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Another Liberal Failure
Fri, 2009-12-11 20:35
#1
Another Liberal Failure
Fri, 2009-12-11 20:40
#2
The writing is on the wall.
The Lemnings are leaving the sinking ship.
Senior federal Grit quits
It's not the Christmas present Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff was probably hoping to get from his party's National Director.
Liberal party sources say Rocco Rossi has resigned from his job to seek the mayor's chair in Toronto's municipal election in October 2010.
Sources say Rossi, who has spearheaded party fundraising this year, will make the announcement Monday.
An Ignatieff spokesman would only say Rossi would comment Monday.
Rossi, the former CEO of Ontario's Heart and Stroke Foundation, has been touted as a mayoralty candidate for months.
But it comes at a difficult time for Ignatieff who has seen his party's fortunes stagnate and his personal popularity drop in recent public opinion polls.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/79102527.html
Fri, 2009-12-11 20:46
#3
Almost Over for Michael Ignatieff
Things are going badly for the Russian Count. He can’t get his message across, neither on television nor in the Commons.
The problem: he’s an intellectual and not a street fighter. He’s an Aristocat not the attack dog they need to go after Stephen Harper.
Ignatieff has been there for a year now, and nothing much has changed. He disappeared for the summer, made a few threats about an election in the fall, and then backed away covered in ridicule. Moral: Don’t make threats you can’t back up.
Pierre Trudeau also came in as an intellectual, but he learned politics quickly, and became the best -- and the meanest -- we ever had.
Denis Coderre, despite his arrogance, was right about Ignatieff.
Liberal MPs have taken to meeting privately in little groups to talk about what to do with Ignatieff. Some want to help, some want to dump.
The last EKOS poll was a hard blow to Stephen Harper. He dropped from 40 % to 35 % in one month. Bye-bye majority.
But neither was the EKOS poll good news for Ignatieff. Harper’s lost support did not go to him. It went to the NDP, the Bloc, the Greens, anybody – even to the Man in the Moon – except to Ignatieff who remains mired around 25 %. That’s not even minority government.
http://www.westmountexaminer.com/article-411951-Almost-Over-for-Michael-Ignatieff.html
Fri, 2009-12-11 22:23
#4
Rossi, who formerly headed up the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation, has been credited with turning around the Liberals' dismal fundraising record of recent years. In the first half of 2009, the party raised more money than it did in all of the previous year.
However, not all Liberals will be sorry to see him go. Some MPs have griped privately that Rossi, while good at raising money, did not have deep roots in the party or any apparent interest in other aspects of party organization and strategy.
The insider denied there was any bad blood and said Rossi was in no way pushed.
Indeed, Rossi has been touted as a mayoralty candidate for months.
I hadn't heard that before. I was starting to form the impression that he was chafing against the contribution limits, and missed the days when he could raise money in larger chunks. Also, he took a much larger profile than his leader or many members of their caucus last summer (although since Iggy wasn't doing much of anything, that was perhaps better than nothing).
But, the Liberals made a big show last spring of having bought that software from the Obama campaign, which was customized for them as Liberalist. If Rossi wasn't interested in anything organizational but fundraising dinners, they've likely squandered the year organizationally.
Yippee.
Sat, 2009-12-12 00:04
#5
By the way, another significant element of Joan Bryden's story was the fact that the Toronto Liberals will be at war with one another across three different factions in the upcoming mayoralty race. Seems like a good time for the NDP to get organizing in Area Code 416 to me!
Sat, 2009-12-12 02:55
#6
Like Ignatieff himself, Rossi also has an Upper Canada College / Ivy League resume.
That sort of pedigree is fine at the regional or city level (Gordon Campbell in B.C. went to Dartmouth College, Miller in TO to Harvard) -- but it fails at the national level. In his piece in the Walrus on Ignatieff, Ron Graham made the point that Upper Canada College, despite the tycoons, artists and mandarins it has produced, has never educated a Prime Minister.
In Canada, private education just completely cuts you off from the overall mainstream of our culture (in the U.S., with the atrophied public sphere that is just not the case). And if you go abroad for your B.A. (as opposed to post-graduate) you again lose those formative years when you should be soaking up what it means to be Canadian.
Sat, 2009-12-12 08:55
#7
The other thing I've heard is that Liberal fundraising is way down, and this way he gets to get out of dodge before the numbers are released and he has to wear them.
Sat, 2009-12-12 09:00
#8
Some MPs have griped privately that Rossi, while good at raising money, did not have deep roots in the party or any apparent interest in other aspects of party organization and strategy.
I hadn't heard that before. I was starting to form the impression that he was chafing against the contribution limits, and missed the days when he could raise money in larger chunks.
But, the Liberals made a big show last spring of having bought that software from the Obama campaign, which was customized for them as Liberalist. If Rossi wasn't interested in anything organizational but fundraising dinners, they've likely squandered the year organizationally.
Yippee.
I'm not so sure that Rossi was uninterested in the organizational issues broader than fundraising. But I said back when he came on board with the expectation of heroic achievements, that what he did with the Cancer Foundation was light years from the kind of frustrating slogging it would take to get the Liberal Party weaned away from living off of big donations, and everyone working day to day on the same page..
But it doesn't really matter whether he left partly because he was not liking that slog; or whether he was fine with it, but now the LPC is left trying to morph itself without one of the key people keeping it from its natural tendency to bunker down into ineffective and expensive little fiefdoms.
Sat, 2009-12-12 10:33
#9
Liberals penalized for Iggy's power play
t didn't quite work out the way he intended, but a reckless one-sentence ultimatum from Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff defined the person, the party and ultimately his popularity for the entire fall session of Parliament.
"After four years of drift, four years of denial, four years of division and discord-- Mr. Harper, your time is up," Ignatieff harrumphed with excessive alliteration on Sept. 1.
After four months of discussion, rarely has a political statement proven to be so laughingly wrong.
By making the declaration without the approval of his MPs, he was shown to be a self-absorbed leader. By sending the country careening toward its second election in less than a year, Ignatieff defined himself as a shameless opportunist. By not advancing a compelling reason to justify a snap vote, he portrayed himself as an empty alternative.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/Liberals+penalized+iggy+power+play/2333644/story.html
Sat, 2009-12-12 10:57
#10
Here's the part of Don Martin's column I enjoyed the most:
After taking it on the chin with a blitzkrieg of 'just visiting' attack ads paid for by the Conservatives, Ignatieff limply responded with his own commercials, portraying himself as a policy wonk in casual clothes against a forest backdrop that turned out to be in Metro Toronto.
Stung by the media-christened nickname of Iffy, he played leadership hardball in arbitrating a Quebec riding nomination decision, only to lose Quebec lieutenant Denis Coderre in a reactionary huff, who went down while declaring his leader brainwashed by too many Torontonians.
After denying any such thing, Ignatieff housecleaned all the loyalists who brought him back from his nomadic globe-trotting and they all returned to, um, Toronto.
And now the Toronto Liberals will spend the next year alternately trying to save Dalton McGuinty, and warring with one another over the Mayor's chair.
Strike while the iron's hot, people!!
Sat, 2009-12-12 11:37
#11
By the way, here's the Joan Bryden news story about fundraising dropping:
Little wonder then Donolo has squelched all election speculation, predicting to Liberals there'll be no national vote for at least seven months and possibly more than a year.
He's told the election-readiness team to stand down, sending war room head Warren Kinsella, who had been coming to Ottawa several days a week helping to plot question period attack strategy, back to Toronto for the time being. Nine junior staff members in the leader's office, most hired in anticipation of an election, have been let go.
Shutting down the campaign team was both logical and a financial necessity. Insiders say donations to the party, after getting off to a good start in the first half of the year, have tailed off dramatically this fall.
Donolo has been warning Liberals not to expect a quick turnaround, to keep in mind that they're "playing the long game" and it will take some months to pay off.
I heard this from someone else as well.
Sat, 2009-12-12 14:09
#12
I'm not so sure that Rossi was uninterested in the organizational issues broader than fundraising. But I said back when he came on board with the expectation of heroic achievements, that what he did with the Cancer Foundation was light years from the kind of frustrating slogging it would take to get the Liberal Party weaned away from living off of big donations, and everyone working day to day on the same page.
Maybe if he was good at raising funds FOR cancer rather than against it, he'd be the right guy to rescue Liberal Party finances.
Sat, 2009-12-12 23:34
#13
Sun, 2009-12-13 08:44
#14
I know another frustration/failure that would have impacted Rossi.
There has been a LONG in waiting project to centralize and boot up the administrative structure of the Liberal Party of Canada. This was brewing before Dion became leader and was a formalized agenda early in his tenure- the usual movers and shakers brain trust from the Martin campaign.
Some of them were of course part of the Iggy coup, and all the leaders of the latter were at least tapped into the project.
As part of their general hubris of what they were going to accomplish now that the right people were in charge, they assumed they were going to knock heads and make this project finally happen.
So Rossi would have assumed he would ride this. But it hasn't happened, because at its core is the disempowering of the LPC provincial and territorial associations- the Quebec association being the most ferocious of those regardless of its vastly declined effectiveness and clout in the world outside of the LPC bubble.
Good time to decide you want to move to the front room. In this cheeky underdog attempt Rossi is pretty well guaranteed to shake things up. Especially compared to his Liberal competiotr. He can't lose as far as his general ambitions go.
Sun, 2009-12-13 09:12
#15
Lard Tunderin Jeezus
Here's the part of Don Martin's column I enjoyed the most:
After taking it on the chin with a blitzkrieg of 'just visiting' attack ads paid for by the Conservatives, Ignatieff limply responded with his own commercials, portraying himself as a policy wonk in casual clothes against a forest backdrop that turned out to be in Metro Toronto.
Stung by the media-christened nickname of Iffy, he played leadership hardball in arbitrating a Quebec riding nomination decision, only to lose Quebec lieutenant Denis Coderre in a reactionary huff, who went down while declaring his leader brainwashed by too many Torontonians.
After denying any such thing, Ignatieff housecleaned all the loyalists who brought him back from his nomadic globe-trotting and they all returned to, um, Toronto.
And now the Toronto Liberals will spend the next year alternately trying to save Dalton McGuinty, and warring with one another over the Mayor's chair.
Strike while the iron's hot, people!!
A little more Toronto bashing. Good stuff.
Who cares what the opportunities might be in a couple of dozen ridings with a few million voters, eh?
Sun, 2009-12-13 09:56
#16
I believe you read me completely wrong, milord. What I was trying to say was that Toronto, being the last bastion of the Liberals, if that's where they're going to be fighting one another hammer and tong now, it's the perfect time for the NDP to get going on its 416 strategy. Seats that need building work are (amongst others, no particular order): York South-Weston, York West, Etobicoke North, Davenport, Beaches-East York, Scarborough Southwest, maybe some others.
So I apologize if my comments were taken as Toronto-bashing. They were designed to point out that the Liberals will be warring in the bosom of their own (only remaining?) nation, and the time is nigh for New Dems to prepare for the next battle.
Sun, 2009-12-13 20:05
#17
===
Tue, 2009-12-15 13:14
#18
Rossi [url=http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontomayoralrace/article/738552--rossi... he will sell Toronto Hydro if elected.
Why does it come as no surpirse Ingatieff's right-hand man was a neo-con privatizer?
Tue, 2009-12-15 15:09
#19
Quibble: Privatizers are neo-lib.
Thu, 2009-12-17 13:46
#20
Harper wins 2009 on points
I think it would be fair to say that Michael Ignatieff and his wing of the Liberal party didn't win 2009. Things seemed to start well for the Liberal Leader when he reneged on the coalition agreement discussed here this month, and committed to partner with Stephen Harper's Conservatives to address the recession and to make Parliament work.
That move was well received in much of the political culture in English Canada. Mr. Ignatieff was therefore respectfully covered in the winter and spring of 2009; Liberal support crept up to the same level as the Conservative party's; and the universe seemed to be unfolding as it should through to the spring convention where Mr. Ignatieff was formally elected leader.
Then Mr. Ignatieff disappeared for the summer; reappeared to announce the Conservative government's time was up; failed to defeat Mr. Harper in the House of Commons; and has been mercilessly pummelled ever since. This fall the Liberals came in third in each of four by-elections held across the country. At the end of the year Mr. Ignatieff threw his campaign and political team overboard, and is no longer talking about early elections. His plan "A" didn't work. Lost the year.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/brian-topp/harper-wins-2009-on-poin...
Thu, 2009-12-17 15:59
#21
Guess who No 1 is?
The 10 most irritating politicians of 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/bureau-blog/the-most-irritating-pol...
Fri, 2009-12-18 23:25
#22
Ignatieff shrugs off retirement rumours, vows to win in long haul
Sun, 2009-12-20 01:47
#23
Duh!
Canada's opposition says not keen on 2010 election
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1922038120091219?type=marketsNews
Sun, 2009-12-20 07:35
#24
Ignatieff shrugs off retirement rumours, vows to win in long haul
(I.E., in his NEXT lifetime.)
Mon, 2009-12-21 01:51
#25
OK, this interview of Ignatieff's was so unbelievably stupid that Peter Donolo must now be questioning why he even bothered:
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2364690
see also: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2364753
The highlight (the lede, even): Ignatieff says he's prepared to "take one for the team" and move into the Lord Elgin or the Chateau Laurier for 3 or 4 years when he becomes Prime Minister so that Canadians can finally have the Prime Minister's residence they deserve.
IS HE ON DRUGS ???
OTTAWA -- Canadians may never give him the job, of course, but if they do one day pick Michael Ignatieff to be their prime minister, Ignatieff promises he won't live at 24 Sussex Drive until the 141-year-old building has a long overdue refit.
The famous address overlooking the Ottawa River is the prime minister's official residence. But its occupants, stretching back at least to Brian Mulroney, have been reluctant to give the place up in order to make repairs that have become increasingly costly and urgent.
Not Mr. Ignatieff.
"Zsuzsanna and I will check into the hotel," Mr. Ignatieff said in an exclusive year-end interview with Canwest News Service and Global National.
"It's a very good question. I think it is time for somebody to take one for the team, so we'll move into the Chateau or the Elgin [two downtown Ottawa hotels] for three or four years and let us get a residence for the prime minister that makes the country proud."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said last winter that he and his family are prepared to move if suitable alternative accommodations can be found.
With everything else going on in the economy, the climate and the war, and he thinks this is an issue worth talking about? He doesn't even have the political skills to duck it? Or at the very least to talk about it in terms of building Canada's energy efficiency industry or sustainable construction market? And avoid mentioning two of the most expensive hotels in Ottawa?
What a blithering idiot.
"I think I've got things to learn. I think there's no question about it," Mr. Ignatieff said. "I've been in Canadian politics for four years and it's been a vertical climb, learning every day. I think I'm getting better at it, but there's lots more I can learn."
Do ya think? And he believes he would make a better prime minister?
Mon, 2009-12-21 01:57
#26
N.Beltov
Well, he's certainly learned to roll over and play dead for the Conservatives. Canada has its own poodle.
Mon, 2009-12-21 12:29
#27
remind
Did anyone see Ignatieff's channeling of Harper and GWB?
Reading a book to kids, in a red V necked sweater?
Mon, 2009-12-21 12:35
#28
remind
And yes, I caught the Chateau Laurier play too, could not freakin believe my ears and eyes.
I have an idea....how about we not have a PM for the years it takes to get the house on Sussex Drive fixed, we might find we like having a HoC that does actual work instead of posturing for the corporate entities the PMO represent?
Mon, 2009-12-21 13:17
#29
Just wanted to chime in here to say that "she's back" and that I've recently decided to vote for people rather than parties. For years I voted Green (fed and prov) because their approach was the closest to my preferences. After being roundly admonished by better educated family and friends, I'm changing my tune. I actually don't mind Stephen Harper (disturbingly, this is largely based on his Yo Yo Ma gig) although I detest his party. And I'll always vote for Svend Robinson no matter what party he is aligned with. I'm sick of throwing my vote away. Just my $0.02.
Mon, 2009-12-21 13:32
#30
well your 0.02 would also go with 1.73 to the party you vote for when you vote...unless you vote for the CRAP party of Harper. He wants to get rid of public money for the parties but won't give up the 75% tax credit that donations entail. I would be interested in seeing how many CPC voters would donate and whom(you know corporate affiliation) if they got rid of that subsidy.
Mon, 2009-12-21 13:50
#31
Steevie hasn't met the Glorious Pie yet. Didn't you see him on YouTube? Do you really thinks he wants to kill Canada and become the 51st? 53rd United State? (Deck of cards = 52?)
Top secret: I don't know why we give public money to anyone but the public anyway.
Political donations are not gifts to charities.
If you want to change the world try:
(a) Furious Seasons
(b) SPCA
(c) PETA
(d) Reason Online
(e) the Goodbye Pie's XMas cheer fund
(f) public schools
(g) pet therapy for geriatric in-patients
(h) Adult Literacy
(i) anything except politics.
Politically, we can support the good guys. They'll be indebted to us and we can change the landscape through sheer force of will.
Just my $0.02.
Keep in mind I'm an involuntary patient at a mental institution so there ya go!
Mon, 2009-12-21 14:12
#32
Ignatieff is lost in Right Field. Every time I hear him speak or read about him in print, he appears delusional. There is an obvious disconnect between him and Canadians and just what are topics of importance. Regardless of what Ignatieff thinks, either he will resign before the next federal election or there will be one early, but it seems clear his party is ready to dump him sooner rather then later. The Next ones are lining up fast and the knives are going to come out.
Mon, 2009-12-21 14:13
#33
Maybe Ignatieff and I should trade places.
Tue, 2009-12-29 01:11
#34
PMO mocks Ignatieff in internal email
Says the PMO talking points: “This latest episode demonstrates what we have said all along: Michael Ignatieff is not in it for Canadians. He is in it for himself.”
The missive even provides Youtube video links to Mr. Ignatieff’s interview and that given by Senator Kennedy in 1979.
Tue, 2009-12-29 11:42
#35
And yes, I caught the Chateau Laurier play too, could not freakin believe my ears and eyes.
Me either. How would renting a suite or two at the Chateau Laurier for years be cheaper than renting some other house in Ottawa? And the idea that living somewhere else for a while during renovations is some sort of noble sacrifice.
Wed, 2010-01-06 19:53
#36
Ignatieff absent as Grits mock Tory vacation
It was a lesson in why politicians in glass houses shouldn't lob stones.
The Liberal party made a light-hearted attempt Tuesday to poke fun at Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to impose a three-month parliamentary vacation and wound up instead raising questions about the whereabouts of holidaying Grit Leader Michael Ignatieff.
Thu, 2010-01-07 01:26
#37
Thu, 2010-01-07 01:35
#38
Take a guess which federal political party this truly upstanding BC citizen is involved with.
Guess which riding
And guess what his position is/was
Saanich counselling clinic operator accused of false degree claims, charged with fraud
Well-known Victoria man charged with fraud
Thu, 2010-01-07 01:57
#39
That almost looks like he could be John Cleese in that sketch where Cleese is a doctor who has so many degrees that they form a barrier around his desk that opens with a hinge.
Thu, 2010-01-07 09:50
#40
"Walker is well known in the region, having volunteered with Saanich police as a reserve constable,"
He could have arrested himself 
Reminds me of that movie of the guy who was a doctor, counterfieter, etc.
Being the Head of the Liberal Riding Association, I am willing to bet he is a supporter of Private Medicine.
Mon, 2010-01-11 02:36
#41
Opponent questions Liberal's allegiance
Shinder Purewal accused of 'flip-flopping'
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Opponent+questions+Liberal+allegiance/2426002/story.html
Sat, 2010-01-16 13:47
#42
Greenpeace protest interrupts Ignatieff’s town hall in Vancouver
Some attendees, like business student Sarah Lee, supported the demonstrators.
“I’m not sure how much they would affect the policies but they did attract people’s attention,” she said. “I mean, some people like me have not heard about the tarsands before but today, due to the Greenpeace, I got to know it.
“I think they should keep on doing this, tracing the politicians, questioning them about all policies and spreading the message out to people.”
According to the Greenpeace website, a similar protest is being planned at the University of Ottawa on Monday, the next stop of the Liberal leader’s cross-country tour.
Sat, 2010-01-16 14:47
#43
I guess, NR, I have a problem with how you present articles. No lead in, no commentary, and just snippet pieces in and leave.
This is a discussion forum.
So, taking the above quotes which are admirable, and these quotes. Lets have a discussion.
"If you're asking me to shut down the tarsands, it's not in my power to do so, and frankly, it's not in the national interest of our country to do so," he added, leading to cheers and applause from the audience.
Sat, 2010-01-16 14:49
#44
poor Iggy it's hard being green when you are in love with the tarsands.
Sat, 2010-01-16 21:17
#45
poor Iggy it's hard being green when you are in love with the tarsands.
And we all know how much embracing Alberta (and Ralph Klein) did for Paul Martin when he had his kick at the can.
Though it saddens me to say it, the Liberals should just write off Alberta. Supporting the tarsands won't get them any more votes, and it undermines their urban, Starbucks-swilling base.
Thu, 2010-01-21 11:38
#46
"Walker is well known in the region, having volunteered with Saanich police as a reserve constable,"
I know I sound like Mrs. Kozmo Kramer at the dermatologist's office, but word on the street is that this guy was a darn good counsellor. For myself, I shall contact a friend of his lawyer's ex-wife and contribute liberally, LIBERALLY, to his defence fund.
I support private medicine and a guaranteed annual income.
Thu, 2010-01-21 11:46
#47
Lard Tunderin Jeezus
Cut the crap, G.M. It's disruptive and unfunny.
Thu, 2010-01-21 11:49
#48
Cut the crap, G.M. It's disruptive and unfunny.
Okay, sorry. I'll stick to my own threads. Thanks for the reminder, though.
Thu, 2010-01-21 11:50
#49
poor Iggy it's hard being green when you are in love with the tarsands.
ETR: Knock it off with the Iggy-bashing. You might as well Vote Conservative.
Sat, 2010-01-23 11:59
#50
One would think with all the Con screwups the Liberals would be 20% ahead in the polls.
In search of Liberal policy
At least Ignatieff is emphatic about one thing. He wants Liberals to stop thinking of themselves as the natural governing party. He says: "If I can achieve one thing as leader of this party, it's to get that out of the vocabulary."
He's succeeding. Polls aside, it is increasingly hard to see the Liberals as an obvious alternative -- in fact, it is hard to imagine them saying anything pertinent about anything.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/search+Liberal+policy/2471025/story.html
Mon, 2010-01-25 08:23
#51
Here's a good read from Roy MacGregor in this morning's Globe about what's happened to the Liberal Party.
"There is no Liberal Party," says one lifelong card carrier who has sat at cabinet tables.
"It died a long time ago. It's not completely extinct yet, but there's no there there." In this lifelong Liberal's eyes, the party has been stalled for years. No new energy, no new ideas, no vision of what it might like to do. The singular advantage of proroguing, this Liberal would say, is that it has put an end to the squirming every time the opposition pounces.
"The 'gotcha' stuff is out of control," says the Liberal. "They bring in all these nerdy keener kids from campus and it's some kind of game to them. They're turning politics into pro wrestling." The media concentrates on the top, Ignatieff, and on the Hill, but disenchanted Liberals say there is a story to be told far from the now-silenced sound bites of the Centre Block.
"Few Liberals," says an often-successful candidate, "have appreciated just how devastating the leadership races since 1984 have been. The party has been savaged by its own races." Steamroller politics replaced volunteer politics and the result was that, "The fun of it all, the socializing - it all disappeared. People asked themselves if they wanted to spend their volunteer time watching the Hatfields go at the McCoys and they decided, 'No, thanks.' They gave their volunteer time to something else." The result, this lifelong Liberal says, is that a great many constituency organizations became little more than Potemkin villages between elections and leadership races, false fronts with nothing behind.
With nothing of substance coming up and nothing of substance seeming to trickle down, the "party of ideas" kept slipping further and further into the past for these disenchanted loyalists.