tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post1511826942280646848..comments2024-02-07T16:22:39.625-05:00Comments on Jeff Jedras: Both hope and fear drove Liberal delegates in OttawaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-57638044176788754022012-01-16T17:58:15.864-05:002012-01-16T17:58:15.864-05:00Very good - I look forward to hearing your take on...Very good - I look forward to hearing your take on it!Vancouveroishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10612421378173745791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-7332713303984036722012-01-16T17:50:02.119-05:002012-01-16T17:50:02.119-05:00Vancouverois,
I intend to address the leadership ...Vancouverois,<br /><br />I intend to address the leadership issue in depth in a future post in the next day or two.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14971310821484459106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-64962417430621403292012-01-16T17:49:22.018-05:002012-01-16T17:49:22.018-05:00Sorry Dan but I think you misunderstand my point, ...Sorry Dan but I think you misunderstand my point, and I probably could have worded it more clearly. What I'm trying to say is that, as partisans, we view this through a partisan lens, and the non-partisans we're trying to recruit view this differently.<br /><br />Look at it this way: we're asking people to become supporters as a way of getting involved, and getting their data, without the commitment of membership. As the primary inducement or payback for them agreeing to become supporters, we're offering them the opportunity to help pick the next leader.<br /><br />Now getting a vote to pick the leader is an awesome prospect for people like you and me; but we're partisans. Our lens is a little different. And while we may think this will be a big motivator for supporters, that prospect is tinted by our partisan lens. Most Canadians just aren't that interested in how we pick our leader, and that alone won't be motivation alone for them to get involved.<br /><br />We have created a system that will make it easier for people to get involved a supporters, yes. But just building it won't make them come. Now it ties back to my larger point about our continuing electoral decline, which I'm still not sure widely get: we are increasingly irrelevant in the lives of average Canadians. If we want to increase our support, and our vote, that is what we need to address. <br /><br />A great example is this marijuana legalization policy, which frankly is the one piece of news to come out of this convention that will be of any interest to the average Canadians. If we can own that issue, identify the Canadians who care about smart on crime policy and drug reform that we're serious, and we will fight to open a debate on this issue and work for change, then the supporter system becomes a great way to get these people into the fold and use our party as a vehicle to help drive their issue forward.<br /><br />To use an analogy, we've built the car. But without any gas, we're not going anywhere. I'd like to see more attention going forward on how we fuel this party up.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14971310821484459106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-24477564140283764122012-01-16T17:45:54.497-05:002012-01-16T17:45:54.497-05:00Personally, I am amazed (and distressed) that the ...Personally, I am amazed (and distressed) that the vote for your Party President was so close. If just 14 votes had gone to Sheila Copps instead of Mike Crawley, the convention would have ended with her and Bob Rae standing on the platform together - making any claims of "renewal" utterly farcical. How is it that so many Liberals failed to recognize this? <br /><br />From what you say, it sounds like many Liberals are also still looking for some sort of gimmick - "we have to do something big and bold!" Well, no. I think that what the Liberal party *needs* to do is to get grounded. <br /><br />What about the leadership? All week, the media have been speculating (or going so far as to take it for granted) that Bob Rae is going to go back on his promise, and run for the permanent leadership. The NCC has already launched an ad against him (although I suspect their motives for doing so are not at all straightforward). Is it true? Or is it just bored pundits making trouble? I know some potential leaders sponsored hospitality suites, and the McGuintys reported expressed an interest in running (although I've heard that discounted as an attempt to counter the coronation talk). Any sense of what will happen on that front?Vancouveroishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10612421378173745791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19402125.post-13197366624404398112012-01-16T17:30:12.054-05:002012-01-16T17:30:12.054-05:00I know we've gone back and forth on this 50 ti...I know we've gone back and forth on this 50 times already, but I think this line of yours is the reason the supporter system is a step in the right direction:<br /><br /><i>One non-Liberal observer made a salient point to me: partisans think everyone wants to be partisans. But most people don’t.</i><br /><br />We're not asking them to be partisans. We're giving Liberal-minded folks a greater say in how our party is run, by leting them vote for the leader. They don't have to become partisan Liberals to do it.<br /><br />I don't think anyone is hyping this supporter system as a cure-all to our problems (well, they shouldn't be anyways). In reality, a WOMOV member vote likely won't be much different than a WOMOV member + supporter vote. But if it lets us connect a bit more with non-partisans, it's a good move.calgarygrithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14496123174056722783noreply@blogger.com