NDP Leadership 79

Gaian wrote:

CanadaApple wrote:

I don't think I mentioned this before, but I got a call from someone working in the Cullen Camp. a few days ago. They were nice enough, they asked if I was supporting him in the Leadership Race and I said I hadn't really made up my mind yet. They said that was fair enough and reminded me to watch the next debate on Sunday.

Has anyone else gotten any calls from any of the Camps that they may or may not be supporting?

 

Yes. Three.

Who were they from, if I may ask?

I'll fully admit I'm deeply cynical about politics. I'm sure I've said it before: I sometimes barely think there's any point on voting NDP, and usually do so only because there's no hope of the other two parties changing things for the better. Sometimes I think we can build a majority and fundamentally fix this system. But sometimes I think we can make an NDP majority but it would be pointless to do so. And lately, reading what passes for the defining issues of this campaign, I have sincere doubts that the NDP rank-and-file ever be able to focus enough on winning to actually get this country back on track.

ottawaobserver wrote:

Mulcair's folks on this board routinely avoid answering what the true concern was about that Mulcair interview with Daniel Leblanc. His comments about Ken Neuman were needlessly provocative, and were self-aggrandizing at the expense of a brother-in-arms, something that was completely unnecessary, except for perhaps a perceived need to prove that he was not a puppet of labour or some such thing that only reinforced the mainstream media narrative about our party. It was tone-deaf to what he would need to do to win the leadership, and lead all of our party. That he has stopped saying such things, at least signifies to me that his campaign understands that was a mistake. Also, that it's over.

But he hasn't.

Last Tuesday in Toronto at his own rally he made a point of raising the subject of his early spat with Ken Newman, National Director of the Steelworkers Union. He said Ken Newman was pushing to keep the affiliate vote for federal leader, and he told Ken Newman "what's wrong with letting the party members elect the leader?" And the party decided he was right, so, apparently, that's that.

He could easily have gone on to say "But let's be clear: my enemy is Stephen Harper, not Ken Newman. If I'm elected leader, one of my first phone calls will be to Ken Newman, to say "I want your help in defeating Stephen Harper." I expect he would agree with that; but he didn't say it.