ontario by-election watch

liberal judi longfield (41.8%) defeated by pc christine elliott (45.7%) in whitby-ajax

update:

liberal ben chin defeated by ndp peter tabuns

liberal brian ford defeated by pc lisa mcleod

next time we will get one... fingers crossed...

ylc prez richard diamond to back brison

Young Liberals prez backing Scott Brison for party leadership
(Liberal-Leadership)
Source: The Canadian Press
Mar 23, 2006 14:33

By Jennifer Ditchburn

OTTAWA (CP) The president of the Young Liberals of Canada is throwing his support behind MP Scott Brison for the leadership of the party.

Richard Diamond said he met with most of the prospective candidates and decided to back the former public works minister and former Tory.

"He's always demonstrated that he's bright, capable and energetic, and I think he speaks to a generational change that is really need right now if we are to appeal to young voters,'' Diamond said.

Diamond's support is significant because the Young Liberals make up a strong voting bloc during leadership conventions. About one-third of all delegates come from student clubs across the country.

Diamond said he would lobby fellow young Liberals to support Brison, but his endorsement doesn't automatically signal the backing of other members.

Former prime minister Paul Martin's team was very adept at securing the vote of young Liberals, many of whom ended up working with him on Parliament Hill. But his team was also criticized for setting up "paper clubs'' on university campuses clubs that only existed to send voting delegates to the convention.

Brison, and potential competitors Belinda Stronach and Ken Dryden will be trying to woo other young Liberals this weekend in Ottawa during the youth wing's executive meeting.

Diamond said Brison's relatively short history with the Liberals should not be a deterrent. Brison was a Progressive Conservative MP until 2003.

"His vision is much more Liberal than many members of our own caucus,'' Diamond said.

"In the time that he has been a member, he had demonstrated the he is a true liberal. He believes in prosperity and that should be balanced with a social conscience and a progressive social agenda.''

Brison has yet to formally announce he is running for the leadership. To date, only businesswoman Martha Hall Findlay and MP John Godfrey have revealed their intentions.

Liberals will choose their leader on the weekend of Dec. 2-3.

INDEX: POLITICS
(c) 2005 The Canadian Press

fresh take on macisaac

for those of you who have read my previous post you will know that i am not a fan of ashley macisaac running for the leadership of canada’s greatest political party. but i don’t say this for some of the reasons other bloggers have brought to table i.e. his sexuality, activities in the bedroom or his career choice.

my primary concern with this fellow is that he has nothing to add to the debate. he sat on canada am and said nothing that even hinted at a vision for this country. instead he talked about a book that hasn’t even been published and his album being released in the U.S. if macisaac had sat on canada am and actually laid out some broad themes that canadians could relate to i wouldn’t have such a problem with the guy.... and considering the guy is from cape breton I thought he might have a little to say about the problems that plague that region of nova scotia, but not a peep on CB issues.

the most vital problem with macisaac is that he can’t play politics like he can the fiddle. if he knew “a one” about politics he would have got himself some sort of PR person to get him started. ultimately what this comes down to is quality candidates having to deal with someone who will dumb down the debate. can you imagine iggy, brison, rae, dion, kennedy all debating and macisaac???? I can’t and it reminds me of sesame st. “one of these things doesn’t belong”!

so if macisaac wants to be a liberal player he better start talking and acting like one because he is embarrassing the party that we all work for and respect.

omg...

dear liberal party of canada executive,

i would first like to congratulate each of you on what first appeared to be a successful weekend. however, i am afraid after today i have some reservation about the entry fee of $50 000.

at first i thought it would be awesome to have lots of candidates with a variety of backgrounds and ideas. unfortunately an individual from cape breton has changed my mind. after watching what can only be described as a ‘shock and aw’ interview on ctv with this blundering fellow, i am convinced more then ever that we need to preserve the leadership for those with a tiny bit of political elitism.

herby I am asking that you raise the entry fee substantially so that this leadership doesn’t turn into a parade of losers.

worried blogger,

fresh

possible provincial election in nova scotia…

the next few weeks should be interesting in nova scotia… premier rod has a by-election to call in halifax-citadel.

word is that he might just pass on the by-election in halifax-citadel and call a general provincial election.

so this leaves me to wonder... how well the liberals are going to do in nova scotia?

our leader (francis 'homer simpson" mackenzie) is weak… no doubt about it, but i wonder if he is now in a better position then the pc’s leader to make gains. i say this because with the changing of the pc guard from hamm to RodMac has altered some regional perspectives on how many nova scotians might vote. for example premier rod is from cape breaton which is traditionally a liberal stronghold… will the presence of a pc in the cape change the cb voting trends? Will it weaken the liberal stronghold? i wouldn’t be surprised. if the liberals are forced to debate rural policy with premier rod i don’t think they have much of a chance. liberal rural policy is weak and inconsistent.

the above being said... i think with a liberal leader from mainland ns could pay off against a rural-cb-pc-leader. pc ridings in the annapolis valley such as hants west, kings south and kings north could benefit. however, i am not yet convinced that a mainland leader will pay off in the city… as former liberal leader danny graham (a mainlander) was unable to capitalize in the halifax metro area, which went to the ndp in many ridings.

so what are we left with … i think this election at the moment is the ndp’s to loose… they have the opportunity to pick up some vote splitting in cb and at the same time they have the prospect of dominating the metro region.

i think if we as liberals want to be at minimum the official opposition party we need to start working on focused rural policies and get that message out. we also need to get some solid policy out in 4 or 5 planks dealing with the environment, education and health care. from what i have heard nslp has been working on a platform for months, but nothing that has come out the platform sessions has had any long term reaction from the public. this worries me.

in other by-election news judi longfield, former whitby area mp is running for the liberals in whitby-ajax. judi was an excellent mp and I would suggest that anyone from the area that is interested in helping out should stop by the campaign office. ditto on the ben chin and brian ford campaigns as well….

anyways … that’s all for now.

leadershipalooza has a date

liberal leadershipalooza which is sure to attract an all-star line up of candidates ... will be held december 2 & 3 in montréal, quebec.

youth fees will be $495.

let the good times begin … and play fair everyone!

p.s. www.draftbrison.com

www.draftbrison.com

well … i think its time that i declare which potential leadership candidate i will be supporting if he runs. in my mind it wasn’t to hard to figure this one out… SCOTT BRISON is the one to lead the liberal party of canada.

mr. brison is an energetic, charismatic, and intelligent individual who has the ability to lead this party. now before you jump to the comments section of my blog to tear me apart … hear me out.
since mr. brison decided to join the liberals after his party was dismantled by potato pete, mr. brison has been an avid defender of our party for a mess which he had nothing to do with. now i know your all like what about blackberrygate… well i would hope that you are all smart enough to see that mr. brison @#$% up royal, but at the same time has taken responsibility… this is real leadership … when you can admit that you screwed up and take what’s coming. i expect that this will haunt the former minister for a while… lets hope he ditches his blackberry.

so how does mr. brison overcome the ‘blackberrygate’? i think it comes down to his ideas! mr. brison is an ideas candidate. on a few occasions i have had the opportunity to sit down one on one with the former minister and i have to say his ideas on rural economic development and green technologies are nothing short but brilliant. this is what a new leader needs to have … controversial policies that will challenge people to debate the issues, rather then be apathetic as a result of uninspiring party leaders.

in addition i also tend to agree with some of the more right policies that the left of the party disagree with… such as more corporate involvement in certain public institutions and sound fiscal policies. although i have not heard a great amount of mr. brison’s ideas on these issues i will bank he has some sound ideas that will align with those of us to the center right of the party.

i’m sure there are still some sceptics to mr. brison who think that once a tory always a tory… and that’s fine … lets not forget about other federal party leaders - trudeau was a dipper, harper was a grit and jim harris was a tory. fucked up world eh? and so what!

Draft Brison!

r.i.p. canadian tire guy

today canadian tire announced they would be ending the never-ending series of “canadian tire guy commercials”. you know the ones with the know it all neighbour… who has an endless supply of useless crap for lazy people.

in spirit of this glorious occasion i have decided to write a short eulogy of sorts… in memory of the “canadian tire guy”

canadian tire guy,

for eight long years you have blessed us with your maddening solutions to all of life’s problems ... with gadgets I don’t think most canadian tires sell.

i know life was tough as the canadian tire guy! i can’t imagine having to grow the same beard for almost a decade strait … somehow you managed to keep it together without killing puppies or burning down canadian tires in the middle of the night.

i remember this one commercial with the christmas lights and i thought to myself all i want for christmas this year is not to have to watch another one of these idiotic commercials. neadless to say my wish did not come true… quite the opposite occured. more commercials appeared… and for a short while i questioned my status in god’s good books… but then i realized everyone else had to endure these thirty second spots. its funny though… only us good canadian inhibiters had to endure your commercials... which I think may be the cause of some sort of cancer that you only get in canada.

anyhow … to avoid droning on like your commercials... may you rest in peace and find a less bothersome spot on tv.

RIP CANADIAN TIRE GUY!

feel free to post your own thoughts and eulogies on ‘the canadian tire guy’!

easter goes for stock

politics watch is reporting that former solicitor general wayne easter is asking the rcmp to investigate stockwell day’s office... to determine whether or not the leak of brison’s interview with the rcmp came from the minister's office of public safety.

agree or disagree… i personally think that this brison thing is a political witch hunt attempting to bring a popular, progressive and controversial liberal mp down a little bit.

as for stockewell day i hope easter isn’t going on a witch hunt of his own…we all know that stockwell isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer … he’s more of a spoon… best of luck mr. easter.

doh...

francis "homer simpson" mackenzie does it again...

News Release
March 1st, 2006

Francis MacKenzie Nova Scotia Liberal Leader

For Immediate Release


MACKENZIE OFFERS APOLOGY AND CLARIFICATION

(Halifax, N.S.) Liberal Leader Francis MacKenzie offers his sincere apology to Premier Rodney MacDonald and the people of Nova Scotia for comments he made to the media after the swearing in of the New Provincial Conservative Cabinet last Friday.

“I am truly sorry for saying that I would not meet with Premier MacDonald, and that he could only contact me by mail. It was inappropriate,” said MacKenzie.

MacKenzie intended to say that he is only interested in meeting about important issues that result in positive change for Nova Scotians. “There is too much work to do be done to spend time chatting over coffee,” he added.

“There are many critical issues that Nova Scotians are facing that need immediate action for example, affordable housing and daycare spaces. I am willing to work with the government if they are serious about addressing topics of grave concern. I don’t want to meet for the sake of meeting.”

MacKenzie has sent a letter of apology to Premier MacDonald and an invitation for serious discussion at his earliest convenience.

-30-

For further information, contact Nancy Sheppard, Director of Communications, Cell: (902) 483-5826E-mail: sheppanc@gov.ns.ca