NDP Leadership

[Evening Star]

Perhaps he’d [Dewar would] make a decent potential shadow/cabinet minister? He does seem the sort of personality that the NDP should, though perhaps not a leadership material, promote.

He was foreign affairs critic before the leadership race and did very well in that role, I thought. (Most certainly not a radical leftist.) I like him a tonne, being from Ottawa myself, but I don't see him as being ready to be Leader of the Opposition yet.

[WWWTT]

WWWTT, are you sure you're not confusing j44 with someone else? I've not seen anything that suggests that he is a conservative either.

Ya I guess its possible?

Yesterday I was getting over a weird/bad cough/fever thing and my head was still hurting.

Makes no difference anyways because he written off the NDP's strongest contender too quick, this candidate could leave the conservatives scrambling with no defence against her.

Rookie mistake and I owe no appologie to rookie!

WWWTT

[WWWTT]

If someone wants to advocate a merger, I could at least take that idea seriously.

I would never touch that one!

Thats just asking for problems.The liberals are going for a good reason!And I say let them die on their own.Even if it means another four years of conservative majority.I would rather see that instead of a merger that could poison the NDP for years to come.The liberals screwed things up for themeselves let them solve it themeselves!

The strongest advocates for a united left since the liberal slaughter have always bein the liberals that want to cling to power.Where were the liberals to help out the NDP when the times were tough?

Like the saying goes "Payback's a bitch"

WWWTT

[olpfan1]

you hate the liberals more than harper?

Wasn't it the Ndp that propped up many conservative / liberal goverrnments this last decade?

[WWWTT]

Mulcair is the only real choice the NDP has. If they pick any of these other contenders, they're taking a huge gamble.

Not neccessarily true!

Peggy Nash has excellent negotiating abilities experience and thats what this country needs!

Too many Canadians are tired of the constant bickering between east vs west and all Nash has to do is continue to focus on ability and she will have this all wraped up in a few weeks.

Not to mention that she is a female is a super strong point.Too many Canadians are tired of the cooky cutter Canadian leader image which I should mention that Jack was somewhat albeit not completely distant from.

You people here as far as I'm concerned(not just you cyber)are servants to your fears and are too afraid to take any chances.Aswell there is a signifigant lack of cross lateral thinking that I find to restrictive and un inspiring.

Good luck!

WWWTT

[cybercoma]

Not neccessarily true!

Peggy Nash has excellent negotiating abilities experience and thats what this country needs!

Too many Canadians are tired of the constant bickering between east vs west and all Nash has to do is continue to focus on ability and she will have this all wraped up in a few weeks.

Not to mention that she is a female is a super strong point.Too many Canadians are tired of the cooky cutter Canadian leader image which I should mention that Jack was somewhat albeit not completely distant from.

You people here as far as I'm concerned(not just you cyber)are servants to your fears and are too afraid to take any chances.Aswell there is a signifigant lack of cross lateral thinking that I find to restrictive and un inspiring.

Good luck!

WWWTT

Peggy Nash would be buried by Harper and Rae, but more importantly she doesn't bring anything new to the party. Alexa McDonough and Jack Layton both tried to make incremental shifts towards the centre, although the former was heavily rebuked by the Unions. Peggy Nash is not going to continue to modernize the party. She has no concrete goal to bring in new votes. I believe she would make a good leader, but she would have made a good leader 20 years ago, not today.

[Newfoundlander]

Ya I guess its possible?

Yesterday I was getting over a weird/bad cough/fever thing and my head was still hurting.

Makes no difference anyways because he written off the NDP's strongest contender too quick, this candidate could leave the conservatives scrambling with no defence against her.

Rookie mistake and I owe no appologie to rookie!

WWWTT

So if people don't think Peggy Nash is the strongest candidate then they are wrong? As well this campaign has been going on for six months now so I don't think that's to quickly.

[Newfoundlander]

Someone mentioned after Bob Rae's appearance on Tout le monde en parle, which he supposedly shined in, that the next NDP leader should be able to go on the show. They questioned whether any of the candidates were up for the task of going on the show and performing strongly, which seems to be able to make and break a politican or party. Jack Layton and the NDPs support skyrocketed after his appearance on the show and since Rae appeared on the show the Liberals have also seen a noticeable bump.

[Guest Derek L]

He was foreign affairs critic before the leadership race and did very well in that role, I thought. (Most certainly not a radical leftist.) I like him a tonne, being from Ottawa myself, but I don't see him as being ready to be Leader of the Opposition yet.

Like I said, to me anyways, he comes across as a humble but genuine guy……….

[Tilter]

NDP Leadership

Maybe Jack is speaking to one of the select few. :lol:

[WWWTT]

Peggy Nash would be buried by Harper and Rae, but more importantly she doesn't bring anything new to the party. Alexa McDonough and Jack Layton both tried to make incremental shifts towards the centre, although the former was heavily rebuked by the Unions. Peggy Nash is not going to continue to modernize the party. She has no concrete goal to bring in new votes. I believe she would make a good leader, but she would have made a good leader 20 years ago, not today.

Who said anything about bringing the party to the centre?When Canadians are moving to the left why would we want to move away to the centre?Sounds like suicide to me.

Anyways it doesn't matter because you are making hypothetical untested arguments about how Nash would do in an debate against Harper.I guess this is the most important thing to you isn't it.Heres a pointer buddy free of charge-popularity amongst Canadians is the numero uno column,hands down!I don't know if you checked lately but roughly 50% of the voters are women and Nash has tremendous potential!

Keep in mind that Layton was around over half a dozen years before the NDP started firing on all cylinders,in other words Jack was just a good figure head,and thats all this run is about,picking a good figure head.

In the end I can only cast 1 vote per run-off,same as you!

WWWTT

[WWWTT]

So if people don't think Peggy Nash is the strongest candidate then they are wrong?

In my opinion "Yes" they are wrong.

WWWTT

[UofGPolitico]

Who said anything about bringing the party to the centre?When Canadians are moving to the left why would we want to move away to the centre?Sounds like suicide to me.

WWWTT

Canadians are moving to the left? If they are, they certainly aren't voting considering Canada's clearly been stepping towards the right for the last 8 years.

Edited March 6, 2012 by UofGPolitico

[cybercoma]

Canadians aren't moving to the Left, but an incremental shift towards the centre makes the NDP more electable and squeezes the Liberals out.

And to say Peggy Nash is a good choice because she's a woman and that means women will vote for her is pretty insulting to female voters. I don't vote for male politicians because they're men and I likewise wouldn't expect female voters to vote for female politicians for no other reason than they are female. If that's the reasoning for selecting her as leader of the party, why not pick Ashton? She's a female and young! Image all the young voters and women that would support the party then. It just doesn't work that way.

[TheNewTeddy]

Peggy Nash would be one of the most left-wing leaders the NDP has ever had.

Dewar is too "bumbling" for his own good, he comes across too much like Peter Van Loan does; his appearance does him in, for better or worse. He might be smart but he "looks" dumb, and in politics, that's killer. Iggy for example was a nice guy who "looked" like a big ole meanie, and that's how he was interpreted.

Topp and Mulcair are both able of leading the NDP well, but they both represent different visions. Topp is a Social Democratic Technocrat, while Mulcair is a Centre-Left Politician.

[Newfoundlander]

Topp always looks like a jittery arrogant fool.

[Newfoundlander]

Canadians aren't moving to the Left, but an incremental shift towards the centre makes the NDP more electable and squeezes the Liberals out.

And to say Peggy Nash is a good choice because she's a woman and that means women will vote for her is pretty insulting to female voters. I don't vote for male politicians because they're men and I likewise wouldn't expect female voters to vote for female politicians for no other reason than they are female. If that's the reasoning for selecting her as leader of the party, why not pick Ashton? She's a female and young! Image all the young voters and women that would support the party then. It just doesn't work that way.

Supposedly women don't like voting for women.

[TheNewTeddy]

It's like Quebecker leaders.

Men/Anglos votes for Women/Quebeckers with the idea, that they will appeal to Women/Quebeckers, but Women/Quebeckers actually know better.

[olpfan1]

Supposedly women don't like voting for women.

Ashton's tone of voice is more suited for rallies, every time she talks it sounds as if she is in "attack mode"

its annoying, it'd be like having Baird as leader of the conservatives

it's all yelling and attacking

[Evening Star]

Peggy Nash would be one of the most left-wing leaders the NDP has ever had.

I don't see what makes her more left-wing than Douglas or Lewis, at least on economics.

[j44]

I think I said that I thought Cullen and Mulcair would team up. I'd like to see it happen.

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/john-ibbitson/will-cullen-be-mulcairs-kingmaker-in-ndp-leadership-race/article2359917/?service=mobile

[TheNewTeddy]

http://www.punditsguide.ca/

Cullen seems to have caught up to the front pack.

[TheNewTeddy]

I don't see what makes her more left-wing than Douglas or Lewis, at least on economics.

Douglas thought that homosexuality was a mental illness that needed to be treated.

However, Douglas, for just that line of thinking, was progressive for his time.

There's 40 years between these men and Nash, and that's why her policies, even if they are the same, are so left-wing. The world has changed.

[Evening Star]

Douglas thought that homosexuality was a mental illness that needed to be treated.

However, Douglas, for just that line of thinking, was progressive for his time.

There's 40 years between these men and Nash, and that's why her policies, even if they are the same, are so left-wing. The world has changed.

I question whether Douglas still believed that by the time he was federal NDP leader in the 60s. Even so, by the same token, Douglas/Lewis seemed to advocate a greater role for the government in the economy than anyone advocates today: when does someone like Nash even talk about creating Crown corporations or implementing something like the FIRA?

[cybercoma]

[T]he governing party is spreading a story designed to hurt Mulcair in the eyes of New Democrats just as the membership starts to cast their leadership votes. The Conservatives don’t bother attacking rival politicians that don’t worry them.

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2012/03/07/don-newman-conservatives-complement-mulcair-by-attacking-him/

Looks like Stephen Harper is endorsing Mulcair.