Saturday, February 04, 2006

A New Name

Blue Grit was the first to report the news that an anything but blue Liberal, John Godfrey, is set to throw his hat into the Liberal leadership race.

Don Newman mentioned it to lead off his Politics broaaaaaddddcast Friday...then ignored it for the rest of the show so I'm not sure if this is a done deal or just more speculation.

Hopefully this is true - I think Godfrey would bring a lot to the race. I've updated my scorecard accordingly.


On a semi-related note, Paul Wells inadvertently killing the Draft Dion blog is one of the funniest things I've seen on the net in a while.

posted by calgarygrit at 12:37 a.m.

15 Comments:

  • As much as I like the guy, he doesn't stand a chance in this already crowded market of candidates from GTA. He will get slaughtered with very little financial backing. He might be a left leaning puppet candidate for another candidate for second ballot or put a fork into the support base for other potential candidates like Ignatieff.

    He will most likely get support from David Miller, but I'm curious to know who is going to bankroll his campaign. Interesting development. Never heard his name thrown around.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:49 a.m.  

  • Vijay - a valid point, but you have to be the first person to refer to this race as a crowded market.

    I've suspected Godfreay as a candidate from the get-go, he's underrated, superbly bilingual, and having spent the last 24 months dealing first hand with just about every mayor in the country, his ability to pull together a national team just may surprise.

    He's no front runner, but I think he'll make a real dent in this race.

    By Blogger Mark, at 10:58 a.m.  

  • I think that if Godfrey and Ignatieff run then the debates between them and their ideas could be great for the Liberal party. Two PhDs going head to head to rejuvenate Liberal policy would be very position I believe.

    By Blogger Progressive Maritimer, at 11:56 a.m.  

  • What about the Scott Brison's signature on all the alberta rebate cheques-now thats not a bad start for raising one's leadership profile in tory alberta! Touch ironic that alberta's $400 rebate cheques are coming out of Ottawa's bank account!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:34 p.m.  

  • I just asked Brison about this. His response: "Who the hell do you think you are. Go to hell. I've always been a Liberal and always will be."

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:09 p.m.  

  • The Liberal Party doesn't not need someone in an ivory tower as the next leader. The next leader should come from the mainstream and preferably from outside the Liberal establishment. It is time for Liberals to get back to basics.

    By Blogger John Murney , at 3:21 p.m.  

  • How about the perjurer David Dingwall who now stands convicted of lying under oath to a parliamentary committee under oath? Unless of course you don't believe your own lying eyes.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:55 a.m.  

  • Godfrey is too old to be making a serious bid. My guess is he's entering the race to draw attention to the issues faced by our large cities where coincidentally the Cons have no representation.

    By Blogger Reality Bites, at 9:42 a.m.  

  • John Godfrey stands head-and-shoulders above almost all of the other prospective candidates. And, as a product of a Rosedale, "blue blood", old money family and a former editor of the Financial Post, don't underestimate his ability to tap into pools of money. He's probably close to being Ignatieff's intellectual equal but with more of a "common touch". Godfrey is one to watch.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:04 a.m.  

  • So much for going "younger". Godfrey is almost 64.



    The What Do I Know Grit

    By Blogger James Curran, at 12:19 p.m.  

  • btw if any of you has ever met Godfrey or spoken to anyone who has , he is a very humble person...one of the most humble ppl in politics....one of the few genuine politicians who cares about pople and about issues. Sadl;y people of that sort never become PM...but I would definitely support Godfrey....

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:28 p.m.  

  • Has anyone given Dan McTeague consideration for the leadership. I would be interested to hear what you folks think of that idea.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:50 p.m.  

  • Michelle - u'r nuts.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:58 p.m.  

  • Oh Danny Boy is not exactly same sex friendly. As a matter of fact he sounds closer to an Alliance Candidate than a Liberal. This was posted on the Conservative website.

    Is Dan McTeague a Paul Martin Liberal?
    18 January 2006
    OTTAWA – Does Paul Martin stand behind Dan McTeague and his comments?

    Dan McTeague on the record:

    “New Age thinkers notwithstanding, twisting the Charter to suit whatever trendy purpose one wants, irrespective of how it directly impacts on the Charter rights of others, is unacceptable.” (National Post, March 26, 2005)
    Mr. McTeague called a string of court decisions ruling it is unconstitutional to deny gays and lesbians the right to legal marriage “new wisdom that upends tens of thousands of years of practice and right.” (National Post, March 22, 2005)
    Paul Martin says that Liberals are the only party who represent “Canadian values” and human rights. Why then did Paul Martin sign Dan McTeague’s nomination papers? Why did Paul Martin make Dan McTeague a Parliamentary Secretary? Does Paul Martin stand by Dan McTeague’s comments?

    He's the same guy that tried to have Rapper 50 cent banned from Canada. I'd say he's just a little more to the right than most of us.

    The What Do I Know Grit

    By Blogger James Curran, at 11:54 p.m.  

  • James is probably right. McTeague is actually a nice and decent guy, but I can't get past the fact that he's offside on a couple of important files which, in my view, have become defining issues for our party over the past decade.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:27 a.m.  

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