Ontario NDP and Horwath looking ahead

108 posts / 0 new

Sun, 2014-09-21 12:10

infracaninophile $infracaninophile's picture$

Geoff wrote:
How do we build a base? Do we go after Liberal voters or do we go after the folks who don't vote? I'm for reaching out to non-voters, which would require a completely differnet kind of election platform.

I agree with Stockholm that, in general, trying to persuade longtime non-voters to get involved is labour-intensive and rarely worth the investment.

But another category of "non-voters" are young people, those not yet old enough to vote or not yet either engaged or turned off. Remember the poster (can't recall who it was) during the campaign who told us about her neice (I think) who organized lots of other young people to support Jonah Schein? I think the young people are the future and have much more openness to the NDP message about social justice, environmental concerns, worker protection and much more. THAT should be where significant energy is spent, IMO.

Sun, 2014-09-21 20:17

#103

terrytowel

infracaninophile wrote:

terrytowel wrote:
If we can ask you infracaninophile does Rob Ford policies appeal to you? If so why, and how can the NDP adopt an Ford Nation type platform without ailenating the base?

H*** no. I find Ford not only loathesome on a number of counts (politically and otherwise) but an affront to the "ordinary people" he professes to represent.

What does this dysfunctional parasite know about the "ordinary worker?" Nada.

I asked you that because 25% of his support comes from voters who identify as NDP supporters. Thought you might be one of those people, my mistake.

I just don't know who would support Rob Ford as mayor and the NDP provincially and federally?

Sun, 2014-09-21 22:37

#104

Stockholm

There are plenty of people who voted for Ford for mayor in 2010 who then voted Liberal provincially in 2011 and 2014 and i wouldn't be surprised if there was plenty of overlap between Ford support and support for Justin Trudeau as well.

Mon, 2014-09-22 04:54

#105

Debater

There is probably 'overlap' of support at various levels and between various candidates. This is one of the mysteries of politics. It's been going on for generations. Many of the same Quebecers who voted for Rene Levesque provincially voted for Pierre Trudeau federally. Trudeau won a majority of support in Quebec in every election, so some of those voters had chosen the PQ provincially.

But most of Rob Ford's voters are aligned with Stephen Harper. That's why the Harper & Ford camps have worked together, and why Harper & the CPC haven't criticized Ford, even though he's done hardcore drugs like cocaine. Meanwhile at the same time they go on & on about how bad marijuana is.

Thu, 2014-09-25 12:04

#106

robbie_dee

Stockholm wrote:

Getting 24% is not "having no base to speak of" - it was the best result in any Ontario election since 1977 - with the exception of Bob Rae's fluke win in 1990. It could have been much better with a good campaign - but a quarter of the electorate clearly is a "base".

You are incorrect. The NDP polled 23.8% in 1985 and 25.7% in 1987, both of which exceed the 23.75% the NDP received in 2014. That being said I would agree that the NDP appears to have finally recovered from the post-Rae crash where it bottomed out at 12.6% of the vote in 1999 before slowly marching back, effectively over the course of a "generation" in politics, to something more like a long-term historic support level.

Sun, 2014-11-16 11:08

#107

NorthReport

Andrea's more popular than ever. Sweet!

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath survives leadership review vote

Horwath received 76.9 per cent support, slightly more than the 76.4 per cent she received two years ago.

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/11/15/ontario_ndp_leader_and...

Sun, 2014-11-16 12:21

#108

NorthReport

Ontario NDP gives Horwath 77 per cent in confidence vote

In the end it wasn’t even close as Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath easily survived a vote on her leadership Saturday at the party’s convention in Toronto.

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/11/15/ontario-ndp-gives-horwath-77-per-cent...

Ontario NDP and Horwath looking ahead

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