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Is the federal NDP on the move like never before?
Wed, 2009-11-25 11:09
#1
Is the federal NDP on the move like never before?
Wed, 2009-11-25 11:10
#2
There is no question something has shifted in federal politics. The polls are showing it. The big question is will the NDP finally break out of their federal doldrums and begin to challenge the Conservatives for the hearts and minds of the Canadian voters.
Shooting themselves in the feet
THERE is growing speculation, fed by polls and what appears to a broad public malaise, that the once-mighty federal Liberal party, the self-regarded natural party of government, is steadily slipping into the position of third-place party, after the Conservatives and the New Democrats.
Actually, that might even be fourth place if one were to count the Bloc Quebecois which, although it is not a national party, holds more federal seats than the NDP.
Much of the blame for the Liberal party's perceived decline -- and it is, until voting day, only a perceived decline -- has been laid on the shoulders of party leader Michael Ignatieff. That's not entirely fair. Mr. Ignatieff has been a disappointment since he returned to Canada to seek the Liberal leadership upon the resignation of former prime minister Paul Martin. Many Canadians hoped that he could take a sluggish, self-satisfied political party that was leaning too far to the left -- Canadians have the NDP if they want to go there -- and which was surrounded by at least a whiff of corruption, restore its integrity and firmly plant it once again closer to the centre.
In the end, Mr. Ignatieff lost the crown to Stéphane Dion, who personified the tired old Liberal party that Canadians had come to know and grow weary of, as three minority governments in a row, two of them Conservative, attest.
Mr. Ignatieff the reformer, who replaced Mr. Dion after an election, had already been subsumed by the great Grit Blob, a now rusty crusader who chooses to hang onto the old rather than grab onto the new.
One can blame Mr. Ignatieff for this but one should more accurately blame a Liberal party that still sees no need for change even as it withers in the polls. Well, the polls rise and fall, but Janine Krieber, the wife of Stéphane Dion, and a large number of other unhappy old-time Liberals, seem determined to see that they will not rise again, at least under Mr. Ignatieff's reign.
Ms. Krieber wrote on Facebook that the party was headed for the "trashcan of history" under the cocktail circuit leadership of Mr. Ignatieff and his coterie among the Toronto elite. It is a new mess that even the Liberals are having a hard time cleaning up and certainly a gift to the Conservatives
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/editorials/shooting-themselves-...
Wed, 2009-11-25 11:21
#3
Boom Boom
Already a thread on this topic: Will the Layton-led NDP now overtake the Ignatieff-led Liberals in the Polls?
Wed, 2009-11-25 11:44
#4
But isn't it just so much easier to create a new topic when the other one isn't going where you'd like.
I maintain...IF the NDP is going to be the official opposition, it must not keep track of what's happening to the Liberal party, and focus on its own house. This constant focus on the Liberal Party, and our gleeful gloating in its failings is not going to make us a credible, cross-country alternative.
The only thing that will do that is if we start acting like a real party and have strong candidates with well-funded local campaigns across the country - even in ridings where we have no logistical hope. Like the Liberals (still) do.
Sitting here pointing and laughing at Iggy is wasting time we could be using organizing a strong grassroots political machine, ready to take the reins, should we be called upon. Like they did in NS.
Wed, 2009-11-25 13:23
#5
To answer the question-- I wish but apparently not.
What is the support for this wishful thinking? Reaching the same numbers in the polls as last year? Getting the attention of the right wing media when we know they will turn on us right away if we go up another point? Keeping a seat we already held in a byelection?
There is nothing the NDP has done differently lately -- the only reason the media is giving the NDP attention is to poke a stick in the eye of the Liberals and they will skewer us ont he same stick if we look threatening.
If we remain satisfied and celebrate this we won't be hungry enough to go for more than the same old fluctuations in the same old range based on the same old media manipulation using the same old political strategies.
Not that I am totally pessimistic-- it is just that threads like this reaking of premature celebration and self congratulations are a small part of the problem and no part of the solution. This is a place to discuss communications and ideas and debate real things that might make a difference and that is drowned out by multiple threads that have nothing to say but celebrate chagnes that are little more than gyrations in the ongoing world of barely relevant third or fourth place depending on how you are counting.
There I feel better--
Wed, 2009-11-25 13:43
#6
Just to be clear so New Dems understand what is being said. The message for the most part is that the Liberals will pass the NDP on the way down -- NOT that the NDP will pass the Liberals on the way up.
The NDP remains in the 12-19% range where it has been for decades with few exceptions. We are seeing a meltdown of the Liberal party with the NDP picking up only a drop or two.
Wed, 2009-11-25 15:01
#7
Indeed. The real issue is how to get to 25% and beyond.
Wed, 2009-11-25 15:15
#8
Already a thread on this topic:
I have seen innocent newbies advised by the moderaters not to create a new topic. I have seen people get a whack for not noticing a similar thread in another topic zone.
But North Report is the most irritating repeat offender. Constant repeat offender. Repeat repeat offender.
I repeat.
Surprisingly NR repeated thread proliferation is tolerated. Not certain why?
Wed, 2009-11-25 15:40
#9
hsfreethinkers
Already a thread on this topic:I have seen innocent newbies advised by the moderaters not to create a new topic. I have seen people get a whack for not noticing a similar thread in another topic zone.
But North Report is the most irritating repeat offender. Constant repeat offender. Repeat repeat offender.
I repeat.
Surprisingly NR repeated thread proliferation is tolerated. Not certain why?
Agreed, I'm finding it annoying as well. I also know how to quote a news article properly so that it is clear what I'm writing and what someone else wrote.
About the NDP, I still have concerns about the special rights and influence the unions have within the party. I find the NDP a little stale, and lacking a clear vision and solid policies. Their emphasis on trivial issues, and their focus on political games in the house of commons don't inspire confidence. The folks involved with the [URL=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Politics_Initiative]New Politics Initiative[/URL] had the right idea IMO. Too bad it didn't go anywhere.
Wed, 2009-11-25 15:41
#10
Already a thread on this topic: Will the Layton-led NDP now overtake the Ignatieff-led Liberals in the Polls?
Okay, I'll close it. North Report, would you please try to find currently running threads on the same topic before posting new ones? Thanks!