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I thought the content of the speech was pretty good. It was just the delivery that sucked.
TM4PM!
Ha to both of your comments.
Well I look for content more than delivery.
I don't remember any mention of social democracy or equality. But then again my memory sucks.
Mansbridge is interviewing Tom right now.
Mulcair still dominates in interviews.
See, Libby remains deputy.
You owe me 5 dollars. And liquor.
Mulcair: Libby Davies will continue as Deputy leader.
Mulcair just told Mainsbridge that Libby will continue to be Deputy Leader.
And Mulcair is doing just fine, saying all the right things.
Huh! Well, that certainly is promising, and quite unexpected. Very nice comments on his part about Davies. And she'll be remaining deputy leader - smart on his part.
I'm impressed so far.
Also, he is way, WAY better unscripted than he is at speechifying. Maybe they should just send him onstage with a couple of bullet points on a cue-card.
"Jean, you're one hell of a tortoise"
Well, that makes two of us, NorthReport. :) Believe me, I'd be thrilled to be wrong. I don't want to see progressives in the party sidelined just to prove myself right!
Mulcair is killing the interview with Mainsbridge. MUCH better than the speech.
And I'm impressed that Michelle's impressed.
Hopefully Mulcair steals Topp's tax the rich plan. Its a great way to create unity and well, lets just say that policy is just what im lookin for.
Agreed! Great interview by Mulcair!
So here is my take on what happened:
The race was actually a contest between 2 sections of the party elite, with Topp representing more of the union/old guard wing, and Mulcair representing the Blairite wing. Despite what he may have led people to believe, Topp is not a strong advocate of the party's left-wing. He served under Roy Romanow, one of the most openly Blairite NDP governments Canada has ever elected. The grassroots candidates could not muster the resources to be major contenders, as seen by the fact that Charlie Angus and Megan Leslie didn't even run despite encouragement to do so, the fact that Niki Ashton actually received fewer votes than Martin Singh even though Singh didn't even run a real campaign, and the fact that candidates like Paul Dewar and Nathan Cullen didn't even make it to the final ballot. How else could Brian Topp have done so well, with the party recently electing a record number of seats and Topp not holding one himself, unless Topp had some serious backing from the party establishment? He very clearly played to the core left-wing ideas of the NDP base, and probably would have won if he didn't have a seat.
As for Mulcair? Despite the strong numbers he posted in the end, this is actually a stern rebuke. It took him four ballots to win, which suggests that people aren't so enthusiastic again. He made the mistake of accepting the media's narrative that he was the front-runner and heir apparent, and acted accordingly. While he worked very hard to win new NDP voters in Quebec, he basically took it for granted that the NDP base was going to support him no matter what. He did not show that he really got the NDP culture, and at times came across as being opposed, for example, his remarks about "union bosses." He never clarified what he meant by "modernizing" the party, even though he should have known that that kind of talk sets off alarm bells about shifting the NDP rightward, whether or not that was Mulcair's intent. His comments about "doing things differently" came across as insulting. They would have carried weight if the pattern for NDP seat numbers was either stagnant or in decline, but the NDP seat count increased in every election in the past decade, so what did the party need to do differently now? If he had taken more effort to reassure the NDP base, and even talk to them and show that he was going to listen to their concerns and not take them for granted, the vote may not have dragged on as long, in fact he could very easliy have won on the first ballot.
Then there was Alexa's speech that went on and on. It would have been even better if Tom had said that Libby was his choice for Deputy Leader during his acceptance speech. I wonder if he will have more than one?
I cannot communicate the pleasure--nay!--pure jubilation--I feel to direct all of my esteemed friends, colleagues, competitors, supporters (both new and old) and my fellow mods to renew our ongoing project of unification and re-energization to this thread, dutifully started by Caissa (whose position as deputy nuisance shall continue unblemished) and admirably stewarded by many of my brothers and sisters whose courage and tenacity cannot be understated.
As I close this thread for posterity, I have only one thing to say:
I ran a positive campaign.