babble is rabble.ca's discussion board but it's much more than that: it's an online community for folks who just won't shut up. It's a place to tell each other — and the world — what's up with our work and campaigns.
Support rabble | Advertise with us | Contact our staff | About rabble | Log-in or Register for a new account | Corrections | Privacy policy | Newsfeeds | Mailing lists
rabble: Features | Columnists | In Cahoots | Blogs | Books | Photos | What's Up | Polls
babble: Forum Topics | Active Topics
The rpn: About the RPN | Become a podcaster
rabbleTV: Program Guide | Features | Indie Inside | Best of the net
Copyright © 2001-2013 the authors
Syndicate
Actually, I've been watching the convention with my girlfriend, who cares about the NDP but not nearly as obsessed as I've been. She hasn't followed the intraparty bickering and the rumor mill. She's gonna vote for Ashton with me, but she's already decided that if Ashton doesn't do well, she's gonna support Topp on the later ballots. Really liked his speech and thinks he seems like a nice guy.
If only she caught some of the elbows he threw at the other debates ;)
Really, the task for Mulcair right now is just not to say anything too stupid that either costs him convention and e-votes tomorrow or which can be used in a Tory attack ad. So that's what you got.
Yeah, Mulcair certainly didn't do a bad job. It was a very competent, professional, positive presentation. He didn't lose a drop of support, and anyone who was leaning towards him probably saw what they needed to see to seal the deal.
Singh's "God bless Canada" closer really bugs me.
Online voting is down.
56,000 ballots cast already so 74,000 can vote over the next couple days.
If I had any doubt that Peggy sees herself as the Toronto candidate, and thinks that's a good thing, her presentation just cured my doubt. What was the point of, as someone said on CBC, using up her time with two local councillors no one outside Toronto has ever heard of?
According to Peter Van Dusen, 55,000 votes had been cast by the time we got to Nikki Ashton's presentation....
Ed Broadbent on CBC, saying Mulcair "bombed"-then begging not to be quoted out of context
Broadbent really does not know when to zip it - he is only continuing to discredit himself and the Topp campaign by his comments. I have heard that thousands of members went over to Mulcair after Broadbent's original outburst.
Just watching McDonaugh and Broadbent on Power and Politics. The former is classy in her assessment, Broadbent is embarassing himself.
Broadbent versus Alexa on CBC - the more I hear Broadbent, the less I like him, and I've never really liked him.
"I think I make it pretty clear throughout the article that I think the NDP's current version of social democracy is weak and inadequate to the great challenges of our times: defeating neo-liberalism and building alternatives to global capitalism."
I think Derrick wrote this in the previous thread. The great challenge of our time is to address the deteriorating physical environment and build a sustainable society. Defeating neo-liberalism and building alternatives to global capitalism is a necessary means to that end, not the end in itself. While I don't think there is any real evidence that Tom wants to or will take the Party to the right, I don't see any of the candidates addressing the need for really fundamental social and economic change.
Alexa skewered Broadbent on the need for the leader to be a sitting MP to be on the ground running. Broadbent said it's not a big deal - Alexa basically says Ed is bullshitting.
ETA: Fucking Ed Broadbent said Mulcair bombed today. What an asshole. Just gave the Cons and Libs their next attack ad.
Solomon is really playing up the controversy now. Nice job, Broadbent. How do you use language like "bombed" against one of your own party members? Unbelievable.
Wow, Ed Broadbent was just terrible. Alexa McDonough totally outclassed him.
Yeah, Broadbent is hurting the candidate that he's been trying to help. Maybe he's speaking from the hip, based on his own biases. But he needs to see the big picture (how to actually help Topp), and the bigger picture (how to help the NDP and Canada).
Lorne Nystrom: "There will be a backlash against Ed Broadbent for this today".
Lorne Nystrom now doing the same
· Open
4212 people registered for #ndpldr convention as of right now and people still signing up! Nearly 700 members of the media accredited. Wow!
20hNew stats page comparing NDP leadership candidates usage of Twitter http://politwitter.ca/special/ndp_leadership_stats #ndpldr #cdnpoli
17 MarMy call for respect for Canada's democracy. Please take a moment to watch and to share: http://youtu.be/gklktztQ6rk #NDPldr #cdnpoli
View videoNDP Candidate Calgary Mountain View Having an open mind is valuable, but means your opinions will shift from time to time
Calgary
- 5,075 Tweets
- 248 Following
- 244 Followers
View more Tweets → Following 4mI wonder if Alexa is intrstd in the soon-to-be vacant role of elderstatesperson in the party? #ndpldr Whatever happend to good ole uncle Ed?
10mMr Broadbent, stop digging, you're not doing yourself or your candidate any favours #ndpldr #pnp
14m@kady join the club
I noticed that the mainstream commentators were contemptuous of the drumming intro for Mulcair (to say nothing of how dismissive they were of his presentation - the excessiveness of the response revealing a mix of hatred and fear of the Mulcair option)... To those who are familiar with protests in Quebec, and with the massive student strike happening now, the drumming is a direct nod to Quebec and those students (the drummers were wearing red, the colour of the Strike). And this style of drumming - far from that of "a marching band", as one ignorant pundit put it - comes from a combination of Latin American music and protests and many marches over the years in Montreal (and elsewhere in QC) in which organised groups of street drummers liven up the scene.
When Mulcair wins, he has to come out and act graciously toward Broadbent and Topp. He needs to be very deliberate in addressing them and thanking them for their contribution to the party - both past and future. He needs to address the comments they made, and be clear that those comments were not taken personally, and rather from a point of understanding of how important this decision was, and he needs to extend the olive branch toward them.
And they need to accept it.
AAAAHHHH!!!!
God, I hope Mulcair humiliates the hell out of Topp and Brioadbent in the end. I regret saying this, but I'm pissed off.
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/leader+could+defeat+Tories+2015+poll/6350747/story.html#ixzz1pykZIZFa
It disappoints me that only two candidates see this huge political opportunity and moral imperative. Topp, and Cullen.
Actually Broadbent is becoming one of Mulcair's biggest assets. Everytime Broadbent opens his mouth more people go over to support Mulcair.
As much as Mulcair would have the right to be mad at Broadbent over some of the stuff he's said, I think he's been smart not to react, let alone over react. The race is basically over now. And win or lose, the smartest thing he can do for his career is to help the party stay unified.
I hope he'll reach out to the supporters of all the other candidates. A positive tone goes a long way. Even better would be to keep using a participatory model to building the party and our policy.
What on earth is up with that huge long scrolling post filled with Twitter crap? Are we not capable of typing "twitter.com" into our browsers if we want to read a thousand posts there? (Edited to add: thanks for cutting that post back!)
Boo hoo hoo, it's no fun when colleagues criticize Mulcair in the media! It's much better when Mulcair trashes his colleagues instead, isn't it? Then it's okay - there are lots of excuses for that. Turnabout is just no fair!
The Mulcair campaign has actually been relentlessly positive. Very magnanimous towards the other candidates.