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What has the Layton-led New Democrats done right this election

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Cueball
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Joined: Dec 23 2003
quote:Originally posted by West Coast Greeny:
Cap-and-trade is not neo-liberal economics, its just economics. It does work, and is currently being set up in Europe. A direct carbon tax works too.

Works by trading carbon credits with who?

And also, how can you say it "works" in the same sentence where you basically admit it hasn't been established, even in Europe?

PROTEST-Indigenous Peoples "2nd MAY REVOLT" at the UNPFII

[ 14 October 2008: Message edited by: Cueball ]


DrConway
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Joined: May 6 2001
Re NDP.

I thought Jack Layton's "running for Prime Minister" motif was genius. Nothing inspires a second look like a person who refuses to be boxed in by prevailing notions about the NDP's ability to only gain enough seats to be ever be a junior partner in a government, instead of being the government.


CMOT Dibbler
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Joined: May 17 2003
quote: First off, there is very little evidence of a "principled" stand on Afghanistan. The NDP position and the Green party position as enounciated by various leading NDP'rs, seems to be about the same.

What is unprincipled about it? They want Canadian troops out don't they? Should we stay and meddle with the lives of ordinary afgahns?

quote:Sixthly, the NDP core here has outdone itself in ruthlessly smearing, and attacking people who say things that are openly critical of the NDP.

The core is pretty large, are you sure you want to judge us all based on your expierences on Babble?


Cueball
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Joined: Dec 23 2003
No major NDP leader has been saying anything about a withdrawal, except from the "combat mission", that is not a withdrawal from Afghanistan. As far as I can tell the idea that NDP is opposed to Canadian forces being present in Afghanistan is a myth being put about by their opponents.

CMOT Dibbler
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Joined: May 17 2003
Why don't you start your own political party?

Noise
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Joined: May 16 2006
DR.Conway:
quote: I thought Jack Layton's "running for Prime Minister" motif was genius. Nothing inspires a second look like a person who refuses to be boxed in by prevailing notions about the NDP's ability to only gain enough seats to be ever be a junior partner in a government, instead of being the government.

He announced it, but I'm not sure if he walked the walk. It's a constant critism (I'm guilty of it too) that I get back about the NDP... Exceedingly good at picking apart Harper and the Cons, but fail to give a vision of our own. Well, thats not true, but the vision seems to be secondary to the message of the "wrongness of the Conservatives". Not to say this wasn't a good step from Layton, but it'll have to be taken to the next level... Screw telling us why the Cons are wrong and start with telling us why the NDP is right (act as the leader and not the opposition).

Outside of a couple other points, it seemed like a good campaign (from what i saw atleast). I would have liked to see a little more stress from the NDP regarding PR as well (It'd win votes here atleast... EMay declaring it as the first thing she'd do struck some chords here). I'd also like to see the campaign opened up away from the 'working families'... And not just a reword to 'hard working families' [img]tongue.gif" border="0[/img] Working singles and non-working students are voters too.

And cheers to anyone that got off their puters to campaign, tis your efforts that keep this (mostly-futile) democracy alive.


remind
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Joined: Jun 25 2004
quote:Originally posted by West Coast Greeny:
...the NDP has shifted sharply from being a progressive urban party to a populist party. Many issues they have started concentrating on are very small, designed more to attract votes than anything else: Corporate Tax hikes (which, I'm sorry, is a terrible idea in this country), corporate profits, banks, ATM fees, Liberal abstensions, Stephen Harper's sweater.
Funny I never heard 1 mention of corporate tax hikes, what I heard was halting the corporate tax cuts, as promised by Dion and Harper. Moreover, the oil companies should not be making upwards of 44 billion a year off of our oil and destroying the environment to do it.

Furthermore, the NDP's roots are not "urban progressive" the NDP's roots are at the grass roots level where some of the thing you mention impact significantly. I see them as going back to their roots more.

And Layton's use of the sweater comments against Harper will be remembered for generations.


CMOT Dibbler
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Joined: May 17 2003
quote: Furthermore, the NDP's roots are not "urban progressive" the NDP's roots are at the grass roots level where some of the thing you mention impact significantly. I see them as going back to their roots more.

They can't. Canada dosen't really have a working class anymore. The people who toyle to make the goods we need(or want) live in China and Thailand, Botswana and Peru. What remains of Canada's blue colar workforce has been stolen by the other parties. The party is now forced to appeal to gentrifacation loving, capachino sipping middle class activists in order to survive. The party needs to be rejuvinated, but it still has some decent people inside it, and is still worth supporting. It's not easy to save an organization if you are not part of it.

[ 14 October 2008: Message edited by: CMOT Dibbler ]


Mojoroad1
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Joined: Aug 7 2008
quote:Originally posted by Cueball:

Well, you were primary in preventing me from supporting the NDP for many years now, but the general atmosphere here, slanders, gang attacks, and so on and so forth was a real motivator in an entirely alternate direction.

I'd really like to see the NDP promoting an "democratic" culture within itself, but nothing like that has been evident over the last few weeks, so....

Cueball, last time I checked you've been one of the most vocal opponents of NDP policy around here. In so far that you are accusing people on rabble for turning you off the NDP I'd suggest that the majority of rabble posters are turned off you. the fact that you are 'non-partisan' is a bit of a misnomer. By your posts - mostly derogatory and negative- of course you are going to bring the ire of progressives. I highly doubt if Layton walked on water you would have voted NDP 'if at all' as you say. 'nuff said.


Michelle
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Joined: May 10 2001
quote:Originally posted by Cueball:
Nasty partisan attacks and smears by Layton New Dems on this site have encouraged me to vote Liberal, which is what I will be doing this time around. In this they did wrong.

That's great, but as you can see from the thread title, this is about what the NDP did RIGHT this election. I think there's another thread for left-wing criticism of the NDP - that would be an appropriate place for these comments. Don't worry, they'll see them there. [img]smile.gif" border="0[/img]


RosaL
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Joined: Mar 4 2007
quote:Originally posted by CMOT Dibbler:

They can't. Canada dosen't really have a working class anymore. The people who toyle to make the goods we need(or want) live in China and Thailand, Botswana and Peru. What remains of Canada's blue colar workforce has been stolen by the other parties. The party is now forced to appeal to gentrifacation loving, capachino sipping middle class activists in order to survive. The party needs to be rejuvinated, but it still has some decent people inside it, and is still worth supporting. It's not easy to save an organization if you are not part of it.

[ 14 October 2008: Message edited by: CMOT Dibbler ]

Certainly the industrial working class is greatly diminished. But what about all those people working in the ever-expanding service sector?

Moreover, I don't know any reason not to consider nurses and teachers and social workers and construction workers and call centre personnel and etc. etc. 'working class'.


Cueball
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Joined: Dec 23 2003
quote:Originally posted by Mojoroad1:

Cueball, last time I checked you've been one of the most vocal opponents of NDP policy around here. In so far that you are accusing people on rabble for turning you off the NDP I'd suggest that the majority of rabble posters are turned off you. the fact that you are 'non-partisan' is a bit of a misnomer. By your posts - mostly derogatory and negative- of course you are going to bring the ire of progressives. I highly doubt if Layton walked on water you would have voted NDP 'if at all' as you say. 'nuff said.

Really, then why you post? I give credit where credit is due. But of course when I say things like, we should "give the NDP credit" for raising the issue of poverty, people call me a "liberal" or a communist or... something.

And as for "the majority of rabble posters are turned off you" Mr. joined on 07 August 2008 to flyer the board for the election campaign, with 174 flyers (posts) who gave you the right to speak for the majority of rabble posters, or their opinions of me? Nor do you have even the slightest idea of what I think and believe, but you seem more than happy to speak as if you do.

But this isn't just about me, its about a number of people all exposed to the same treatment, largely by fair weather Babblers with nearly no posting history, and a large amount of gall.

quote:Originally posted by Michelle:

That's great, but as you can see from the thread title, this is about what the NDP did RIGHT this election. I think there's another thread for left-wing criticism of the NDP - that would be an appropriate place for these comments. Don't worry, they'll see them there. [img]smile.gif" border="0[/img]

ok.

[ 14 October 2008: Message edited by: Cueball ]


CMOT Dibbler
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Joined: May 17 2003
quote: Certainly the industrial working class is greatly diminished. But what about all those people working in the ever-expanding service sector?

OK, but can those people donate their time and money to the party?


RosaL
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Joined: Mar 4 2007
quote:Originally posted by CMOT Dibbler:

OK, but can those people donate their time and money to the party?

In the early days of the ccf, utterly impoverished (near starving) farmers and workers donated their time and money.

But I'm not a social democrat or a member of the ndp so I'm not going to comment further on this topic here. [img]wink.gif" border="0[/img]


Mojoroad1
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Joined: Aug 7 2008
quote:Originally posted by statica:

do you mind explaining that to me? I mean, four lost candidates shows a serious problem with candidate vetting (not that the other parties didn't have problems), especially in the case of the former NDP candidate from Durham?

I think you answered your own question there. All the parties had that problem. It's a brave new world with the internet. Sure the vetting process could be better, but in the end those are small side notes. I could argue, I think quite legitimately, that at least the NDP kicked out it's perceived wingnuts. The others parties (mostly) just muzzle or keep theirs front and central! [img]wink.gif" border="0[/img]


Cueball
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Joined: Dec 23 2003
Taking on the Green Party position on the environment, and softening their stand on Afghanistand so that it is more or less in line with the Greens has been an effective way of combating the challenge from the "left."

bagkitty
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Joined: Aug 27 2008
quote:Originally posted by CMOT Dibbler:

OK, but can those people donate their time and money to the party?

Can and do, having served as both official agent during campaigns and financial officer for a riding association I have prepared the tax receipts... last time I did so almost half the total raised was from donations under $100. If you factor in the value of the time donated, well, the association would collapse without them.


Mojoroad1
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Joined: Aug 7 2008
This is the last time I will bother to be baited by you, but I suppose i must defend my integrity. I have been a member of this board for a long, long time. Years in fact. The reason my moniker has a 1 after it is because my old email address changed and I could not recover my old password. for some reason, like many babblers, their old posts dissipated into the netherworld. Hence, you will not find any of my years old posts. oldgoat verified this. other than that, cueball put it to rest.

DrConway
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Joined: May 6 2001
quote:Originally posted by CMOT Dibbler:
They can't. Canada dosen't really have a working class anymore. The people who toyle to make the goods we need(or want) live in China and Thailand, Botswana and Peru. What remains of Canada's blue colar workforce has been stolen by the other parties. The party is now forced to appeal to gentrifacation loving, capachino sipping middle class activists in order to survive. The party needs to be rejuvinated, but it still has some decent people inside it, and is still worth supporting. It's not easy to save an organization if you are not part of it.

[ 14 October 2008: Message edited by: CMOT Dibbler ]

As it happens, this NDP man was an NDP man long before he got his B.Sc in nuclear science and even now, still lives in a rented apartment, doesn't drink cappucino at all, nor latte, and thinks soy milk is disgustingly, unspeakably gross.

So, stereotype much there, buddy?


Cueball
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Joined: Dec 23 2003
quote:Originally posted by Mojoroad1:
This is the last time I will bother to be baited by you, but I suppose i must defend my integrity. I have been a member of this board for a long, long time. Years in fact. The reason my moniker has a 1 after it is because my old email address changed and I could not recover my old password. for some reason, like many babblers, their old posts dissipated into the netherworld. Hence, you will not find any of my years old posts. oldgoat verified this. other than that, cueball put it to rest.

Ahh thanks for the clarification. Who were you once, or do you mind me asking?

[ 14 October 2008: Message edited by: Cueball ]


Malcolm
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Joined: Mar 14 2004
The campaign was nearly flawless. Especially the decision to run to win. (Some of us have been advocating that for a while. It's usually gotten us accused of any number of thought crimes by people who advocate voting Liberal.)

Co-opting the Tory frame and flinging it back at them with a new kind of strong showed a new kind of seriousness.

Could have used Dion's support for the Tory corporate tax cuts as further evidence that the Liberals are just Conservatives.

Highly effective slap-down of Dion in the debate.

The one serious problem, I think, was candidate vetting (as statica has mentioned).

While one of these candidates (Durham) was a last minute filler, I understand, the other three were serious candidates, it seemed.

We may need to adapt a system as in the UK where the party heirarchy vets candidates before they are allowed to stand for a nomination.


CMOT Dibbler
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Joined: May 17 2003
quote: As it happens, this NDP man was an NDP man long before he got his B.Sc in nuclear science and even now, still lives in a rented apartment, doesn't drink cappucino at all, nor latte, and thinks soy milk is disgustingly, unspeakably gross.

So, stereotype much there, buddy?

My parent's aren't yuppies either, so maybe I should change the arguement just a tad...
There may be a working class that still exists in Canada, and many NDPers are not efeet urbanites but the working class the party speaks for isn't as well organized or well paid as they were in the past, so it has to try and snare people who are afluent and yuppiefied in order to get large cash infusions. If the Unions were still a major force in this country(and if Buzz Hargrove wasn't a turncoat,) it would be different, but...


Left J.A.B.
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Joined: Apr 29 2005
quote:Originally posted by Mojoroad1:

I highly doubt if Layton walked on water you would have voted NDP 'if at all' as you say. 'nuff said.

He would likely claim it is because New Democrats can't swim. [img]tongue.gif" border="0[/img]


Toby Fourre
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Joined: Oct 26 2006
What I think Layton did right, especially in the last couple of weeks, is to bring the NDP message back to working people. For years, the NDP has wandered around in the desert looking for issues that would resonate with voters without much success. The financial crisis enabled the NDP to come home.

enemy_of_capital
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Joined: Sep 23 2008
we ran to win and we took the right to task.

Northern54
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Joined: Mar 29 2004
The thing that I liked the most about the campaign was that the NDP ran like it wanted to win. While it may not succeed, at least it gives the party a chance to win. No matter what, if a party does not run to win, it won't.

NorthReport
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Joined: Jul 6 2008
One of the most important reasons the NDP had quite a successful campaign, and increased their seat count by close to 25% this election, is that the NDP maintained a two-pronged attack on their opponents and it paid off in spades. One prong was directed at one right-wing enemy the Harper Conservatives, and the other prong was directed squarely where it belonged, on the other right-wing enemy, the Dion Liberals. Layton put on a masterful display and more and more Canadians are starting to appreciate him as we saw in the leadership polling throughout the campaign.

KenS
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Joined: Aug 6 2001
quote: Nasty partisan attacks and smears by Layton New Dems on this site have encouraged me to vote Liberal, which is what I will be doing this time around. In this they did wrong.
Furthermore, I generally see no substantive difference between the Liberals and the NDP, and on top of that there are serious flaws with the "Cap and Trade" scheme that the NDP and Greens are proposing, which is basically neo-liberal smoke and mirrors, as far as I am concerned. I will be going with a direct tax on poluters.

I think it is reasonable to think I would be classified more as a thoughtful partisan than as a nasty partisan.

But I may change my ways if its going to ancourage new entertainment from Cueball.

But some editing is called for. I stared skimming.


Krystalline Kraus
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Joined: Sep 20 2001
quote: Nasty partisan attacks and smears by Layton New Dems on this site

Ya, those attacks really sucked on babble by people who couldn't even be bothered to read the articles I've written for rabble without making all these stupid assumptions about me and my political beliefs and then other people ganging up to protect the party.

And some things the NDP did as a party really sucked (though there are so many individual memebers who make up the NDP who have been so kind to me while a small small handful were pretty mean) nevermind the fact the party lost four candidates because of an extremely poor candidate vetting processes. I hope these issues will be strongly examined now that the craziness of the election is over.

But the NDP has been the best party regarding their support towards allowing Iraq War resisters to stay in Canada. It was on board supporting the issue well before the Liberals got involved and it was (the amazing) Olivia Chow who brought the June 3rd motion to our Parliament. Peggy Nash has been amazing, too, and her defeat is heartbreaking.

The NDP also has good ideas regarding helping to eradicate poverty (none of this liberal-wish-washy "poverty reduction" -- let's aim for poverty eradication) with mother and child care support and things like helping to pay for the high costs for prescription drugs and their wish to raise the min. wage.

Ed to add: I like how the NDP stands as a party to remind the Liberals that parliamentary politics can't be business as usual and that the Liberals can't take any votes from "the left" for granted.

Shameless Plug:
Iraq War Resister Musical Benefit:
Friday October 24, 2008
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=34520345740&ref=share

[ 16 October 2008: Message edited by: statica ]


Gu
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Joined: Dec 14 2003
quote:Originally posted by enemy_of_capital:
we ran to win and we took the right to task.

Running to win was the big thing - but that meant, putting the NDP on par with the other party in terms of resources.

The message was simple and clear. It also became very easy to donate money to individual campaigns. I have no interest in donating to the “big pot” but giving what I could to some of the campaigns that need the support is necessary. I wouldn’t have given money at all!

I’ve become convinced that the NDP won’t be able to put itself in a winning position until it has a sustained apparatus on the ground in all regions. This is why I have faith that seats will (eventually) return in Saskatchewan. Conversely for those Liberals whom blame Dion for their ales they are sadly mistaken. They have many more systemic issues at play.

The question becomes how credible can the NDP make itself across the country and what kind of resources can the ridings count on generating?

While messaging is important – development of a proper base is critical.


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