Tom Mulcair will be Prime minister - Thread #4

Yup, I agree 100% with the NDP tactic of using as much time as possible to denounce the budget and if that shuts out the Liberals - so be it.

That being said, I think that Mulcair as leader should avoid making caustic remarks about Rae (as tempting as it is). let other surrrogates do that. Mulcair should spend 100% of his time attacking the Tories and when asked to comment on what Rae is saying or doing he should say that he has no comment to make on the third party or its leader - end of story. Sometimes its best to say NOTHING.

mark_alfred wrote:

CanadaApple wrote:

Arthur Cramer wrote:

How did Mulcair do? Who did better?

see for yourself.

If speaking in a dull robotic monotone is prime ministerial, then Mulcair certainly was prime ministerial.  I found Rae more engaging in this clip.

Screaming like a lunatic about something you don't have answers for is what the NDP used to do, and be ridiculed for.  

Being Prime Ministerial shows that you are able to keep your cool (ironic given Mulcair's reputation), something that Rae doesn't seem to be able to get.  His artificial rage will get old and tired.

Meanwhile, Mulcair's calm, reasoned but sincere and relentless attack on the Conservatives will resonate with Canadians and project confidence, competence and, most importantly demonstrate restraint on the part of the NDP - a party that in the eyes of a ever-decreasing number of Canadians is reactionary, hysterical, well-meaning but idealistic.

Watching QP these past few days, it has struck me.  Mulcair, by projecting a quiet confidence in the face of Conservative scandal after scandal is doing much to dispel the myths about the NDP that have kept us out of power for so long.  And Rae, looking for media to pay attention to him in a desperate plea for airtime, goes into traditional NDP-style hysterics and hyperbole, blowing the image the Liberals had built up over their centuries in politics as pragmatic, middle of the road, boring administrators.

I have been incredibly impressed with how tough Mulcair has been on the Conservatives, and how relentless he's been over the F35 fiasco.  But I've been even more impressed how he won't be drawn in.  For example, Evan Solomon tried to get Mulcair to commit to rejecting the budget before even seeing it - something the NDP would have had no trouble doing in times past.  Also, he wouldn't commit to asking for a resignation from anyone over the F35s until they'd been questioned in QP, and the Minister had a fair chance to explain himself (knowing full well he wouldn't avail himself of that opportunity).  Meanwhile Rae was off spinning in all directions asking for the Prime Minister to fire himself, apparently, 

One thing about asking a PM to resign: No matter how warranted such a call is, you need to use it sparingly...and, it makes you look crazy.  Even if it is Harper and there is 1000 reasons why he's unfit to govern, those 999 other reasons are the reasons you sound stupid.  Because if he's still in there after those 999, whats #1000?

Overall, its been an amazing week in the HOC for Tom Mulcair, and a dismal one for the flailing, reactionary, unrealistic, attention-seeking Liberals.

One week does not change much in the eyes of the public, however.  It is going to take a sustained attack of fair, reasoned, measured, but pointed criticism of Harper and his agenda to help put Mulcair and the NDP over the top.  But the main thing here we need to remember - it does the NDP no good to go out as the official opposition and government in waiting, and scream and rant like Bob Rae, and call for the resignation of everyone under the sun...as good as that may make us feel for a few minutes or so.  Call it boring, but we have more to lose than Rae by appearing mentally unhinged - as angry as we may be at all the crap the government is pulling these days.

Competence is displayed over the next 5 years, as Canadians get more comfortable with the idea of the NDP being the next government.  And hell, we're starting from a pretty good position in the polls already!  The conservative record will speak for itself.  Rigging elections, mismanaging the economy, fixing procurement bids.  Canadians know the score already - they just need to be reminded...and when they go to the polls, we need to be that credible alternative choice that is staring them in the face.