact attack the Green Shift as a tax grab, and that the tax cutting elements of the plan were, in fact overshadowed, while the Conservatives won an economy focused election. With all due respect to this Liberal, who does bring many good and new ideas to the party, and who was talking about renewal before it was a fad, we must refuse to cede an inch of ground to the Conservatives on issues like tax cuts and the economy, even if these are traditionally seen as conservative friendly issues. If we do not define ourselves as a party which has, and will in the future, be able to deliver balanced budgets, and more money in individuals pockets, then we allow the Conservatives to paint us as just another centre-left party, indistinguishable from the NDP or Greens, and not the effective economic managers we are. In terms of using this to link economic and social policy, I quote Frank McKenna; "The best social program is a job."
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
What the Liberal Party should and shouldn't do
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081029.wcounite30/BNStory/specialComment/home
This article by a vet of the "unite the right" outlines some of the steps that would have to happen for the Liberals/Greens/NDP to unite as one progressive party. Near the end of the article, the author says the united right hopes that any calls to unite the left will not be as successful for the hypothetical party as the Conservatives have been so far. While Conservatives say that a united progressive party would be a serious threat, the reality is that a united centre-left party would be the key to making the Conservatives the new natural governing party of Canada.
The Liberal brand is a centrist brand, and the party fails, at different levels of government, when it strays too far from the centre, or is unable to capture the centre. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, for example, the provincial Liberals have struggled in recent years, due in large party to being shut out of the centre, thanks to a centrist NDP in both provinces (funny how NDP parties that actually get into power regularly have a bad habit of doing things like being responsible and being pragmatic, while the permanent opposition federal NDP blasts the Liberals for being "unprincipled") and particularly in Saskatchewan, where the Liberals have been shut out for 2 elections in a row as Brad Wall brought the Sask. Party into the middle. In Ontario, the provincial Liberals struggled for decades as the Red Tory machine that was the Ontario PC's dominated the centre, often times being more centrist then the rural based, prohibitionist Liberals, who have only found long-termish success under McGuinty by ensuring the centre does not slip from them. Federally, Liberals have failed when we have not been successful in upholding the centrist mantle, such as when Diefenbaker was able to break the decades long electoral hold of the Liberals by running on a Red Tory, spending platform, under Turner, who despite being a centrist leader was unable to shake off the leftist Trudeau shadow, the defeat of the similarly centrist Paul Martin who focused on social programs while in power in an attempt to target the NDP, and the last election, as we were unable to break past the image the Conservatives painted of Dion as a leftist. The Liberal base and coalition contains centre-right as well as centre-left parts, and a significant part of the base on the centre-right (myself included) would not hesitate to break away from a united left party to go to the Conservatives, and would be unable to win back swing areas like semi-rural and suburban ridings where the Conservatives have established themself, which would further cement efforts by them to build themselves as the new party of the centre. The Liberal brand, while definitely needing some re-building and re-imagining, still has strength, and this strength is in the centre.
Some have argued that the centre is dead, that Liberal values of pragmatism and gradualism cannot be sold in the era of 24 hour news cycles and spin, in which grand bombast and iron-fisted leadership are seen as positives. Others say that from a fundraising perspective, the Liberals need to drift to the left, in order to gain the support of leftist ideologues, as the centre is not a good position in which to draw donations. While both of these points of view do have some validity, the Liberals don't need to abandon the centre, we need to re-invent the centre in order to be a functional national party. An interesting article in the Globe and Mail the other day compared the policies and voter profile of every party inside and outside of Quebec, and the Liberals were the only party to have any real policy continuity nation-wide. This is a strong fact which which to re-build our centrist party. While the Conservative alliance between nationalist francophones, francophobic Reformers of the west, the Ontario mix of rural social conservatives and more pragmatic suburban centrists, and traditional Maritime conservatism has inherent instabilities that could prevent it from becoming the new natural party of government, and the NDP remains a protest party everywhere, the Liberal centrist coalition, when it is functional, is one of a national scope, but taking local and regional concerns into consideration.
Some new ideas and policies are needed to reinvigorate the Liberal brand as one of solid, reliable centrism, and here are some suggestions:
-Broad support for free trade agreements and real free trade, to capitalize on Canada's advantage as a trading nation, while making us a leader of the Western world in lobbying other developed nations to lower their own tariffs (including our own) to make free trade more effective and fair.
-New federalism. The Conservatives talk a lot about "open federalism", supposedly a landmark change in the way federal-provincial relations are done. In practice, however, it has done little but throw money at whatever province is politically convenient to throw money at, attack whatever province is politically convenient to attack, and overall make no actual changes to administrative frameworks. A Liberal policy of "co-operative" federalism is needed, with provinces and the federal government, on both a one on one and group basis, sitting down, and having landmark discussions like the one Martin had with the premiers over health care, and figuring out the most effective framework for service delivery to citizens. Other aspects of co-operative federalism would be the federal government encouraging provinces to remove barriers to inter-provincial trade and labour agreements, giving all provinces at least a voice in important federal appointments, and ensuring that broad agreement is existent between all provinces in the case of future potential constitutional changes.
-A re-discovery of the individual. Conservatives often claim that they have inherited the mantle of classical liberalism, that both big L and small l liberalism have been overly influenced by collectivist ideas, and that conservatism offers the only place for individualist voters. Often times, we have allowed these claims to go unchallenged, but it is time to stand up as Liberals and claim back the ideas of great liberal individualists like Adam Smith, and re-finding the balance with social liberalism great contributions. Concrete ways this could be done would be the addition of private property rights to the Charter, and making changes in tax law to encourage individual saving and responsibility
-On a related note, building up the ideas of Green Liberalism, and that the free market, with some appropriate government interventions, is the best tool to fight climate change. Measures individuals are taking to make themselves more environmentally aware, such as buying hybrid cars, retrofitting homes, etc, should be rewarded with increased tax credits. Additionally, corporate tax cuts could be tied into how environmentally friendly a business is.
These are just some basic ideas and proposals by a Young Liberal, but I hope the ideas of re-building our broad national base from the centre becomes an overriding theme of the upcoming leadership and renewal period.
This article by a vet of the "unite the right" outlines some of the steps that would have to happen for the Liberals/Greens/NDP to unite as one progressive party. Near the end of the article, the author says the united right hopes that any calls to unite the left will not be as successful for the hypothetical party as the Conservatives have been so far. While Conservatives say that a united progressive party would be a serious threat, the reality is that a united centre-left party would be the key to making the Conservatives the new natural governing party of Canada.
The Liberal brand is a centrist brand, and the party fails, at different levels of government, when it strays too far from the centre, or is unable to capture the centre. In Saskatchewan and Manitoba, for example, the provincial Liberals have struggled in recent years, due in large party to being shut out of the centre, thanks to a centrist NDP in both provinces (funny how NDP parties that actually get into power regularly have a bad habit of doing things like being responsible and being pragmatic, while the permanent opposition federal NDP blasts the Liberals for being "unprincipled") and particularly in Saskatchewan, where the Liberals have been shut out for 2 elections in a row as Brad Wall brought the Sask. Party into the middle. In Ontario, the provincial Liberals struggled for decades as the Red Tory machine that was the Ontario PC's dominated the centre, often times being more centrist then the rural based, prohibitionist Liberals, who have only found long-termish success under McGuinty by ensuring the centre does not slip from them. Federally, Liberals have failed when we have not been successful in upholding the centrist mantle, such as when Diefenbaker was able to break the decades long electoral hold of the Liberals by running on a Red Tory, spending platform, under Turner, who despite being a centrist leader was unable to shake off the leftist Trudeau shadow, the defeat of the similarly centrist Paul Martin who focused on social programs while in power in an attempt to target the NDP, and the last election, as we were unable to break past the image the Conservatives painted of Dion as a leftist. The Liberal base and coalition contains centre-right as well as centre-left parts, and a significant part of the base on the centre-right (myself included) would not hesitate to break away from a united left party to go to the Conservatives, and would be unable to win back swing areas like semi-rural and suburban ridings where the Conservatives have established themself, which would further cement efforts by them to build themselves as the new party of the centre. The Liberal brand, while definitely needing some re-building and re-imagining, still has strength, and this strength is in the centre.
Some have argued that the centre is dead, that Liberal values of pragmatism and gradualism cannot be sold in the era of 24 hour news cycles and spin, in which grand bombast and iron-fisted leadership are seen as positives. Others say that from a fundraising perspective, the Liberals need to drift to the left, in order to gain the support of leftist ideologues, as the centre is not a good position in which to draw donations. While both of these points of view do have some validity, the Liberals don't need to abandon the centre, we need to re-invent the centre in order to be a functional national party. An interesting article in the Globe and Mail the other day compared the policies and voter profile of every party inside and outside of Quebec, and the Liberals were the only party to have any real policy continuity nation-wide. This is a strong fact which which to re-build our centrist party. While the Conservative alliance between nationalist francophones, francophobic Reformers of the west, the Ontario mix of rural social conservatives and more pragmatic suburban centrists, and traditional Maritime conservatism has inherent instabilities that could prevent it from becoming the new natural party of government, and the NDP remains a protest party everywhere, the Liberal centrist coalition, when it is functional, is one of a national scope, but taking local and regional concerns into consideration.
Some new ideas and policies are needed to reinvigorate the Liberal brand as one of solid, reliable centrism, and here are some suggestions:
-Broad support for free trade agreements and real free trade, to capitalize on Canada's advantage as a trading nation, while making us a leader of the Western world in lobbying other developed nations to lower their own tariffs (including our own) to make free trade more effective and fair.
-New federalism. The Conservatives talk a lot about "open federalism", supposedly a landmark change in the way federal-provincial relations are done. In practice, however, it has done little but throw money at whatever province is politically convenient to throw money at, attack whatever province is politically convenient to attack, and overall make no actual changes to administrative frameworks. A Liberal policy of "co-operative" federalism is needed, with provinces and the federal government, on both a one on one and group basis, sitting down, and having landmark discussions like the one Martin had with the premiers over health care, and figuring out the most effective framework for service delivery to citizens. Other aspects of co-operative federalism would be the federal government encouraging provinces to remove barriers to inter-provincial trade and labour agreements, giving all provinces at least a voice in important federal appointments, and ensuring that broad agreement is existent between all provinces in the case of future potential constitutional changes.
-A re-discovery of the individual. Conservatives often claim that they have inherited the mantle of classical liberalism, that both big L and small l liberalism have been overly influenced by collectivist ideas, and that conservatism offers the only place for individualist voters. Often times, we have allowed these claims to go unchallenged, but it is time to stand up as Liberals and claim back the ideas of great liberal individualists like Adam Smith, and re-finding the balance with social liberalism great contributions. Concrete ways this could be done would be the addition of private property rights to the Charter, and making changes in tax law to encourage individual saving and responsibility
-On a related note, building up the ideas of Green Liberalism, and that the free market, with some appropriate government interventions, is the best tool to fight climate change. Measures individuals are taking to make themselves more environmentally aware, such as buying hybrid cars, retrofitting homes, etc, should be rewarded with increased tax credits. Additionally, corporate tax cuts could be tied into how environmentally friendly a business is.
These are just some basic ideas and proposals by a Young Liberal, but I hope the ideas of re-building our broad national base from the centre becomes an overriding theme of the upcoming leadership and renewal period.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Mississauga Erindale Speculation
With Bob Dechert becoming the first elected federal Conservative in Mississauga in 20 years, his insider status, (a party insider, former National Director of the Canadian Alliance, representing the Alliance during merger talks, and given the green-light for a third run, unlike Phil Green) and his economics background, more then a couple sources have suggested his name in a re-vamped Tory cabinet, potentially as high as International Trade. So lets get some speculation done, and the plus-minus on Dechert getting into cabinet, and his possible role:
Plus:
-First elected Conservative in Mississauga in 2 decades, if the Tories want to get a majority, they will need to hold on Mississauga Erindale, and pick up other seats in the Peel Region they consider marginal, like Mississauga South and Brampton West. A Peel cabinet Minister would help in this regard.
-Dechert won by the narrowest of margins, a cabinet spot would help bulk up his chances at re-election.
-Dechert is a party loyalist, given that some have speculated Harper might pull a Bill Davis, Dechert would be supportive of the leader, be it Harper or another.
-His economic background and international experience would be a good fit for International Trade or Industry or at the very least, Parl. Sec. or Sec. State to them. (although it seems Jim Prentice is probably going to stay on in that role)
Minus:
-The biggest minus against Dechert being given a full portfolio is Lisa Raitt, newly elected MP for Halton. Raitt is a relatively high profile woman with urban experience representing a GTA riding; exactly what the Conservatives needed, and a good potential regional minister for the GTA West. Raitt should be a given for any new cabinet, and given that Halton and Mississauga-Erindale border each other, having both in cabinet might throw off regional balance somewhere else.
-Another gender based minus is that the open portfolio Dechert might be best suited for, International Trade, has had lots of rumours flying around lately that Harper wants to place a woman in it, with the most suggested names being Raitt and Alice Wong (who has the added bonus of being from urban BC and ethnic)
-Ontario balance. Of the current Ontario ministers, Tony Clement and John Baird are very likely to stay on in cabinet, although perhaps in different roles. Jim Flaherty in Finance is a bet to stay in his powerful position, Peter van Loan might get shuffled out of House Leader, but will probably stay in Cabinet, while Diane Finley will probably stay (albeit in perhaps a reduced role) thanks to her husband. The only Ontario cabinet ministers who might get moved around are Rob Nicholson in Justice, after the poor reaction to the Tory crime plan in Quebec, and Bev Oda, likely to be replaced by Alice Wong as Harper attempt at tokenism. Add Lisa Raitt to the mix, and you dont have a whole lot of wiggle room for Dechert.
My prediction: Dechert gets either Parliamentary Secretary to whoever the Minister of International Trade ends up being, or a Sec. of State appointment for an economic related portfolio.
Now of course, with an election possibly only another 2 years away, the question has to be asked, who will run for the Liberals against Dechert? Some possibilities:
Omar Alghabra
I think Omar making another run for it might be the most likely, assuming he wants it again. Omar was criticized by some however for spending not enough time in the riding, which might make it difficult to knock off an incumbent, particularly one which might get a cabinet post that will have him...out of the riding a lot. He already has the infrastructure in place, however, he might face a wild card or too.
Harinder Takhar
Takhar, however, I dont see as being one of those. I cant see him giving up a cabinet post to fight for what would probably be a tough nomination (if history is any guide) and a tough fight to even get elected. If he is maybe shuffled out of cabinet in the future he might think about it, but I cant see Takhar jumping from provincial to federal, although some jumping from one level to another is definitely possible for some others.
Steve Mahoney/Katie Mahoney
This is where things start to get interesting. Steve is the former MP for the area, and has remained in the public eye as Chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, while his wife Katie is a city councillor for a Ward which is part of the riding. Either one would be very credible candidates. The interesting part is that both have had speculation about runs for mayor of Mississauga at some point, and both would be credible candidates in that as well. The question is, if they did want to run for mayor, when? Hazel will be mayor for exactly as long as she wants, and more then a few people have suggested it is unlikely she would ever resign voluntarily, and her dying in office is a very real possibility. If a special election happens before the next federal election, be sure to see one of these two running municipally, if not, having one of them seek the federal nod would not be surprising at all. However, the the Mahoneys could be further motivated to seek whatever course of action by the ultimate wildcard:
Carolyn Parrish
She beat Dechert once, in 2004, remains fairly popular locally (as given her election to City Council) and has a good network within the City. Parrish wants to be mayor, and would run in a second if given the option, so even if no one else volunteers for Mississauga Erindale, I can see her staying out and focusing on municipal politics. The Mahoney-Parrish dynamics come into play here, as while a Mahoney is almost certain to run for mayor, they might not run for the federal nomination. Parrish could probably get the nomination if she wanted, the question is, what does she want?
Plus:
-First elected Conservative in Mississauga in 2 decades, if the Tories want to get a majority, they will need to hold on Mississauga Erindale, and pick up other seats in the Peel Region they consider marginal, like Mississauga South and Brampton West. A Peel cabinet Minister would help in this regard.
-Dechert won by the narrowest of margins, a cabinet spot would help bulk up his chances at re-election.
-Dechert is a party loyalist, given that some have speculated Harper might pull a Bill Davis, Dechert would be supportive of the leader, be it Harper or another.
-His economic background and international experience would be a good fit for International Trade or Industry or at the very least, Parl. Sec. or Sec. State to them. (although it seems Jim Prentice is probably going to stay on in that role)
Minus:
-The biggest minus against Dechert being given a full portfolio is Lisa Raitt, newly elected MP for Halton. Raitt is a relatively high profile woman with urban experience representing a GTA riding; exactly what the Conservatives needed, and a good potential regional minister for the GTA West. Raitt should be a given for any new cabinet, and given that Halton and Mississauga-Erindale border each other, having both in cabinet might throw off regional balance somewhere else.
-Another gender based minus is that the open portfolio Dechert might be best suited for, International Trade, has had lots of rumours flying around lately that Harper wants to place a woman in it, with the most suggested names being Raitt and Alice Wong (who has the added bonus of being from urban BC and ethnic)
-Ontario balance. Of the current Ontario ministers, Tony Clement and John Baird are very likely to stay on in cabinet, although perhaps in different roles. Jim Flaherty in Finance is a bet to stay in his powerful position, Peter van Loan might get shuffled out of House Leader, but will probably stay in Cabinet, while Diane Finley will probably stay (albeit in perhaps a reduced role) thanks to her husband. The only Ontario cabinet ministers who might get moved around are Rob Nicholson in Justice, after the poor reaction to the Tory crime plan in Quebec, and Bev Oda, likely to be replaced by Alice Wong as Harper attempt at tokenism. Add Lisa Raitt to the mix, and you dont have a whole lot of wiggle room for Dechert.
My prediction: Dechert gets either Parliamentary Secretary to whoever the Minister of International Trade ends up being, or a Sec. of State appointment for an economic related portfolio.
Now of course, with an election possibly only another 2 years away, the question has to be asked, who will run for the Liberals against Dechert? Some possibilities:
Omar Alghabra
I think Omar making another run for it might be the most likely, assuming he wants it again. Omar was criticized by some however for spending not enough time in the riding, which might make it difficult to knock off an incumbent, particularly one which might get a cabinet post that will have him...out of the riding a lot. He already has the infrastructure in place, however, he might face a wild card or too.
Harinder Takhar
Takhar, however, I dont see as being one of those. I cant see him giving up a cabinet post to fight for what would probably be a tough nomination (if history is any guide) and a tough fight to even get elected. If he is maybe shuffled out of cabinet in the future he might think about it, but I cant see Takhar jumping from provincial to federal, although some jumping from one level to another is definitely possible for some others.
Steve Mahoney/Katie Mahoney
This is where things start to get interesting. Steve is the former MP for the area, and has remained in the public eye as Chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, while his wife Katie is a city councillor for a Ward which is part of the riding. Either one would be very credible candidates. The interesting part is that both have had speculation about runs for mayor of Mississauga at some point, and both would be credible candidates in that as well. The question is, if they did want to run for mayor, when? Hazel will be mayor for exactly as long as she wants, and more then a few people have suggested it is unlikely she would ever resign voluntarily, and her dying in office is a very real possibility. If a special election happens before the next federal election, be sure to see one of these two running municipally, if not, having one of them seek the federal nod would not be surprising at all. However, the the Mahoneys could be further motivated to seek whatever course of action by the ultimate wildcard:
Carolyn Parrish
She beat Dechert once, in 2004, remains fairly popular locally (as given her election to City Council) and has a good network within the City. Parrish wants to be mayor, and would run in a second if given the option, so even if no one else volunteers for Mississauga Erindale, I can see her staying out and focusing on municipal politics. The Mahoney-Parrish dynamics come into play here, as while a Mahoney is almost certain to run for mayor, they might not run for the federal nomination. Parrish could probably get the nomination if she wanted, the question is, what does she want?
Monday, October 20, 2008
The Young Liberals and New Liberalism
A National Post article a few days after the election brought up the important fact that two of the Liberal Party's most attention grabbing policies, decriminalization of marijuana and gay marriage, came not from internal pollsters, backroom boys, or the caucus, but the Young Liberals.
As the party goes through a period of renewal and reflection, it is important for the Young Liberals, and for the party as a whole, to recognize the potential role and influence we can have as the party re-focuses. During the election, Young Liberals were the most solid volunteers and campaign workers the party had. Some of us dropped lit, some knocked on doors, some put up signs, some of us dressed up as kangaroos, some of us even managed campaigns or ran as candidates. No Young Liberal was ever a nameless "senior Liberal source" spreading discord, but we were out, working hard for the party. We will have 1/3rd of the delegates to the leadership convention, it is time for us to have 1/3rd of the power and show that we will be a united, progressive centre of power for change within the party, regardless of who we support in the leadership race. With this in mind, I present a few points that any leadership candidate who wants broad Young Liberal support should follow, and that Young Liberals themselves should remember:
1. Stress rebuilding over any other factor.
As many have said, regardless of questions of leadership, what the party really needs is re-building and re-focusing. In terms of turning "renewal" and "visions" from ideas into on the ground practices, the Young Liberals are very well equipped. The YLC is raising the most money for the party it ever has, which is critically important given that the party needs as much cash as possible right now, and needs to change fundamentally the way it raises money. Young Liberals can play a leadership role in terms of helping the party finances, and leadership candidates would be advised to acknowledge the role of youth in the party coffers.
2. Unity, Unity, Unity
Young Liberals should not be dragged into internal leadership debates. In the past, one reason we have no been as an effective force as we could have been is that we have reflected past divisions within the senior party. From a Young Liberal perspective, this is not something that helps. Regardless of who is the leader, the Young Liberals form the future of the party, and we need to realize the power and influence we can have for the better, and work together at every point of the race, upholding our shared values and goals regardless of who we support.
3. The Young Liberal Policy Voice
As mentioned, the Young Liberals have given the party in recent years some of the better and attention grabbing ideas it has come forward with. If the party is to rediscover what it means to be a Liberal in this country, the Young Liberals must play a crucial role in this, and leadership candidates need to acknowledge that.
Any suggestions are welcome.
As the party goes through a period of renewal and reflection, it is important for the Young Liberals, and for the party as a whole, to recognize the potential role and influence we can have as the party re-focuses. During the election, Young Liberals were the most solid volunteers and campaign workers the party had. Some of us dropped lit, some knocked on doors, some put up signs, some of us dressed up as kangaroos, some of us even managed campaigns or ran as candidates. No Young Liberal was ever a nameless "senior Liberal source" spreading discord, but we were out, working hard for the party. We will have 1/3rd of the delegates to the leadership convention, it is time for us to have 1/3rd of the power and show that we will be a united, progressive centre of power for change within the party, regardless of who we support in the leadership race. With this in mind, I present a few points that any leadership candidate who wants broad Young Liberal support should follow, and that Young Liberals themselves should remember:
1. Stress rebuilding over any other factor.
As many have said, regardless of questions of leadership, what the party really needs is re-building and re-focusing. In terms of turning "renewal" and "visions" from ideas into on the ground practices, the Young Liberals are very well equipped. The YLC is raising the most money for the party it ever has, which is critically important given that the party needs as much cash as possible right now, and needs to change fundamentally the way it raises money. Young Liberals can play a leadership role in terms of helping the party finances, and leadership candidates would be advised to acknowledge the role of youth in the party coffers.
2. Unity, Unity, Unity
Young Liberals should not be dragged into internal leadership debates. In the past, one reason we have no been as an effective force as we could have been is that we have reflected past divisions within the senior party. From a Young Liberal perspective, this is not something that helps. Regardless of who is the leader, the Young Liberals form the future of the party, and we need to realize the power and influence we can have for the better, and work together at every point of the race, upholding our shared values and goals regardless of who we support.
3. The Young Liberal Policy Voice
As mentioned, the Young Liberals have given the party in recent years some of the better and attention grabbing ideas it has come forward with. If the party is to rediscover what it means to be a Liberal in this country, the Young Liberals must play a crucial role in this, and leadership candidates need to acknowledge that.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Who is lying, Stephen Harper or Dean Del Mastro?
Harper has ducked and weaved around the abortion question as much as possible, much to the dismay of the theocratic wing of his party. He killed Ken Epp's anti-abortion by stealth private members bill, and said specifically that he would not support a bill to re-open the debate on abortion. Of course, as Harper has to accept that he is stuck with a thin minority or worse, that has to be taken with a grain of salt. It seems though, that Dean Del Mastro, Conservative MP for Peterbourgh, and a point man for the In and Out scandal, disagrees:
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=IWH14ljM1BM
Between 1:15 and 1:20 is where we see what the Conservatives would do with a majority government, and why they cannot even be given the chance with another minority.
"The laws will change in this country, I believe that, God Bless you all"
So who is lying, Dean Del Mastro, or Stephen Harper? What is the true Conservative position on issues like abortion, equal marriage, and other social issues that they are radically out of touch with the Canadian mainstream on?
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=IWH14ljM1BM
Between 1:15 and 1:20 is where we see what the Conservatives would do with a majority government, and why they cannot even be given the chance with another minority.
"The laws will change in this country, I believe that, God Bless you all"
So who is lying, Dean Del Mastro, or Stephen Harper? What is the true Conservative position on issues like abortion, equal marriage, and other social issues that they are radically out of touch with the Canadian mainstream on?
Progressive Government, or a handfull more seats?
The NDP is likely going to end up with more seats then they had going into this election, and while being a small victory for them, is not the breakthrough they had hoped. At most, they will gain a few swing seats and get up to their traditional ceiling of 20% of the vote. Not a bad result, but considering the hype Layton built up for himself, and the potential consequences of another Conservative government, not so great. Conservative Ministers like John Baird, Jim Flaherty, Peter MacKay, and Tony Clement all stand good chances of being re-elected with well under 50% of the vote. Elizabeth May said it best:
"Life would be simpler if I acted like Layton and didn't care if Stephen Harper formed government again. Life would be simpler if I were a complete hypocrite like Jack Layton and pretended I cared about the climate when all of his strategy makes his own personal success more important than survival of the climate and decent climate policy."
The NDP is against the Conservatives, the Liberals want to replace the Conservatives. The NDP fought, in fairness, a good campaign, and will be rewarded with some seat gains, but they ultimately will be returned as the 4th party of Parliament, talking about the right issues, but unable to get much done on them. The Liberals want to move Canada forward, Jack Layton wants 5 more seats.
"Life would be simpler if I acted like Layton and didn't care if Stephen Harper formed government again. Life would be simpler if I were a complete hypocrite like Jack Layton and pretended I cared about the climate when all of his strategy makes his own personal success more important than survival of the climate and decent climate policy."
The NDP is against the Conservatives, the Liberals want to replace the Conservatives. The NDP fought, in fairness, a good campaign, and will be rewarded with some seat gains, but they ultimately will be returned as the 4th party of Parliament, talking about the right issues, but unable to get much done on them. The Liberals want to move Canada forward, Jack Layton wants 5 more seats.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
YLC Vid: Harper in the Hot Seat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cMMVqBxvto
A great new YouTube vid by the Young Liberals of Canada, starring a couple good friends of mine from the Carleton Young Liberals. Spread the word!
A great new YouTube vid by the Young Liberals of Canada, starring a couple good friends of mine from the Carleton Young Liberals. Spread the word!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Tories lose riding association member in marginal riding
http://www.canada.com/surreynow/news/story.html?id=acf823cd-da3e-4f70-84a6-3e7f1e3d4b8d
With any Liberal drop in BC seemingly have stopped, this is further good news for the Liberals on the left coast. Support in a tight riding like Fleetwood-Port Kells can be fluid, but this defection is no mere volunteer:
Gill, who holds several university degrees, said he joined the Conservative Party three years ago and became a member of a multicultural committee that passed along concerns of the local ethnic community to the party leadership.
That Gill was an active and loyal member for 3 years doesn't fit with the local Conservative spin on this one. Look for the Liberals to make a big play for this swing riding.
EDIT: http://communities.canada.com/shareit/blogs/thetrough/archive/2008/10/10/oh-surrey-what-can-t-you-do.aspx
Well this got more interesting. Turns out Gill was the Vice-President of the riding (so definitely not just some volunteer) and one reason he gave for his turn to the Liberals was "the disrespectful treatment" given to Dion in regards to the Conservatives shameful response to the CTV video. So the backlash begins, as predicted by several pundits.
With any Liberal drop in BC seemingly have stopped, this is further good news for the Liberals on the left coast. Support in a tight riding like Fleetwood-Port Kells can be fluid, but this defection is no mere volunteer:
Gill, who holds several university degrees, said he joined the Conservative Party three years ago and became a member of a multicultural committee that passed along concerns of the local ethnic community to the party leadership.
That Gill was an active and loyal member for 3 years doesn't fit with the local Conservative spin on this one. Look for the Liberals to make a big play for this swing riding.
EDIT: http://communities.canada.com/shareit/blogs/thetrough/archive/2008/10/10/oh-surrey-what-can-t-you-do.aspx
Well this got more interesting. Turns out Gill was the Vice-President of the riding (so definitely not just some volunteer) and one reason he gave for his turn to the Liberals was "the disrespectful treatment" given to Dion in regards to the Conservatives shameful response to the CTV video. So the backlash begins, as predicted by several pundits.
Conservative victory bad for national unity
With the national polls showing that the Liberals are the clear alternative to the Conservatives, I think it is important to take a look at the province that at the start of the election was supposed to be the key to a Tory victory: Quebec.
The Conservatives invested heavily in being able to pick up seats in Quebec this election. Pundits lauded Harper's outmaneuvering of Dion and Duceppe, predicting a continual decline for the Liberals in the Quebec, and the Bloc being replaced by the Conservatives as the voice of francophone Quebecois. However, just as Kim Campbell discovered, the Conservative grand alliance is inherently unstable.
Harper, after having muzzled the theocratic and anti-bilingualism wing of his party in order to make gains in Ontario and Quebec, threw them a bone in the form of attacks on culture and draconian and backwards crime policies. These, however, went over extremely poorly in Quebec, allowing the Bloc Quebecois to get back in the game. A constant of all the polls recently has been the hemorrhaging of Conservative support in Quebec, with the BQ storming back and the Liberals making some gains from the 2006 results.
If these trends were to hold up, and the Conservatives were to form government, this would be terrible for national unity. The Conservatives are unlikely to pick up an additional seats, including those of star candidates and sure-fire would be cabinet ministers Micheal Fortier and Andre Bachand, and likely to lose marginal seats such as Louis-Hébert, Beauport – Limoilou, Charlesbourg – Haute-Saint-Charles, and even perhaps Pontiac, the seat of Lawrence Cannon, Harper's Quebec lieutenant. The Conservatives are going to be reduced to a handful of seats in the province, a terrible situation for a government to be in, considering the BQ's resurgence will require an adept federal government with strong Quebec members. The Tory rump in Quebec will consist of a couple faceless backbenchers, the disgraced Maxime Bernier, Josee Verner, the culture minister widely disliked in Quebec for the attacks on culture, Christian Paradis, the do-nothing Public Works Minister, and Jean-Pierre Blackburn, the Labour Minister most notable for flipping-flopping on wanting to re-open the Constitution and building up a local patronage network straight out of the Union Nationale days. For voters outside Quebec who are concerned with national unity, this motley crew is wildly insufficient to combat a swellinh Bloc tide largely created by the Conservatives.
The Liberal team in Quebec is going to grow, with very good chances for pick-ups in Papineau, Ahuntsic, Brossard – La Prairie and elsewhere, on top of strong, accomplished MP's and candidates such as Marc Garneau, Irwin Cotler, Denis Coderre, Marcel Proulx, Marlene Jennings, Lise Zarac and others. This is a strong, capable team, with many former and future Ministers who know how to run a government and take on the BQ. For voters outside Quebec who are frightened by a re-strengthed Bloc, and want to elected a strong national party with effective representation inside and outside Quebec, the only choice is Liberal.
The Conservatives invested heavily in being able to pick up seats in Quebec this election. Pundits lauded Harper's outmaneuvering of Dion and Duceppe, predicting a continual decline for the Liberals in the Quebec, and the Bloc being replaced by the Conservatives as the voice of francophone Quebecois. However, just as Kim Campbell discovered, the Conservative grand alliance is inherently unstable.
Harper, after having muzzled the theocratic and anti-bilingualism wing of his party in order to make gains in Ontario and Quebec, threw them a bone in the form of attacks on culture and draconian and backwards crime policies. These, however, went over extremely poorly in Quebec, allowing the Bloc Quebecois to get back in the game. A constant of all the polls recently has been the hemorrhaging of Conservative support in Quebec, with the BQ storming back and the Liberals making some gains from the 2006 results.
If these trends were to hold up, and the Conservatives were to form government, this would be terrible for national unity. The Conservatives are unlikely to pick up an additional seats, including those of star candidates and sure-fire would be cabinet ministers Micheal Fortier and Andre Bachand, and likely to lose marginal seats such as Louis-Hébert, Beauport – Limoilou, Charlesbourg – Haute-Saint-Charles, and even perhaps Pontiac, the seat of Lawrence Cannon, Harper's Quebec lieutenant. The Conservatives are going to be reduced to a handful of seats in the province, a terrible situation for a government to be in, considering the BQ's resurgence will require an adept federal government with strong Quebec members. The Tory rump in Quebec will consist of a couple faceless backbenchers, the disgraced Maxime Bernier, Josee Verner, the culture minister widely disliked in Quebec for the attacks on culture, Christian Paradis, the do-nothing Public Works Minister, and Jean-Pierre Blackburn, the Labour Minister most notable for flipping-flopping on wanting to re-open the Constitution and building up a local patronage network straight out of the Union Nationale days. For voters outside Quebec who are concerned with national unity, this motley crew is wildly insufficient to combat a swellinh Bloc tide largely created by the Conservatives.
The Liberal team in Quebec is going to grow, with very good chances for pick-ups in Papineau, Ahuntsic, Brossard – La Prairie and elsewhere, on top of strong, accomplished MP's and candidates such as Marc Garneau, Irwin Cotler, Denis Coderre, Marcel Proulx, Marlene Jennings, Lise Zarac and others. This is a strong, capable team, with many former and future Ministers who know how to run a government and take on the BQ. For voters outside Quebec who are frightened by a re-strengthed Bloc, and want to elected a strong national party with effective representation inside and outside Quebec, the only choice is Liberal.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Jack Layton a Strong Leader indeed
Jack Layton talks about being a Strong Leader a lot, and of course, a big part of being a Strong Leader is to have a Strong Team. Jack says it best himself:
“Over the last five years, we’ve built a very impressive team of New Democrats.”
-Jack Layton-Sun Sept 8, 2008
“…since 2003, he has been building the strongest possible team”
-NDP website
and so on and so forth. Well, you can have a look at some of the strongest members of Jack's Team at http://www.jacksteam.net/.
The website features such Strong Candidates as the famous Tokin' Twosome of Dana Larsen and Kirk Tousaw, Internet sensation Andrew McKeever, and many others.
Jack himself demonstrated his Strong Leadership last night, by making the Strong move of skipping his own all-candidates debate that had been organized around his timetable. http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_27728.aspx After all, why should a Strong Leader concern himself with piddling matters like being accountable to his own constituents? The Conservatives, who have a Strong Leader of their own, have been skipping debates all over the place, and Jack is only too eager to follow the tactics of the Conservatives, particularly when the polls show them actually on the verge of defeat.
Isn't to re-assuring for the Conservatives that Jack is a Strong Leader with a Strong Team behind him ready to help them get re-elected?
“Over the last five years, we’ve built a very impressive team of New Democrats.”
-Jack Layton-Sun Sept 8, 2008
“…since 2003, he has been building the strongest possible team”
-NDP website
and so on and so forth. Well, you can have a look at some of the strongest members of Jack's Team at http://www.jacksteam.net/.
The website features such Strong Candidates as the famous Tokin' Twosome of Dana Larsen and Kirk Tousaw, Internet sensation Andrew McKeever, and many others.
Jack himself demonstrated his Strong Leadership last night, by making the Strong move of skipping his own all-candidates debate that had been organized around his timetable. http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_27728.aspx After all, why should a Strong Leader concern himself with piddling matters like being accountable to his own constituents? The Conservatives, who have a Strong Leader of their own, have been skipping debates all over the place, and Jack is only too eager to follow the tactics of the Conservatives, particularly when the polls show them actually on the verge of defeat.
Isn't to re-assuring for the Conservatives that Jack is a Strong Leader with a Strong Team behind him ready to help them get re-elected?
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Harper trades sweater-vest for life jacket as Tory support collapses
This isn't the election Stephen Harper planned. His plan were to steal John Howard/George W. Bush negative attack ads and wedge politics, run a personalized campaign around the loose concept of "leadership", and talk about how doing things his way - his laizzez faire, hands off, "we need steady leadership" way, all on the road to a majority government.
What a shame reality has a liberal bias. As the economy slumps as a result of the very same Bush-ian economic policies Harper has been inspired by, Harper's poll numbers has slumped dramatically, resulting in a horse-race for the last week of the campaign. Canadians are turning away from the Conservatives, and today's release of the Conservative platform, the "inaction reaction" is nothing more then a series of hail mary passes and policy reversals as Harper's numbers slide while Dion's and the Liberals numbers grow. With the race so close, progressive Canadians have a choice, they can vote against the Harper government by voting for a smaller party, which only assures the re-election of the Conservatives, or they can vote to replace the Conservatives by getting behind Dion and the Liberals.
What a shame reality has a liberal bias. As the economy slumps as a result of the very same Bush-ian economic policies Harper has been inspired by, Harper's poll numbers has slumped dramatically, resulting in a horse-race for the last week of the campaign. Canadians are turning away from the Conservatives, and today's release of the Conservative platform, the "inaction reaction" is nothing more then a series of hail mary passes and policy reversals as Harper's numbers slide while Dion's and the Liberals numbers grow. With the race so close, progressive Canadians have a choice, they can vote against the Harper government by voting for a smaller party, which only assures the re-election of the Conservatives, or they can vote to replace the Conservatives by getting behind Dion and the Liberals.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Bounce Back and Forth
Some of you may have seen this, but it really is the hottest new joint right now, so we are gonna keep playing it! Check out Bounce by Baba Brinkman, rapidly becoming the unofficial theme song of the campaign.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Sexy Candidates
http://lasoubrette.webs.com/f_candidates.html and http://lasoubrette.webs.com/f_candidatsparti_fr.html
This project was done by a very good friend of mine, so I'm pimping it out a bit on her behalf. It also helps that the Liberals have the most candidates on the list. One of the candidates on the list even made note of it on his website (http://www.davidgregoire.ca/), so do my friend a favour and check it out.
This project was done by a very good friend of mine, so I'm pimping it out a bit on her behalf. It also helps that the Liberals have the most candidates on the list. One of the candidates on the list even made note of it on his website (http://www.davidgregoire.ca/), so do my friend a favour and check it out.
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