You're Fired!
The Tories have been quietly nixing candidates from running for them in the next election. Now, don't get me wrong - Bill Casey voted against the budget and there should be consequences for that. He knew what he was getting into so it's hard to shed too many tears for him...especially considering he's got a good chance of getting re-elected as an independent.
However, the case of Mark Warner is quite interesting. At first glance, Mark sounds like exactly the type of candidate the Tories need. He's an international trade lawyer with a fantastic bio who obviously cares enough about his party to be willing to lose to Bob Rae. Considering some of the questionable candidates the Tories have let run for them in recent by elections, this one seems even weirder.
But, you see, there are some major problems with Mark. For starters, he attended an international AIDS conference in Toronto last year - a big no-no considering some of the questionable characters who attended.
Mark's also been talking about Toronto centric issues. You know, things like poverty, housing, and Andrew Raycroft's poor play. Given that real leaders set priorities and that these are not in Harper's top priorities, it would have been insane to allow a Conservative candidate to talk about these issues for fear of people getting the wrong idea that they mattered to the Conservatives.
Makes sense. Given the bedrock of Tory support that exists in the GTA, why on earth would you want a strong candidate talking about issues that matter to Torontonians?
UPDATE: I know Stephen Harper is a smart guy but I don't really think every move he makes is part of some master Machiavellian plan. Today's Star suggests that these moves are intended to boost the NDP in a gambit to defeat the Liberals.
Umm...no.
First of all, Toronto Centre is a safe seat. And not the same way Outremont is a safe seat. The Liberals got twice the votes of their nearest competitor last time out - the real battle there is for second and I fail to see how it figures into Harper's master plan for his party to finish behind the NDP in a city they would hope to, one imagines, one day win some seats.
As for Guelph, where Brent Barr was forced out it's even more perplexing. Here are the 2006 results:
Lib 23,662
CPC 18,342
NDP 13,561
Even though the NDP have a good candidate running, I fail to see how the second place party self-sabotaging would help defeat the Liberals. And, unlike in Toronto Centre where there may be an anti-Rae vote, I tend to seriously doubt the hypothesis that the second choice of soft Tory voters is the NDP.
However, the case of Mark Warner is quite interesting. At first glance, Mark sounds like exactly the type of candidate the Tories need. He's an international trade lawyer with a fantastic bio who obviously cares enough about his party to be willing to lose to Bob Rae. Considering some of the questionable candidates the Tories have let run for them in recent by elections, this one seems even weirder.
But, you see, there are some major problems with Mark. For starters, he attended an international AIDS conference in Toronto last year - a big no-no considering some of the questionable characters who attended.
Mark's also been talking about Toronto centric issues. You know, things like poverty, housing, and Andrew Raycroft's poor play. Given that real leaders set priorities and that these are not in Harper's top priorities, it would have been insane to allow a Conservative candidate to talk about these issues for fear of people getting the wrong idea that they mattered to the Conservatives.
Makes sense. Given the bedrock of Tory support that exists in the GTA, why on earth would you want a strong candidate talking about issues that matter to Torontonians?
UPDATE: I know Stephen Harper is a smart guy but I don't really think every move he makes is part of some master Machiavellian plan. Today's Star suggests that these moves are intended to boost the NDP in a gambit to defeat the Liberals.
Umm...no.
First of all, Toronto Centre is a safe seat. And not the same way Outremont is a safe seat. The Liberals got twice the votes of their nearest competitor last time out - the real battle there is for second and I fail to see how it figures into Harper's master plan for his party to finish behind the NDP in a city they would hope to, one imagines, one day win some seats.
As for Guelph, where Brent Barr was forced out it's even more perplexing. Here are the 2006 results:
Lib 23,662
CPC 18,342
NDP 13,561
Even though the NDP have a good candidate running, I fail to see how the second place party self-sabotaging would help defeat the Liberals. And, unlike in Toronto Centre where there may be an anti-Rae vote, I tend to seriously doubt the hypothesis that the second choice of soft Tory voters is the NDP.
Labels: Bill Casey, Mark Warner
posted by calgarygrit at
7:22 p.m.
12 Comments:
Maybe there is some Blair Wilson type stuff that has been found about the candidate. There used to be a lot of fuss about Chretien ignoring locals and appointing candidates-especially in Art Eggleton's riding-but it doesn't matter in the general election.
By
nuna d. above, at 8:43 p.m.
"Maybe there is some Blair Wilson type stuff that has been found about the candidate."
You shouldn't spread rumours like that unless you have some real basis for saying so.
Should there be irregularities, the proper proceedure is to have an investigation and let the candidates defend themselves.
Warner and Brent Parr have been de-certified without an official explanation.
In fact, party officials have confirmed that Warner is being removed for being 'independent'.
By
JimTan, at 9:28 p.m.
Rae was supposed to be Warner's opponent. He immediately endorsed Rae after being dumped.
Warner called Garth (so says Garth) 'months ago' for advice...huh. Call the Garth instead of a fellow Conservative?
Somethin' was cookin'
The riding association took complaints to the selection committee, and he was dumped.
CPC loses a headache, Rae gains a team memeber. That's politics.
By
wilson, at 1:46 a.m.
What a crack pot, but at least Wilson is keeping with the CON meme, which is creating things on the fly.
Warner didn't ENDORSE Rae... And he called Garth when the Halton MP was an independent.
Defending your PM even when he's wrong is an admireable (tho intelligent would be a stretch, unless your livelihood depended upon it) trait. Keep it up, because it seems to work for you.
By
burlivespipe, at 3:02 a.m.
Gee I hadn't realized he was up against Bobbie Rae. Well now this all makes sense the PMO doesn't want to sacrifice a good candidate where he will obviously lose. So maybe they plan to run him in a safe riding, like Myron Thompson's.
By
EUGENE PLAWIUK, at 6:32 a.m.
The problem I have with the Mark Warner affair is that supporters of the Conservative Party have begun trying to find dirt on Mr.Warner to justify the reason. I don't feel restricted by my party affiliation in order to be compelled to criticize this move. I think it was done in poor taste, and the party could very well suffer in the polls because of it.
By
Raphael Alexander, at 12:50 p.m.
Bob Rae is a shoe-in.
The CPC need him in the House.
Unfortunate for Mr. Warner, that politics is not the "beautiful game"
By
Unknown, at 1:08 p.m.
Reform's outrageous anti-gay bigotry turned Toronto Centre from a bellweather riding to one where Conservatives run a poor third to the NDP.
Mark Warner had no chance of winning, or finishing second, or even a respectable third. The Conservatives were happy to have a credible candidate running for them in a general election, where no one would be paying any attention to Toronto Centre, but couldn't afford to have him run in a byelection when media will be paying attention to him. Since they couldn't shut him up like they did with Dianne Haskett (for very different reasons of course) they had to get rid of him, ensuring that Toronto Centre will be a safe Liberal riding for a few more elections to come.
Ironically, the winner in all this is Mark Warner. He won't be the MP for Toronto Centre, but he will likely be an MP for another riding someday, perhaps even a cabinet minister. This would never have happened for him as a Conservative.
By
Reality Bites, at 2:23 p.m.
Too much is being made of these dismissals, CG.
If you have a candidate that isn't working hard enough, to the party's eye, or simply espousing issues that contravene what the party stands for, that candidate needs to be removed for obvious reasons.
If the Liberals had a candidate talking about abolishing the gun registry or musing about two-tier health care, I doubt he'd be around for long either.
Regardless of how much the party "needs" a candidate like Warner, in the narrow view of the Toronto Star, if he's not towing the party line and refuses to compromise, what choice does the party have?
I suspect the reason this is getting so much play is because the Toronto Star and other Liberal newsletters/broadcast services can weave it nicely into the trite narrative they've contrived about the Harper government, that PMSH is an evil bully who says mean things about his opponents and hates the idea of anyone opposing his mighty rule.
By
sir john a., at 4:34 p.m.
"an evil bully who says mean things about his opponents and hates the idea of anyone opposing his mighty rule."
What he said.
But seriously, if there is any portion of the Canadian body politic who has a right to feel animosity towards PMSH it's the media.
By
Ian, at 6:10 p.m.
"If the Liberals had a candidate talking about abolishing the gun registry or musing about two-tier health care, I doubt he'd be around for long either."
Paul Steckle a Liberal MP has supported the abolishment of the gun registry, and Keith Martin a Liberal MP is a known supporter of more privatized care.
Mark Warner was never reported once in the media as straying from message as far as I know.
By
Dan McKenzie, at 1:53 a.m.
It won't succeed as a matter of fact, that's exactly what I think.
By
sex shop, at 3:51 a.m.
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