The Liberals go to the wilderness and I am in... Inuvik

This bit originated as a comment for an entry at aldege.blogspot.com from
26 January 2006 but grew longer, so I moved it to my own blog… why not?

Let's go first from the article that Aldge selected and highlighted, 26 January 2006 on canoe.ca / Sun Chain of newspapers:

First of all: David Emerson. Good for him for recognizing that at 60 he is "too old" I am not taking the ageist perspective at all. I also remember that Mr. Emerson just arrived to politics in the 2004 election, though his private sector credentials are important. He will be an important backer in British Columbia for some candidate.

Having commented that Mr. Emerson is too new to politics, I also must comment objectively that I feel deeply that Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach, younger, progressive, and dynamic though they may be (and that's a good thing) are too new to the Party [though Brison is not so much new to politics, having arrived as a Progressive Conservative MP almost ten years ago, in the class of ‘97] But even though they come from the Progressive Conservative wing of the PC Party of Canada, and have now both served in Liberal Cabinets, I remain a little bit wary of them. I expect Scott Brison, in particular, to serve the Liberals well in Opposition - he was a strong and challenging and eloquent thorn in the side of Liberals before he figured "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" anticipating Paul Martin's supposed juggernaut victory in 2004. Brison ran for the Leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in, what, 2003? I just am not fully at ease with his conversion. Belinda Stronach, meanwhile, is also a dynamic young woman, from business, and attractive in all of the meanings of the word, political and beyond. But she is extremely new to politics and began by running for Leader of the new Conservative Party of Canada, early in 2004, before she had even run for MP. When she crossed the floor to the Liberals, I was pleased… this was a death blow to the Conservatives, though of course, as it played out, it was really only a short term setback. However, I was never fully at ease with the nature of her conversion, nor some folks she chose for staff as a Liberal Minister. And I certainly was not dancing on tables after she joined us (thereby prolonging the Martin government by a grand total of 7-8 months or so) I welcomed another progressive and young woman to the Liberal Party, but I had my doubts about the nature of the move. These two, to me, epitomize Liberals of convenience drawn, respectively, to the supposed easy victory of Paul Martin (in Brison’s case, as well as to the remaining progressive economically balanced party) and to pure opportunity (in Stronach’s case) as well as to the remaining progressive economically balanced party.)

I promise to welcome them proving me wrong, too.

Then there’s Ujjal Dosanjh. He’s not mentioned in the Canoe/Sun article, but Aldege references him in his blog entry, and Dossanjh was, I think, referenced during CBC coverage out west on election night. I don’t mean by my transition to compare him to Brison and Belinda Stronach, because of the transition in my paragraph. I think a bit more highly of Mr. Dosanjh and his achievements as a former Premier of B.C. A centrist NDPer from urban B.C., not beholden to hard left NDP union ideologies, etc., is just as credible to me as a progressive economic conservative, and Dosanjh has governed at a high level. Not only that, he is a nice guy and I have met him on a couple of occasions in his joining of the Liberal Party of Canada in 2004. Here is a former NDP Premier of British Columbia, a centrist NDP, who is at ease as a left-centre balanced Liberal. My problem here is, ultimately, Mr. Dosanjh disappointed me as Minister of Health on a couple of key occasions, and I remember that he inherited the Premiership in B.C. after a Glen Clark scandal, not an electoral victory. And his was another case of at best so-so staffing, with selected exceptions. Or maybe I am on a rant again – PMO may have selected many of his staff and/or interfered in the management of the whole Health file. I certainly view him as a strong regional participant, an important and significant leader in the Liberal Party from the perspective of new Canadians, and a good man with good values to help the Liberal Party of Canada define itself and strengthen its policy definition from a balanced left perspective. And I absolutely want to say again that he is a nice guy.

I think that about covers the arrivistes to the Liberal Party of Canada, those who have come to the Party recently from other Parties with their frustrated leadership and prime ministerial ambitions.

Wait a minute, next up is Michael Ignatieff. An established intellectual with awesome credentials. An expatriate Canadian, who has resided in London UK and Boston, Mass. while lecturing at Harvard. These are good things. But how much does he know and remember about on the ground Canadians? How much does he appreciate the range and diversity in Canada beyond Toronto (I am writing today from Inuvik, NWT, by the way) What is his basic Parliamentary mettle? How will he handle Ottawa? These all remain to be determined. There is much hope in him, however, we know about nothing of his ability to relate to the Liberal Party of Canada beyond his big speech at the 2005 Biennial Convention, and what I saw during his local campaign. The way in which he was nominated in Etobicoke-Lakeshore did not impress me, or some local grassroots Liberals. It was a backroom fix conducted out of LPC(O) likely with the tacit approval of PMO as well. I’m glad Ignatieff now joins our public discourse, and I am certain his will be a valuable voice contributing to rebuilding the Liberal Party of Canada’s ability to innovate and lead with great policy. His intellectual contribution should be tremendous. What will his political contribution be? Harder to say. Hopefully, it will be a benefit to the Party to find out.

Let's move along. Maurizio Bevilacqua: younger, bit of a modern generation thinker, represents newer Canada (Italian perspective) [NOTE ALSO: Belinda Stronach's constituency neighbour in the valuable "905" In fact, Maurizio probably represented some of Stronach's constituents when Vaughan-King-Aurora was the largest, most populated single riding in the country.] I like Bevilacqua because he has been around and his abilities were once rewarded by Jean Chretien despite Maurizio's well-known allegiances to Paul Martin (for doing this challenging balancing act, Maurizio appeared to me to be punished by the Paul Martin faction, and maybe by Martin himself... foolishly.) I wish him well and look forward to him defining himself on a larger platform.

Martin Cauchon. Another young gun, who worked closely with John Manley during Manley’s aborted Leadership bid, and who was Justice Minister for awhile, shepherding some progressive policies in the Chretien regime. Again, though, foolishly isolated and chased away by Paul Martin and team in order to free up Outremont for... Jean Lapierre. Most unfortunate. I wish Cauchon well and I look forward to him further defining himself as well. I suspect maybe that John Manley may be providing some moderate support for Cauchon, given that Manley himself will not race. Cauchon, though, needs to become a bit more than an empty vessel (to me anyway) who happened to shepherd the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage for awhile.

Ken Dryden: Like many I appreciate Ken Dryden’s presence on the Liberal front benches since 2004. I read "the Game" and "Home Game" when I was a teenager, and admired his intellectual quality as an author and Minister. I even admired his reasoned pace which is, on glossy high level, not very suitable to Ottawa soundbyte politics and flashy impacts. I have not interacted with Mr. Dryden much, but would like to do so more.

Joe Volpe is not leadership material and would not have come to exist as such without the promotions from Paul Martin. He's alright, but, I think, best to continue on in his "great organizer" persona that he always had. I cannot shake an impression I developed that Joe Volpe was also one of the leading disloyal backbenchers during the Chretien years. Sorry Joe. Prove me wrong. The advisors I have seen associated with Mr. Volpe are not the types I would see leading the whole party. In fact I would be concerned it would be a lot like we just saw or worse.

Denis Coderre should sort out the lawsuit by NHLer Shane Doan and finish his MBA, and then consider what's going on. Coderre to me has always been a bit too quick from the lip, an aggressive pitbull, and a known excellent organizer. These are good abilities for political trench warfare, maybe they are modelled on Jean Chretien, whose instincts and ability to rumble in the trenches I profess to admire, but Coderre, I think, lacks gravitas. I would value him as a Quebec lieutenant, and his Liberal loyalty credentials are hard to question. So good luck to him.

Frank McKenna has served well as Ambassador, and was a good Premier in New Brunswick. I have also enjoyed his presence at a campaign rally. There are some drawbacks on him, though. First of all, the frame, which exists in the Ottawa Sun article Aldege posted us to, that he has "inherited the Martin team" Well, right now, I would not touch that team with a ten foot pole. I have come across some other items that also must be considered. LPC needs to rebuild in Quebec, very much. McKenna was an early Meech Lake pessimist, and it is said that his French remains a bit suspect (I do not know myself) As well, he has somewhat of the "Darling of Bay Street" mantle about him, from his private sector career from 1997 - 2003/4. That's well and good, but I recall that John Turner, Michael Wilson, and, er, Paul Martin carried that banner as well. Look where it got them. The Liberal Party has to grow beyond the Toronto power nexus and mentality.



I would like to see Brian Tobin and Allan Rock back in the fray. Tobin in particular has proven his mettle at many levels, I think. Long time Liberal Opposition member, then Chretien-era Cabinet Minister, on to be Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, back to Ottawa (displacing Hon. John Manley from Industry over to Foreign Affairs) and then, into sudden retirement in January 2002, before the big race of 2003 even came to be. I have heard or read that Tobin is doing alright out in the private sector, and as a pundit, and is enjoying his family life. I think, though, that his time is right to take a shot at leading the Liberals, and he’d so so with more nobility than opportunism in this time of Opposition.

Ditto to Allan Rock. Here’s another guy, formerly representing the now busy Etobicoke area and with a strong base in Ottawa, who didn’t really actually ever get in the game in 2003, bowed down by the Martin juggernaut and increasingly restrictive LPC rules. I have heard that Rock embraced his new role as Ambassador to the United Nations with great vigour, perhaps resulting in part in Canada’s successes at the UN in the General Assembly last September. He has not offered up his resignation in anticipation that he is somehow a lame duck Ambassador while there is a Conservative government in Canada (which is the spin that McKenna has chosen to clear the path to his own Leadership effort.) I think Harper would be wise to leave Rock in New York at the UN, should Rock so choose. Remains to be seen, of course.

So I think that is all of the current suspects. I would like to see some others.

Aldege is right: such a full and impressive field, in tandem with a vigourous, effective, and intelligent debate instead of internecine destruction, would be very beneficial to the Liberal Party of Canada and give Harper and the Conservatives cause for pause. That is what the nation will need too. I like the new trend, too, calling for non-hyphenated Liberals. I have always considered myself one of those, and even tried to make it work during the Paul Martin era, but, apparently, it did not.

Such is life, I guess. I look forward to seeing that fixed.

Let a healthy debate begin, and watch out Harper et al. Enjoy it while you can. We will be beack.

Other matters:

1. I am not trying to spin down any of the above-listed candidates. I welcome those I have “put down” here to prove me wrong in a substantial way and make my decision easier.

2. The Convention should be a Leadership Biennial Policy Convention in about March or April 2007, on schedule. The time may be right to bring it out to Calgary again. 1990 may have been too soon, but Calgary’s time is now. Of course, Harper is dominant here. So, maybe Vancouver, or maybe over to Montreal to send a strong Quebec message. It can’t be Toronot – been there, done that, 2003, and Ottawa is too small for a great Convention. It must be a good one. The range of damage, long term and recent, to the Party actually makes spring 2007 a rather short timeline. Anyone who thinks it can all be fixed by this fall is foolish.

3. For God’s Sake, and that of the country, the Liberal Party of Canada must behave neutrally and effectively and equally towards all candidates, no matter who party executives and staff may happen to prefer. A high quality race for lots of Party executive positions must occur as well, rather than the acclamations (some by decree… or by disinterst, which is worse, and telling) that occurred at too many levels over the period of about 1998-2005.

4. Membership forms must be readily available. If someone walks in and says, “I’d like about 20 forms to sign up 20 people on my block” ask them for a $20 dollar fee, and then let that person have the damn forms. Then let them bring back 20 signed forms and pay $180.00 to the Party, considering the 20 bucks up front as a deposit. The Party needs new members and must not restrict this. Individuals must pay their own membership, but I am okay with the honours system as is.

4. I have a 2006 membership in Ottawa Centre, but I have moved to Calgary. I sent my new Calgary address in to LPC not long ago, and I hope they can get the Alberta arm to send me a membership form. I will pay my $10 once again, and I will be listening actively and with interest. I am eager to be courted personally and intellectually, and prepared to re-engage (more than the 2005-2006 campaign, for reasons personal, geographic, and circumstantial)

5. I urge would-be contenders to look me up in Calgary. I hope to meet with them for their individual attention or at least in small group settings. These should be after business hours, or a personal lunch I can look ahead to and plan into a work day.

6. Anne McLellan has no seat now. She could run from the outside, I suppose, and try to remain a leader for LPC in Alberta. Maybe take a run at a seat like Alexa Mcdonough’s in Halifax. In fact, I hope that's what she does. I don't think she's bound for the top, though.

7. Sorry Beryl Wajsman (sp.?) You’re not on, either. Please stay off a stage of serious candidates.

8. Sheila Copps is gone. I liked Sheila as a Liberal. But, I did not like her conspiratorial view of the world. She also could have taken Beth Phinney’s neighbouring seat. Nor am I endorsing what happened to her which was just disgusting. The re-jigging of the ridings was inevitable. The handling of that outcome was evitable. But I don’t think an elected comeback or leadership run is “on” for Sheila, either. However, I welcome her strong voice to the policy debate and to the direction debate for our Party. Sheila, you are a Liberal in my book.

9. I am disappointed that John Manley did not make the comeback, but I respect him for that decision as much as I admire and respect him for everything else.

10. To all contenders: be careful who you surround yourself with. Those first messages will matter a lot and could characterize my entire perception of you.

11. I think Ralph Goodale is an appropriate interim Leader for the Liberal Party of Canada. His constituents have absolved him, and I think the RCMP will too. Their news release said they have nothing on him, but they did it anyway. I still don’t quite get that.

12. Bill Graham – if it is you, remember you are leading the reconstruction of an institution. Do not be beholden to now failed LPC-O hacks. Utilize your intellect and decent judgment. I will follow your choices in the interim.

13. Deputy Leader to either of these guys? I think Stephane Dion for the Quebec federalist message, and credibility between two past factions (Martin and Chretien) The Canoe article refers to Dion as a darkhorse, and I think that is correct. Here is a guy whose intellect and approachability I truly admire (though, again, not too impressed with his most recent staff) and I hope he will maintain a prominent role going forward. He does not strike me as Leadership stuff, nor have I ever heard such rumblings until just now, (after Pettigrew, I guess.) As with all the others, I wish him well, regardless of the outcome.

-END-

Liberals LIST Jan 29 – 2006

John Manley: not in
Frank McKenna [Bay Street]
Allan Rock [Toronto]
Brian Tobin
Bill Graham – prospective interim Leader [Toronto]
Ralph Goodale – another prospective interim Leader, in my book
Ken Dryden [Toronto]
Anne McLellan – not elected anywhere
Michael Ignatieff [Toronto]
Martin Cauchon
Maurizio Bevilacqua
Stephane Dion
Ujjal Dosanjh
Joe Volpe [Toronto]
Denis Coderre
Scott Brison
Belinda Stronach
Sheila Copps
David Emerson: declared himself to be wrong age
Jean Chretien: comeback?
John Godfrey
Bob Rae? No way. [Toronto]
Beryl Wajsman: should not be on this list at all, may have been “banished from Party”