Who are u supporting for NDP Leader, how will u mark your ballot, and why? #8

I always assumed I would vote real time.

But down to only 3 choices- which will cover every conceivable ballot anyway [since they include Mulcair], and not seeing at this point any reasonable chance of them changing......

northreport - not in the 7th spot, it wouldn't matter.  but in every spot leading up to 7th, it would hurt whoever was in your 7th spot, by producing a vote for an opponent.  this is the only good reason to vote on decision day - to move your support strategically so that your vote as the most impact on isolating a candidate you think will win - same logic.

thought experiment:

scenario 1.  let's say that i really don't want dewar to win (which is true!), and mulcair is unexpectedly knocked out in the first round.  then my next vote goes to topp, who's knocked out in the second round.  then my vote goes to ashton, who's knocked out next.  then it just disappears and i am no longer able to support my mini anyone-but-dewar campaign.  dewar ends up beating nash by 1 vote, and i basically take a break from politics until 2015.

scenario 2. let's say that i really don't want dewar to win (which is true!), and mulcair is unexpectedly knocked out in the first round.  then my next vote goes to topp, who's knocked out in the second round.  then my vote goes to ashton, who's knocked out next.  then it goes to cullen, who is ousted next, then it goes to nash - who then wins by one vote because someone else also followed my path exactly.  and i can grudgingly start trying to get people interested in peggy nash, excusing her blandness, etc.

it's much more likely that people will be using this strategy against mulcair than dewar, so in the interests of mulcair, the ndp, and canada, i should probably not have explained, but there it is.

My rankings:

1. Mulcair

2. Dewar

3. Nash

4. Cullen

5. Ashton

6. Topp

7. Singh

I am choosing Mulcair first because I do think that he has the knowledge and skills to challenge Stephen Harper.  Yes, Mulcair may move the NDP toward the centre or centre-left.  Then again, I consider myself a blue New Democrat.  I also think Mulcair will attract people who have not traditionally voted for the NDP.

The reality is that Mulcair will likely be on the final ballot.  While most of the candidates have good qualities, Mulcair just seems to have more.  The NDP needs a leader that will be ready on the first day of the job.  The party and Canadians cannot afford to wait in order to have a candidate improve his French, find a seat, or gain charisma.

I do think that whoever become the next leader, the NDP will become more leader-centric whether we like it or not.  With Mulcair, he may have his MPs ask questions on a focused theme during Question Period.  He will need to balance the interests of Canadians living in Quebec and those living in the rest of Canada.  For example, if Canadians outside Quebec see that Mulcair wants to impose some kind of French-only language law on civil servants working in Quebec, this could detract them from voting for the NDP.  The same holds true for asymmetrical federalism for Quebec only.  It won't sell outside Quebec.  I would advise the NDP to stay away from Quebec separation percentages.  Focus on building Canada instead.

PS: I finally got my email from the Mulcair campaign.

I now made up my mind and while there isn't a perfect candidate it is more than obvious that Mulcair is the best positionned to get us to gouvernement in 2015, which is my goal. I can't wait to get rid of Harper's government and vision of Canada. Like someone mentioned here, even if Mulcair would move us a little more to the center, he would still run the most progressive Canada government of all time. Here is my final ranking:

1- Mulcair 

Candidates I could deal with as leader:

2- Cullen (IMO he could be a surprising hit with quebeckers)

3- Nash (she could have been my no 1 choice at one stage but her weaknesses are getting more and more obvious to me...)

4- Dewar 

5- Ashton

Candidates I hope won't win the leadership

6- Topp (the campaign he has been running tells it all...)

7- Sing

So what's the deal with Saganash on the ballot.  What happens to our votes if we vote for him.  Would they just toss them out and go to our 2nd choice, or is there a chance they would at least announce his results on the first ballot?  Would really like to place him on my ballot.

Winston wrote:

UWSofty wrote:

I voted.

1. Nathan Cullen - I want Tom to win, but I support a lot of Nathan's policy's and want the party to know that there is support for his ideas and style (including his co-operation plan). He's a wild card, and if I was voting real-time, I might abandon him on a later ballot. If he wins, I'll be nervous but optimistic for the future. He would certainly spice things up.

2. Tom Mulcair - I went into this contest without any leanings, and Mulcair has impressed me more than anyone. His speaking style, gravitas, and his smarts are what the party needs right now. He can take on Harper and excite Canadians to vote NDP.

I have the increasing feeling that your vote may end up counting for Nathan.  The possibility of a Mulcair/Cullen final ballot is not outside the realm of possibility.

More than that, it may be a good possibility.

DSloth wrote:

Do you really think if you asked a hundred dippers how much Pierre Ducasse got on the first ballot last time, any of them would know?

About 4% (I was one of them).  I chose Jack second.

As it turns out, my ballot never counted for Jack since he eked out a 1st-ballot win.

Still waiting for my ballot.

Life, the universe, everything wrote:

So what's the deal with Saganash on the ballot.  What happens to our votes if we vote for him.  Would they just toss them out and go to our 2nd choice, or is there a chance they would at least announce his results on the first ballot?  Would really like to place him on my ballot.

They will probably announce the first ballot results as-is, along with Saganash's votes. That's why I'm ranking him first. I know he can't win, but I want to send a message that I liked his positive message, that I appreciated him in the race, and I value him as a leader in the Party even if he isn't THE Leader.

Similar reasons I am voting for Martin Singh second. I know he won't win, but it sends a signal of openness to new ideas, new people we don't normally have on board (but need), and an attaboy to the plucky underdog. He's smart and he's got courage. Wish we had more like him.

My candidate rankings have changed. They are now:

1. Ashton

2. Nash

3. Topp

my previous rankings were:

1. Nash

2. Topp

3. Ashton

Still waiting for my ballot.

Are people seriously voting by mail? You know you can vote online, right? If you're posting on rabble, I assume you have internet connections.

Boom Boom wrote:

Who knows where we will be on the 24th? Mailing our ballots frees us up for whatever else we have to do on that day. Plus, it likely will be very busy on voting day, and I have just a dialup connection, which occasionally goes down, especially when high volume usage occurs.

You can vote online in advance. 

Given the clusterfutz that sending out the ballots has been, I would not trust in a mail-in ballot unless absolutely necessary. 

Boom Boom wrote:

DSloth wrote:

Given the clusterfutz that sending out the ballots has been, I would not trust in a mail-in ballot unless absolutely necessary. 

That comment doesn't apply to me, as I received my ballot Monday 5th March, and mailed it in Wednesday 7th. No problem. Yes, I could vote online in advance, but why bother since mailing in my ballot was so easy? And I have a slow dialup connection.

Well, isn't Boom Boom fortunate!

Perhaps the NDP office knows who has slow dial-up and mailed their ballots early so they could return them by the March 12 deadline.

Gee - how do they know I have high-speed?

(laugh svp)

Exile and ostracization can bite, Boom Boom. You must have really pissed the mob off.

 @ Caissa!

Hoodeet, I'm living in exile on the coast of Quebec across from Newfoundland - on the Gulf of St. Lawrence - about 450 km east of Sept-Îles. This territory is called "The Lower North Shore of Quebec" and is just below Labrador. We've been promised a connecting road to the mainland since 1943; we finally will be connected in late 2014 if all goes according to plan.

Boom Boom wrote:

Hoodeet, I'm living in exile on the coast of Quebec across from Newfoundland - on the Gulf of St. Lawrence - about 450 km east of Sept-Îles. This territory is called "The Lower North Shore of Quebec" and is just below Labrador. We've been promised a connecting road to the mainland since 1943; we finally will be connected in late 2014 if all goes according to plan.

I found you on google maps! Could you see me waving?

I won't dispute that you heard what you heard...but i was a Mulcair event in Toronto and he talked quite a bit about youth disengagement from the political process and access to PSE and youth unemployment etc...albeit in generalities. He was also asked what his view would be of an Israeli attack on Iran and he said very unequivocally that there could NEVER be any justification for Israel attacking Iran and that he would condemn it.

I'm not saying as a supporter or a non-supporter of Mulcair...I'm still neutral. I'm just reporting what i saw and heard.

Stockholm wrote:

I won't dispute that you heard what you heard...but i was a Mulcair event in Toronto and he talked quite a bit about youth disengagement from the political process and access to PSE and youth unemployment etc...albeit in generalities.

What do you expect him to say, "we should cut access to PSE and increase youth unemployment?" Of course he will talk about creating opportunities. Note the key thing in your statement is the word "generalities." He can talk a great deal, but the fact that the specifics aren't there says a great deal.

Idealistic Pragmatist wrote:

I found you on google maps! Could you see me waving?

I was just taking out the trash when a gust of wind almost knocked me over. Was that you?

Aristotleded24 wrote:

Stockholm wrote:

I would not have expected Mulcair to put out detailed policies in a short speech to party members on why they should vote for him to be party leader. We are at a stage of the campaign where the candidates are talking to an electorate that is 100% composed of NDP members and the only things on members' minds are now "who is the best public face of the party?", "who is the most electable?", "who presents the best?", "who seems to know what he or she is talking about?", "who can or cannot hold Quebec?"

Is it really too much to ask NDP members to give even minimum scrutiny to candidates, rather than assuming that the leadership candidates are all on their side simply by virtue of the fact that we're all wearing orange buttons?

If it's fair, sure.

One thing I will criticize Mulcair for is that I find his website and campaign e-mails to be UGLY froma pure design perspective. Hopefully if he becomes leader, the central party has better web designers etc...