Kicking our moribund leadership in the butt is always a good idea...https://canadianviews-ymo.ca/elizabeth-may-a-capable-leader-in-search-of...
Elizabeth May: A capable leader in search of a caucus
Wed, 2018-08-29 13:43
#1
indigo 007
Elizabeth May: A capable leader in search of a caucus
Wed, 2018-08-29 15:14
#2
The key question with May is: does she WANT a caucus? She has come across, for a long-time, as seeming to prefer that her party not actually win any other federal seats. She certainly doesn't want internal democracy or a vibrant grassroots Green politial culture.
Wed, 2018-08-29 16:48
#3
Kicking our moribund leadership in the butt is always a good idea...https://canadianviews-ymo.ca/elizabeth-may-a-capable-leader-in-search-of...
By Robert Billyard; 29 Aug 2018:
Elizabeth May: A capable leader in search of a caucus
As the global climate change crisis deepens the present Liberal government gets failing marks. The Kinder Morgan pipeline took the measure of its commitment to fighting change. It showed that Big Oil runs this government. It has been held hostage to the devious machinations of a cash grabbing corporate bandit. It has squandered billions of public money in buying a 68 year old pipeline, and will squander billions more to build another parallel pipeline. It has fostered the expansion of the tar sands at the very time there should be limits on its production with a planned phase out.
This phase out is more critical as global warming is manifesting itself more rapidly than expected. As it stands now our world will be a very different place in the latter part of this century. We are in the frying pan, and the heat is not going to get turned down any time soon.
The war on climate change has to be won. We need leaders totally committed to winning this war. To win we need a consortium of global leaders. So far this leadership has not emerged.
Canada is becoming an economic and political backwater thanks to the decades long retreat from real governance of our apathetic political elites; specifically the Liberals and Conservatives. We are suffering a foreclosure of future prospects at the hands of governments and parties that are self-serving and indolent.
The present Liberal Party is a pale shadow of its former self. It is led by a self-serving, self-aggrandizing tousle-haired novice. The country suffers onward and downward as he has his political fling.
As for the conservatives they are a listless cabal of political eccentrics.
The NDP is in self-immolation mode as it makes one bad decision after another, starting with dumping Tom Mulcair as leader.
The one bright spot in federal politics is the presence of one Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party. Since being elected in 2011 she has proven herself a well-informed and diligent leader. When she speaks on issues she does so with articulation and authority. She is unafraid to speak truth to power and she has candor- a quality lacking in too many politicians. Most importantly she is her own person and has authenticity.
She is a rare politician! One willing to go to jail for her convictions. Protesting the Kinder Morgan Pipeline resulted in her arrest with a possible jail sentence. She was let off with a $1500 fine, tripled from $500 because she used her public office to incite civil disobedience.
She is a leader lacking a caucus, and most deserving of one.
With the 2019 election Canada must genuinely go Green, set new precedents, and make a start at revitalizing our crumbling political culture.
May’s leadership must be empowered by a talented slate of candidates, ready to run, and run hard.
It is time for Greens to put on their running shoes. Voting for the same old ill-starred hacks of political mediocrity is of course ballot box insanity.
Thu, 2018-08-30 13:56
#4
indigo 007
I have asked myself the same question. But we must start developing alternatives to the Liberal/ Conservative clique.The key question with May is: does she WANT a caucus? She has come across, for a long-time, as seeming to prefer that her party not actually win any other federal seats. She certainly doesn't want internal democracy or a vibrant grassroots Green politial culture.
Thu, 2018-08-30 17:39
#5
Paradoxically, the fact that the Greens have been so unsuccessful electorally (and would still be coming in fourth no matter what flavour of PR might replace FPTP) is, I think, part of why May can "do politics differently".
If the Greens were genuinely in the running federally, or even provincially, supporters would be (shall we say) "strongly" urging her to play it safe. But "freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose".
Sat, 2018-09-01 01:18
#6
Paradoxically, the fact that the Greens have been so unsuccessful electorally (and would still be coming in fourth no matter what flavour of PR might replace FPTP) is, I think, part of why May can "do politics differently".If the Greens were genuinely in the running federally, or even provincially, supporters would be (shall we say) "strongly" urging her to play it safe. But "freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose".
Have you seen provincial polls out of Prince Edward Island?
Sat, 2018-09-01 01:20
#7
Just looking at the leaders, May looks to be the only leader in Parliament who is actually competent at leading anything.
Sat, 2018-09-01 18:23
#8
Paradoxically, the fact that the Greens have been so unsuccessful electorally (and would still be coming in fourth no matter what flavour of PR might replace FPTP) is, I think, part of why May can "do politics differently".If the Greens were genuinely in the running federally, or even provincially, supporters would be (shall we say) "strongly" urging her to play it safe. But "freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose".
Have you seen provincial polls out of Prince Edward Island?
Well, I don't know much about the internal politics of PEI. Is what's happening there likely to be replicated on the federal level?
Social Credit in BC was kicking ass all through the 1980s. Didn't win them a single seat in Ottawa, though.
Sat, 2018-09-01 18:38
#9
Just looking at the leaders, May looks to be the only leader in Parliament who is actually competent at leading anything.
To be fair, what is she actually LEADING? An army of millions, or a party of one?
Just looking at the leaders, May looks to be the only leader in Parliament who is actually competent at leading anything.
I don't really follow polls. Similarly, I use my chicken bones for stock rather than prognostication. If it's a Green Sweep there on e-day, perhaps I'll have more to say.
Sat, 2018-09-01 18:41
#10
^^ Oh, okay, I just re-read that, and Magoo HAD postulated a provincially viable Green Party as relevant to May's fortunes federally.
Contra both Magoo and Aristotle, then, I'm still gonna wager that the PEI Greens are pretty much irrelevant to what happens federally. Although I suppose that, given the Greens are such a novelty to the public(unlike Social Credit by the 1980s), an upsurge in PEI might have the effect of getting people to say "Hmm, maybe I should take a second look at the federal party".
Still pretty skeptical on that, though.
Sat, 2018-09-01 18:41
#11
It didn't win them a single seat in Ottawa because it was never meant to win them a single seat in Ottawa. BC Social Credit existed for one reason and one reason alone: as a place where federal PC supporters and federal Liberals from the party's right-wing could coalesce against the provincial NDP and keep it out of power. That's why BC Social Credit totally collapsed within four years of its third place showing in the 1991 BC election. Federally, Social Credit essentially gave up after 1968, when the last federal Social Credit seats in B.C. were lost due to "Trudeaumania".Paradoxically, the fact that the Greens have been so unsuccessful electorally (and would still be coming in fourth no matter what flavour of PR might replace FPTP) is, I think, part of why May can "do politics differently".If the Greens were genuinely in the running federally, or even provincially, supporters would be (shall we say) "strongly" urging her to play it safe. But "freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose".
Have you seen provincial polls out of Prince Edward Island?
Well, I don't know much about the internal politics of PEI. Is what's happening there likely to be replicated on the federal level?
Social Credit in BC was kicking ass all through the 1980s. Didn't win them a single seat in Ottawa, though.
Sat, 2018-09-01 18:44
#12
^ Okay. The NDP swept to power in Alberta in 2015. Didn't help them in the next election, even though the country as a whole is likely more left-wing than Alberta.
Sat, 2018-09-01 18:53
#13
FWIW, I only added "... or provincially" to be polite. I figure the Greens in Canada need whatever wins they can claim.
Sat, 2018-09-01 19:30
#14
FWIW, I only added "... or provincially" to be polite. I figure the Greens in Canada need whatever wins they can claim.
It would be interesting to see what a Green provincial government would be like. My guess is...the same poorbashing antiworker neoliberal austerity policies as Chretien, Harper, and the provincial NDP governments of the Nineties, but more slightly more recycling baskets. You'd see a Green premier open a windmill farm once a year, probably to distract from the last round of mass layoffs. Most likely, they'd end up caving in and accepting fracking like all the others. That's what having no real core values means.
Sat, 2018-09-01 22:21
#15
It would be interesting to see what a Green provincial government would be like. My guess is...the same poorbashing antiworker neoliberal austerity policies as Chretien, Harper, and the provincial NDP governments of the Nineties, but more slightly more recycling baskets. You'd see a Green premier open a windmill farm once a year, probably to distract from the last round of mass layoffs. Most likely, they'd end up caving in and accepting fracking like all the others. That's what having no real core values means.
Well said
Sat, 2018-09-01 22:38
#16
If they can do it in BC, who knows they may end up holding the balance of power in NB
Sat, 2018-09-01 23:12
#17
I'm still gonna wager that the PEI Greens are pretty much irrelevant to what happens federally. Although I suppose that, given the Greens are such a novelty to the public(unlike Social Credit by the 1980s), an upsurge in PEI might have the effect of getting people to say "Hmm, maybe I should take a second look at the federal party".Still pretty skeptical on that, though.
There is always the possibility of spillover effect. A Green government in PEI would certainly be a morale boost to Green supporters in other provinces. It also gives the federal party a focus and a potential viable roadmap to electing some more Green MPs. At the very least, I'm thinking the federal Greens would put resources into Victoria, Saanich, Winnipeg Centre, Guelph, Charlottetown, and we'll see how things happen in New Brunswick.
Wed, 2018-09-05 22:40
#18
I used to know the Green leader in PEI -- he lived near me here in Eastern Ontario and he even was my dentist for a while.
This guy is very progressive, decent in a way that is extremely rare, and brilliant -- he is the real deal. If I were in PEI I would vote for him for sure.
If he won in PEI I think he would show himself to be an incredibly great Premier.
Thu, 2018-09-06 15:34
#19
Paradoxically, the fact that the Greens have been so unsuccessful electorally (and would still be coming in fourth no matter what flavour of PR might replace FPTP) is, I think, part of why May can "do politics differently".If the Greens were genuinely in the running federally, or even provincially, supporters would be (shall we say) "strongly" urging her to play it safe. But "freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose".
Have you seen provincial polls out of Prince Edward Island?
And now they've taken the lead:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-cra-poll-august-...
Thu, 2018-09-06 15:39
#20
Social Credit in BC was kicking ass all through the 1980s. Didn't win them a single seat in Ottawa, though.
The last of the BC MLAs with ties to the Federal Social Credit was probably Cyril Shelford, and he lost in 1979.