LPoC Leadership Vote

Frankly, I was disappointed in Joyce Murray's speech at the LPoC showcase, and I have severe doubts as to whether her  plan for cooperation (A runoff???  A RUNOFF???) with the NDP and Greens has any hope of success.  But the concept of cooperation is an important one, even if the details haven't been satisfactorily worked out yet.  And she is the bearer of that concept within the LPoC.  Hence the rankings you see above.

Murray, Trudeau, And Showcase Wrap-Up

My computer's battery died before I could finish this yesterday.  But onward!

Joyce Murray gave a strong, substantive speech.  You can watch it here.  And  it went over fairly well, generally speaking, though the showcase crowd gave fairly muted responses to all of the speakers other than Justin.  However, when Murray  got into a discussion of how her "one time" cooperative deal with the NDP and Green Party would actually work, she seemed to lose people. And no wonder: you get your nomination and you have to engage in a "run-off" with the Green and NDP candidate for a chance to take on the local Tory.  That's almost like having to win a nomination twice; and two campaigns sound twice as expensive.

Certainly, Murray's promoting cooperation got nowhere the applause that Justin's denunciation of the same idea did.  And, say what you will about Justin Trudeau, he has learned how to give a speech, his presentation being head and shoulders above the other potentials.  Although, this morning, I am still struggling to recall the details of any policy proposals he might have mentioned: he's for Keystone, against Northern Gateway. respects the West, and yada yada yada.

As to the others, Martha Hall Findlay  was surprisingly non-abrasive.  And while Martin Cauchon, the last of the candidates up, spoke on I was reminded of that scene in Woodstock where Jimmy Hendrix plays to an empty field.  Cauchon must have looked out at the room as the crowd trickled away and thought "There's $75,000 I won't see again."

Overall I'd note that this leadership go round has been fought pretty cleanly, especially when compared to 2006. I can't see the same kind of divisions going forward,  though there were plenty of jokes told about "anonymous liberals" around the showcase floor.  In fact, Jeff Jedras (with the Coyne campaign) told a funny story about how he was quoted anonymously in a media piece when he had not requested it.  I guess its more fun for the media to pretend its all about back-stabbing in the LPC.  Thankfully, it isn't.

Bob Rae And First Notes

So,  a quick technical note: the convention centre had wifi but no power for bloggers; Hoops (the pub I went to) had power but no wifi network.  This was scratched out in word and popped into blogger, as I wanted my battery power for the Murray/Trudeau speeches.  But then wifi access crapped out at the Metro center.  So I am listening to Justin Now.  That post will come a bit later.

Bob Rae is effortlessly charming, and can hold forth into triple overtime without notes.  His speech was, as Kady O'Malley noted, a gentle lecture in party unity.  The best bit: "I wanted to be LPC leader in the worst way, and it looks like I got my wish."  Folks who are old enough to remember, will remember that he used an almost identical line back in 1990 when his NDP won power in Ontario at the beginning of  what turned out to be a vicious recession: "I wanted to be premier in the worst way..." and etc.  Like the line Dief used throughout his career, in variations:  "The honourable Member thinks he is being witty; he is only half right."

And speaking of  Bob's years as NDP Premier, the tribute to him skipped those entirely.  It was as though Bob slipped into a coma the whole half decade.

In other notes, after all the complaining about slow ticket sales, it looks like standing room only in Hall E.  I'd be pissed, in fact, if I had forked out for a ticket.

Travels In LiberalLand

I have been granted the honor of blogging the LPoC showcase downtown today.  I take these things seriously, so I will probably try to write a quick post about each of the candidates pitch speeches, though this ambition may get scaled back to Joyce and Justin's.  Maybe MHF's if I'm in a bad mood and want to hurl abuse.  Physically, I will be there for at least part of the show so as to absorb the triumphant vibe that surely must emanate from such a transplendant coagulation of Liberalness, but  may skip out the boring bits (ie any musical tributes).  Again, I'm not sure what I'll do when Ms. Findlay speaks; I may stick around  to observe how quickly the room turns against her.  I'm bringing one of those fancy digital stop-watches that can measure to the 1/100th of a second.

Otherwise I will be splitting time among ancillary events, particularly the Progblogs do at Omar's place.

As to the issue of slow ticket sales, I'm told this problem has been overblown.  Its also been rumored that the LPoC has tasked ex MP Joe Volpe with scaring up a few extra bodies.  So we'll see if my dead grandma is in attendance.

I will also be on twitter for the event. where I write as @Bigcitylib2.  At some point soon, though not necessarily today, I will endorse one of the candidates.  Not that anyone cares.  But I will.

In Which Zach Paiken Makes Some Sense

A little bit.  Obviously calling for Liberals to rally around a leader that hasn't been elected yet is putting cart before horse.  But this paragraph is OK:

Liberals know full well what they believe in. Our party demonstrated a solid record of social progress and fiscal responsibility during its last stint in power, legalizing same-sex marriage and balancing the budget for eight straight years. Our party is also the most principled when it comes to Canada’s existential questions such as national unity. One need not look any further than the “Bloc Orange” phenomenon currently plaguing the NDP to see that this is the case.

Also, the point about having a leader young enough to lead the party through several elections is a good one.  So, maybe 1 1/2 paragraphs in 12 rise above crap.  But I would hesitate to blow the kid off too thoroughly.  He may be PM one day, and he'll need senators.

LPoC Registration Cracks 100,000

From an email I received yesterday evening from Matt Certosimo, the National Membership Secretary:

Presumably, the deadline extension will give the party time to contact anyone who is serious about following-up on their original contact, although I expect the final tally will be embarrassingly low.  That said, if Joyce Murray hangs tough for the next couple of weeks this could still be an interesting race.  She can't win, but her message of LPoC/NDP cooperation is resonating in some quarters, and I'd be curious to see if she can move the field, or what is left of it, in her direction a bit.  I sincerely hope the T.O. showcase isn't cancelled.  I was told there would be food.

As for Coyne's column this morning, ignore it.  He's been rehearsing bits of it on twitter since last week; the honest outrage it expresses is all fake.

Garneau Out?

!!! RT @jmbryden: Garmeau withdrawing from #lpldr race, The Canadian Press has learned
— Dale Smith-Journo (@journo_dale) March 13, 2013

If so, where do his people go?  Anywhere but Justin?

Martha Hall Findlay Flip Flops On Northern Gateway

I haven't heard this mentioned in any of the coverage of yesterday's LPoC leadership debate, but on February 26th MHF was for Northern Gateway Pipeline; as of yesterday's debate, she's sudddenly agin it.  That's what you call a policy reversal...a waffle...a dither...a flip flop, even.

Worth noting too that among the contenders only Joyce Murray has come out against Kinder Morgan in addition to the NGP.  Joyce is a B.C. gal, and I'm assuming her opposition is a sign of which way the winds are blowing out on the left coast over that project.

One Of These People Is NOT Running For LPoC Leadership

But should I be?  Everyone else is, and I'm starting to feel a little weird that I'm not.

Its Only A Forum Poll

...but I like it:

Forty-one per cent of poll respondents said they’d vote Liberal in this scenario, granting the party 164 of the 308 seats in the house. The Tories would get 30% of the vote and 93 seats, and the NDP would get 20% of the vote and 45 seats.

I foresee a very short, very unexciting leadership "event" in April.

The Media Is Owed Nothing

Its worth remembering that the last "exciting" race the LPoC ran provided fodder for attack ads against both the leader who emerged that year and in '08.  Star columnist Tim Harper naturally wants more.  Cooler heads should not tell him no.  And of course Harper undermines his own point pretty effectively when he says:

The New Democrats may have sleepwalked their way through a leadership contest, but emerged having chosen wisely with their election of Tom Mulcair and the party profile jumped, at least in the immediate aftermath of his victory.

....which is to say that in Canadian politics, boring works.  Let the Tories do their own opposition research this time, shall we?

Blank Post

Yo Federal Liberal Leadership Candidates (Esp. Justin Trudeau): Bullshit Cometh Before The Fall

If you take the numbers from the last NDP leadership convention as a guide--and there is no reason not to--about 10% of the people you recruit on-line will be arsed enough about the whole enterprise to actually vote. The rest will forget they signed up.  So this story is just puff.  As a matter of fact, I think the only possible way to defeat Justin Trudeau at this leadership thingy in April is to get actual bodies on the floor and hope his internet army is busy dating their bong that weekend.  Though it probably won't work.

And, the thing is, with the NDP nobody cared because nobody watched.  I know real political affairs professionals who managed to entirely avoid that weekend of conventioneering, and I was the one to tell them how shitty the whole thing went.  But it didn't matter.  Mulcair gave a nice interview on Sunday, and here we are. The LPoC doesn't have that advantage.  The media obsesses over us even when we're the 3rd party.  We are just that sexxxy.  So no flaw will go unexposed.  Over-hype your on-line ambitions, and all you'll hear about afterwards is how disappointing the result was.

Word, sexxxy babies.