Any bright spots last night?
The NDP won three Saskatchewan seats.
Also re-elected 16 Quebec MPs including Romeo Saganash and rising star Ruth Ellen Brosseau.
Bright Spots?
Tue, 2015-10-20 16:34
#1
Bright Spots?
Tue, 2015-10-20 16:48
#2
Daniel Blaikie winning Elmwood-Transcona
Tue, 2015-10-20 16:50
#3
I personally will not miss Peter, Paul, or Pat. Do those count as bright spots?
Tue, 2015-10-20 16:50
#4
I was convinced that with Edmonton being a three-way race that Linda Duncan would lose due to the Liberals eating into her support.
Many people wrote off Murray Rankin in Victoria but he held off the Green candidate.
Most of the talented B.C. caucus remains.
NDP picked up a new seat in Ontario, Tracey Ramsey in Essex.
Tue, 2015-10-20 16:51
#5
Daniel Blaikie winning Elmwood-Transcona
The Conservative in that riding is considering asking for a recount
Tue, 2015-10-20 16:54
#6
Arthur Cramer
I think the loss of any NDP MP is very bad, especially with a TPP voting. Definitely holding on to Quebec seats. REB, and representation in much of Canada, including Elmood. Also, the fact that this is clearly finally a chance to give the boot to people like Judy WL, and Rebecca Blakie. Very unhappy with the nepotism in Elmwood. Glad we got the seat back, but not happy to see another useless Blakie!
Tue, 2015-10-20 16:58
#7
What is wrong with Judy WL?
Tue, 2015-10-20 16:59
#8
Holding onto Niki Ashton is important. She is amazing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niki_Ashton
You still won more seats than the Liberals did in 2011.
Having been the official opposition for 4 years and having risen to first for at least a brief period in the polls solidifies the NDP as a viable choice federally.
Tue, 2015-10-20 17:00
#9
Arthur Cramer
What is wrong with Judy WL?
Sorry, Lib, not telling you.
Tue, 2015-10-20 17:00
#10
Gilles Duceppe losing his seat to NDP incumbent Hélène Laverdière was certainly a bright spot for me. link
Tue, 2015-10-20 17:01
#11
Winning 3 Sask seats.
Tue, 2015-10-20 17:10
#12
swallow
Ten aboriginal MPs, a record, including the splendid Romeo Saganash and newcomers like Georgina Jolibois and Robert Falcon Ouellet.
Many more women MPs.
Vancouver Island.
The official opposiiton critic on Bill C-51, Randall Garrison, is back in parliament and vowing to continue the fight against C-51.
Ruth Ellen Brosseau and Pierre Luc Dusseault, who were not professional pols but worked hard for their ridings, can keep doing so.
Stephane Dion will make a decent cabinet minister. A few of the other Liberals might, too.
And many of the new ministers will have constituency offices that are easy to reach by public transit, so it'll be easier to protest there.
Tue, 2015-10-20 17:21
#13
I think the loss of any NDP MP is very bad, especially with a TPP voting. Definitely holding on to Quebec seats. REB, and representation in much of Canada, including Elmood. Also, the fact that this is clearly finally a chance to give the boot to people like Judy WL, and Rebecca Blakie. Very unhappy with the nepotism in Elmwood. Glad we got the seat back, but not happy to see another useless Blakie!
I think we can cut Daniel some slack here. He did his own thing for a while, then he went and ran for election, and he won. Bill was a good MP who did a good job representing the people (why else do you think he held on in 1993?) and I'm sure Daniel will be more than open to learning from his father.
Tue, 2015-10-20 17:25
#14
Daniel Blaikie winning Elmwood-Transcona
The Conservative in that riding is considering asking for a recount
So what, recounts almost never change the outcome unless the margin is in low single digits...Its always possible that when elections canada does the official tally in a few days some errors in the totals could be uncovered but if after the official account Blaikie is ahead by 51 votes , there is about 99.99999% chance that a recount will make no difference
Tue, 2015-10-20 17:53
#15
Holding onto Niki Ashton is important. She is amazing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niki_Ashton
You still won more seats than the Liberals did in 2011.
Having been the official opposition for 4 years and having risen to first for at least a brief period in the polls solidifies the NDP as a viable choice federally.
Wow were getting pity from Pondering, it must be worse then I imagined!
I'm kidding Pondering, I'm teasing.
As for bright spots, I'm glad the election is over, I was pissed off last night, but I felt this calm inner peace today and relief today, I'm been stressed over this election since the NDP dropping in the polls and fucking up, no its all over and I don't have to worry about an election until 2019, or until a NDP leadership race.
And an bright spot is the NDP has a chance for renewal. I got the logic of the NDP's platform, but I honestly didn't like it, it wasn't bold enough, it was out synch with the times, and while the childcare promise was good, it applied to to few people to be the centre piece of the NDP policies. A Basic Gareenteed Income should have been a centre piece.
So this is the NDPs chance to learn from rescent mistakes both provincially and federally. We're entering a new era and we have to stop fighting the battles of the past and look to knew ideas and new vision. So I'm excited about renewal.
Another bright spot is some of my favourite MPs survived, like Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Charlie Angus, Nathan Cullen, and some new ones, especially Erin Weir Economist and Karina Trudel who can lead the fight for the improving Canada Post.
Tue, 2015-10-20 18:26
#16
It was nice watching Rob Clarke and Greg Rickford flaming out into third place. Also nice to see that the NDP won in Kootenay. That shows that the NDP still have some of what made it competitive in rural Western Canada a long time ago.
Tue, 2015-10-20 18:49
#17
Ten aboriginal MPs, a record, including the splendid Romeo Saganash and newcomers like Georgina Jolibois and Robert Falcon Ouellet.
Many more women MPs.
Vancouver Island.
The official opposiiton critic on Bill C-51, Randall Garrison, is back in parliament and vowing to continue the fight against C-51.
Ruth Ellen Brosseau and Pierre Luc Dusseault, who were not professional pols but worked hard for their ridings, can keep doing so.
Stephane Dion will make a decent cabinet minister. A few of the other Liberals might, too.
And many of the new ministers will have constituency offices that are easy to reach by public transit, so it'll be easier to protest there.
Stephane Dion was a shitty Minister back in the 90's, I see no reason to believe it will be any different this time.
Tue, 2015-10-20 18:56
#18
I was in tears last night, but it was of course too much to think that the competent, cultivated, really bilingual (without gross errors) and progressive Anne Lagacé Dowson could have bested the Upper Class Twit of the Year. But it was good to flush Harper.
marc alfred, as for that story:
Gilles Duceppe losing his seat to NDP incumbent Hélène Laverdière was certainly a bright spot for me.
Yolande really doesn't look very unhappy now, does she?
Tue, 2015-10-20 21:28
#19
Every riding I have lived in over the last 35 years went orange. I live on Vancouver Island and every seat went Orange except for May's. In the Comox Valley we defeated John Duncan a nasty racist Reformer and picked up the bonus redistribution seat as well. Burnaby South (Kennedy Stewart} and New West (Peter Julian) and Port Moody Coquitlam (Fin Donnely) which was my part of the Lower Mainland and where my two sons live are all orange. The NDP also won a seat in Saskatoon where I lived before Burnaby and also the Kootenays is orange where I lived during the '80's.
I predicted an NDP plurality because I went on a road trip on Friday to drop off one son in Coquitlam and move the other from Burnaby over to the island. Leaving aside freeway driving my trip took me through neighbourhoods in 8 ridings. All eight now have NDP MP's. I thought we were doing just great.
Tue, 2015-10-20 21:38
#20
I personally will not miss Peter, Paul, or Pat. Do those count as bright spots?
Peter Stoffer, Pat Martin and Paul Dewer were three of the best MPs we had. Don't get what your problem is to gloat in the defeat of your comrades.
Tue, 2015-10-20 21:41
#21
Sadly if it was up to Vancouver Island the Mulcair would be PM, but its not. Still points for Vancouver Island for seeing through Trudeau's bullshit.
Tue, 2015-10-20 21:46
#22
I predicted an NDP plurality because I went on a road trip on Friday to drop off one son in Coquitlam and move the other from Burnaby over to the island. Leaving aside freeway driving my trip took me through neighbourhoods in 8 ridings. All eight now have NDP MP's. I thought we were doing just great.
Over the past six weeks I've taken the Shoe Leather Express through various parts of University-Rosedale (my riding) and also Davenport, and was pleasantly opiated by all the orange I saw. Three times more orange than red, blue and green combined.
When the Atlantic results started to pour in, I thought "Oh, this isn't good, but at least here in the core of Toronto, we're safe..."
Tue, 2015-10-20 21:56
#23
Unionist feels they were too pro Isreal, too prowar, ect...
I take no joy in there defeat, they served thier country well, but even I will admit they were not our strongest MPs.
I think we kept most of our best MPs, lost alot of good MPs, and a few great ones, but we kept most of our best MPs.
Our best MPs right now I'm say are Peter Julian, Nathan Cullen, Mulcair, Nikki Ashton, Romeo Saganash, Ruth Ellen Brosseau, Kennedy Stewart, Charlie Angus, Guy Caron, some others and pick up some news one who I think have great potential like Erin Weir. Okay we lost alot of really good MPs, leaving us with a smaller pool, and a surprising amount of new MPs, especially in BC and Sask. I think what like a third of the caucus is new?
It will be interesting to see the shadow cabinat, there are some big holes in it, but that can be an oppodtunity for the survivors and newbs to advance.
Tue, 2015-10-20 22:01
#24
I predicted an NDP plurality because I went on a road trip on Friday to drop off one son in Coquitlam and move the other from Burnaby over to the island. Leaving aside freeway driving my trip took me through neighbourhoods in 8 ridings. All eight now have NDP MP's. I thought we were doing just great.Over the past six weeks I've taken the Shoe Leather Express through various parts of University-Rosedale (my riding) and also Davenport, and was pleasantly opiated by all the orange I saw. Three times more orange than red, blue and green combined.
When the Atlantic results started to pour in, I thought "Oh, this isn't good, but at least here in the core of Toronto, we're safe..."
I saw the same in High Park. I couldn't believe it when everyone (and I mean everyone) started predicting Liberals would win it. Even with everyone predicting it, I still thought the NDP would win it based on what I saw there a couple weeks ago.
Tue, 2015-10-20 22:16
#25
It was like watching some frazzled contestant on "Let's Make A Deal" choose the toaster oven over what's behind Door #3.
Tue, 2015-10-20 22:25
#26
An extreme dominance of Boulerice signs here, except for a few large Bloc candidate signs on the public roadway (very few on balconies or in windows) and the only Liberal ones were near the Liberal candidate's office. No con signs at all. A few small Green ones. Liberals not counting some very large Trudeau signs on OUR side of Jean-Talon. Some were unilingual English, at the corner of Jean-Talon and St-Denis! (Vietnamese, Italian, Arabic and Spanish more common right there).
The Liberal signs are oddly goth, and the colour scheme is also that of the 2012 Student movement here. I highly doubt the Libs have become "Communistes libertaires", pandas or bananas against Charest - or Couillard. And the colours I was sporting as I headed to the Alexandre-Anne campaign office, as I had a black cotton velvet jacket (an expensive, warm jacket, but which I had found at Le Chaînon, a charity shop that helps women in crisis) and a red woollen scarf which I'd happened to pick up at the same place on a different occasion. Sorry, I really don't like orange, except a more subtle burnt orange.
Tue, 2015-10-20 22:29
#27
dp
Tue, 2015-10-20 22:29
#28
I personally will not miss Peter, Paul, or Pat. Do those count as bright spots?
Peter Stoffer, Pat Martin and Paul Dewer were three of the best MPs we had. Don't get what your problem is to gloat in the defeat of your comrades.
Stoffer - warmonger - even after the party convention demanded an immediate and orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan, he publicly defied the party and said, let's stay.
You agree with him? Go mourn your comrade.
Pat Martin? Pro-Zionist Likudist creep. Proponent of the "opposition to Israeli policy is the new anti-Semitism" line. Pushing his "allegiance to Canada" private members' bill for years on end, in order to try to keep elected Québec sovereignists out of the House. Plus being an all-round embarrassment.
Paul Dewar? Non-stop pushing Harper to be more aggressive against Russia, against Syria... and going so far as to issue (along with fellow Israel-panderer Wayne Marston) a statement on the party website [url=http://archive.rabble.ca/babble/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=13&t=0035... Harper[/url] for making Canada the first country in the world to announce it would boycott "Durban II", the U.N. human rights sequel conference held in Geneva in 2008. On Jack Layton's orders, the statement was removed within a couple of days.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. To your "comrades". The NDP must root out such poison if it is to make its mark as the conscience of the Canadian political system.
Tue, 2015-10-20 22:39
#29
What about the servivors, what do you think about the current MPs, are you pissed at any of them Unionist?
Tue, 2015-10-20 22:44
#30
What about the servivors, what do you think about the current MPs, are you pissed at any of them Unionist?
We lost some fantastic young MPs in Québec - plus Megan Leslie, Linda McQuaig, many others. That is the responsibility of the Lavignes and McGraths and similar back-room manipulators who will, hopefully, have their asses handed to them on a platter shortly.
As for the survivors - many are good, principled folk. That does not apply to Hélène Laverdière, who is as much a serial warmonger as Paul Dewar, whom she subbed for when he was running for the leadership. Her dirty role has been amply discussed on this discussion board. But given the choice between two warmongers (her and Gilles Duceppe), I suppose I'd pick her. And there are some others who should have been gone.
Why... what do you think, Brachina?
Tue, 2015-10-20 22:55
#31
It was nice watching Rob Clarke and Greg Rickford flaming out into third place.
And even if it tilted red in one case and orange in the other, the fact that both cases disproved "split opposition elects Cons" scaremongering...
Tue, 2015-10-20 23:19
#32
Bright spot? There will be a reckoning.
Lavigne, McGrath and the other careerists at the top need to go. It's almost worth an electoral humiliation if the party can rid itself of them and their brilliant stage management. Smile, Tom! Softer, Tom! More Liberal!
Wed, 2015-10-21 02:54
#33
bagkitty
Bright spot...? we are rid of Joan Crockatt here in Calgary Centre, it's positively brilliant!
Wed, 2015-10-21 03:01
#34
I was in tears last night, but it was of course too much to think that the competent, cultivated, really bilingual (without gross errors) and progressive Anne Lagacé Dowson could have bested the Upper Class Twit of the Year. But it was good to flush Harper.
So you were rooting for a parachute candidate who didn't even get chosen by the NDP riding association in Papineau or even bother to set up an office in the riding?
Last night the former NDP Papineau President basically tweeted that he was glad to see Dowson go down after the parachute stunt she pulled.
And for you to keep referring to Justin Trudeau as an "Upper Class Twit" reaveals your own class bias. You don't judge someone based on what family they grew up in.
And if it wasn't for Justin Trudeau, Stephen Harper would still be in power.
Trudeau is not perfect, and I had my own disagreements with him earlier this year as I've alread posted about multiple times, but Trudeau has earned his victory. He even got an increased vote of support from Quebec Francophones this year.
Wed, 2015-10-21 05:40
#35
Yes, of course I have a class bias against the ruling class! No, nobody is responsible for the family they grew up in. I don't hate Mussolini's granddaughter Alessandra because granddad was a fascist, but because she is a fascist spokesperson herself. People are responsible for BREAKING with such origins or using their privilege to fight privilege. Some of the greatest socialists in history were of upper bourgeois origin, some even aristocratic.
There is a class struggle, you know.
Of course I'm glad to see the back of Harper, who was not only ecocidal, but a threat to even bourgeois democracy. But I entertain no illusions in the Liberals.
I don't like the practice of "star candidates" either - I was simply talking about the respective competence and intelligence of the two candidates. The lack of a campaign office in Papineau is a red herring - the office was located one short block south of Papineau riding; it is not the first time candidates in adjacent, compact urban ridings have shared offices (this was quite a large office; a clothing store of a certain size that had shut down). The location for the office was based mostly on public transport - it is very close to the Jean-Talon métro station, where there are two métro lines, so people could easily travel there both from north and south and east and west, and there are also many buslines converging there.
I could dump on the NDP in far more scathing terms than you, but from the left. You know very well that you are here to defend the Liberals and class rule.
Papineau is the smallest riding in terms of land area in Canada. I've lived in both ridings; i've lived in the area for around 30 years.
Wed, 2015-10-21 07:34
#36
Gawd Debater, criticizing Anne L-D as a parachute into Papineau??? Justin doesn't live there either. He doesn't even live in the same city or even province. As LaPresse reported on the last weekend, too late to have any effect, he lives in Otttawa and pays taxes to Ontario, not Quebec.
Just another little fact the MSM chose not to spread very far. Like Justin calling Suzuki's climate change views "sanctimonious crap" and Suzuki calling Justin a twerp. Any similar, negativity about Tom would have dominated the headlines for days.
Wed, 2015-10-21 08:04
#37
Daniel Blaikie winning Elmwood-Transcona
The Conservative in that riding is considering asking for a recount
Having worked three judicial recounts, including leading for my side on one of them, I can tell you that it is exceedingly rare to have an election night result overturned. There are usually only a few disputable ballots and miscounts by DROs and as one would expect, they tend to be distributed evenly. 51 is almost certainly too big a gap to close.
Wed, 2015-10-21 10:55
#38
Bright spot? There will be a reckoning.
Lavigne, McGrath and the other careerists at the top need to go. It's almost worth an electoral humiliation if the party can rid itself of them and their brilliant stage management. Smile, Tom! Softer, Tom! More Liberal!
The question becomes who do we replace them with.
Wed, 2015-10-21 11:15
#39
I'm kidding Pondering, I'm teasing.
:)
As for bright spots, I'm glad the election is over, I was pissed off last night, but I felt this calm inner peace today and relief today, I'm been stressed over this election since the NDP dropping in the polls and fucking up, no its all over and I don't have to worry about an election until 2019, or until a NDP leadership race.
My reaction was relief and it still is. I'm happy Harper is finally gone.
And an bright spot is the NDP has a chance for renewal. I got the logic of the NDP's platform, but I honestly didn't like it, it wasn't bold enough, it was out synch with the times, and while the childcare promise was good, it applied to to few people to be the centre piece of the NDP policies. A Basic Gareenteed Income should have been a centre piece.
Basic Income was discussed during the leadership battle and has been discussed in the news so I was disappointed that it wasn't part of the Liberal platform.
So this is the NDPs chance to learn from rescent mistakes both provincially and federally. We're entering a new era and we have to stop fighting the battles of the past and look to knew ideas and new vision. So I'm excited about renewal.
This is true. I hope they focus on that which can be sold on economic and environmental grounds.
Is it you who is in favor of GMOs?
Wed, 2015-10-21 11:19
#40
The NDP swept all three ridings in the Windsor area. Bodes well for the Union movement and auto sector in that area.
Wed, 2015-10-21 12:46
#41
Bright spot...? we are rid of Joan Crockatt here in Calgary Centre, it's positively brilliant!
Also these six:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/10/20/controversial-tory-incumbents-pa...
Wed, 2015-10-21 14:10
#42
Bright spot? Hmm...Harper is gone.
Skimming the thread though, most are looking for silver linings specifically for the NDP. In that light, change never happens as fast or exactly how voters hope it will. In 2019, many of JT's new supporters will not vote at all and others will feel let down. In that atmosphere an angry Tom who holds the PM accountable with his scathing tongue might be exactly what people are looking for.
Wed, 2015-10-21 14:19
#43
Bright spot? There will be a reckoning.
Lavigne, McGrath and the other careerists at the top need to go. It's almost worth an electoral humiliation if the party can rid itself of them and their brilliant stage management. Smile, Tom! Softer, Tom! More Liberal!
The question becomes who do we replace them with.
That's a fair question. Much of the NDP operational brass has been poached by the Notley Government, like Brian Topp and Nathan Rotman. Perhaps the party can look outside their circles? I know former Conservative strategist John Laschinger and Liberal bagman Peter Donolo have done work with NDP candidates in the past.
Wed, 2015-10-21 14:25
#44
Bright spot? Hmm...Harper is gone.
Skimming the thread though, most are looking for silver linings specifically for the NDP. In that light, change never happens as fast or exactly how voters hope it will. In 2019, many of JT's new supporters will not vote at all and others will feel let down. In that atmosphere an angry Tom who holds the PM accountable with his scathing tongue might be exactly what people are looking for.
I think that would be a grave miscalculation of the public mood. This is an opportunity to do what the Liberals did, which was work on renewal and finding out what Canadians want and narrowing focus on a key broad issue that targets the 99% not "the left".
Wed, 2015-10-21 14:30
#45
I personally will not miss Peter, Paul, or Pat. Do those count as bright spots?
Peter Stoffer, Pat Martin and Paul Dewer were three of the best MPs we had. Don't get what your problem is to gloat in the defeat of your comrades.
Stoffer - warmonger - even after the party convention demanded an immediate and orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan, he publicly defied the party and said, let's stay.
You agree with him? Go mourn your comrade.
Pat Martin? Pro-Zionist Likudist creep. Proponent of the "opposition to Israeli policy is the new anti-Semitism" line. Pushing his "allegiance to Canada" private members' bill for years on end, in order to try to keep elected Québec sovereignists out of the House. Plus being an all-round embarrassment.
Paul Dewar? Non-stop pushing Harper to be more aggressive against Russia, against Syria... and going so far as to issue (along with fellow Israel-panderer Wayne Marston) a statement on the party website [url=http://archive.rabble.ca/babble/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=13&t=0035... Harper[/url] for making Canada the first country in the world to announce it would boycott "Durban II", the U.N. human rights sequel conference held in Geneva in 2008. On Jack Layton's orders, the statement was removed within a couple of days.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. To your "comrades". The NDP must root out such poison if it is to make its mark as the conscience of the Canadian political system.
And who can forget Stoffer's undermining of Layton's call for an inheritance tax. As for Martin, his general boorishness and public foul language against opponents and others is well known. Worse, he called for Svend Robinson's removal as foreign affairs critic for having the temerity to meet with Yasir Arafat.
Wed, 2015-10-21 14:49
#46
Wed, 2015-10-21 15:01
#47
As always the NDP has to figure out whether it wants to speak for the 35% of the voters who are truly left of centre or try to persuade the middle class voter to switch from the Liberals or Tories to the NDP.
Tommy was successful because he taught the basic principles underlying his socialist agenda. If you run from the left unabashedly and you present good options for constructive change you might get a 30% base to work from instead of the current 20%. We need campaigns that speak to the embedded lies of the MSM not tip toe around them.
I sincerely hope that no operatives from the BC NDP replace the current batch of liberal wannabes. They have lost every election this millenium by waiting for their despised opponent to lose. The last two elections the brain trust has had its leaders spending more time trying to gain the trust of the business community than any people based movement.
Wed, 2015-10-21 15:05
#48
Win-win if you ask me...
Christy Clark mentioned to replace Harper as Conservative leader
She is Trudeau's half sister. 
The only problem with that idea is that I doubt whether the woman has ever owned a Conservative membership card. She used to be a federal Liberal prior to going back into politics to seek the leadership of the BC Liberals. Her husband and family both had deep roots in the Paul Martin campaign team.
Wed, 2015-10-21 15:13
#49
The only problem with that idea is that I doubt whether the woman has ever owned a Conservative membership card. She used to be a federal Liberal prior to going back into politics to seek the leadership of the BC Liberals. Her husband and family both had deep roots in the Paul Martin campaign team.
Bizarre. I don't believe that Socreds (which is essentially what the BC Libs are) have any affiliation with the federal Liberals? Did Christy genuinely think it was a Liberal party?
Anyway, that they would even float this idea confirms that the true BC Lib relationship has been with the federal Conservatives, not the Liberal party.
Wed, 2015-10-21 15:47
#50
As always the NDP has to figure out whether it wants to speak for the 35% of the voters who are truly left of centre or try to persuade the middle class voter to switch from the Liberals or Tories to the NDP.
Tommy was successful because he taught the basic principles underlying his socialist agenda. If you run from the left unabashedly and you present good options for constructive change you might get a 30% base to work from instead of the current 20%. We need campaigns that speak to the embedded lies of the MSM not tip toe around them.
I sincerely hope that no operatives from the BC NDP replace the current batch of liberal wannabes. They have lost every election this millenium by waiting for their despised opponent to lose. The last two elections the brain trust has had its leaders spending more time trying to gain the trust of the business community than any people based movement.
I agree, but I wouldn't call the 35% "left of centre" because so few people think in those terms, or even think of themselves as progressives. The environmental movement isn't made up of leftists or progressives although the people who lead it may consider themselves as such. It's made up of ordinary people who are upset at the threat poised by pipelines, dirty air and contaminated foods.
How did neoliberalism win over the public? It didn't really, it won on three basic themes. Lower taxes, you should get to keep your money, social programs are nice but it means your money is being given to someone else. Security, we will protect you from criminals and the terrorists outside our borders. Government can't be trusted, therefore it should be as small as possible. The only two necessary functions are security and promoting business growth which creates jobs.
Small government, low taxes, jobs.
Arguing for bigger government, higher taxes, and government jobs is a tough sell.
The NDP does need renewal but not as a worker's party. It needs to be of the people and for the people, the majority of people, the 99%, not just people who are traditionally left.
Wed, 2015-10-21 15:49
#51
Bright spot? There will be a reckoning.
Lavigne, McGrath and the other careerists at the top need to go. It's almost worth an electoral humiliation if the party can rid itself of them and their brilliant stage management. Smile, Tom! Softer, Tom! More Liberal!
The question becomes who do we replace them with.
That's a fair question. Much of the NDP operational brass has been poached by the Notley Government, like Brian Topp and Nathan Rotman. Perhaps the party can look outside their circles? I know former Conservative strategist John Laschinger and Liberal bagman Peter Donolo have done work with NDP candidates in the past.
You know what, I've been thinking about Brian Topp alot lately and a strange pyschic prediction that I'd heard about not long after Mulcair won the leadership that Tom Mulcair would lose this election because of a betrayal by Brian Topp.
Not Brian didn't exactly betray Tom, but Brian Topp had promised to run in Quebec during this election and meaningful particate in this election, to my knowledge he did neither.
Brian Topp was a big pusher of a tax increase and a more ambitious adgenda, without his presence the brain trust went in the opposite direct, playing it safe when they shouldn't have, something with his experience with Adrian Dix Brian Topp would likely have advised against. Brian would likely gave advised Tom to be more aggressive and more himself.
Its entirely possible that had Brian Topp run for the NDP or had run the campaign or helped write the policy plan, this entire campaign could have gone in an entirely different direction, he could have potentially shifted things in away that would lead to an NDP majority government.
We'll never know for certain, and while Brian Topp didn't directly betray Tom, his absence in a key capacity is after his promise is a betrayal of sort, given he was needed, fulfilling the Pyschics prophecy.
Just something to think about on this up coming Halloween! ;D
MAWHAHAHAHA.