Greg Weston - She's A Very Good Columnist
Via Macleans:
But it was also a riding where the Liberal candidate, Joan Beatty, was appointed by Dion over the wishes of the local riding association as part of his pledge to put more women in the Commons.
(In fairness, it has to be said that the alternative was David Orchard, a mischievous but masterful organizer last seen making no end of trouble for his former party, the late Progressive Conservatives.)
The last time Dion forced a woman candidate on a riding was in last September's byelections that cost the Liberals the Montreal seat of Outremont, long considered one of the safest Grit bastions in the country.
Call it zero for two for Stephane. Nice work.
posted by calgarygrit at
9:56 p.m.
17 Comments:
Woman, man with a female-sounding name, what's the difference?
By
IslandLiberal, at 10:37 p.m.
yeah, he DID force the candidate, but he wasn't a woman.
By
Vin, at 10:53 p.m.
How could a credible journalist make a mistake like that?
Oh yeah - it's Greg Weston.
By
Anonymous, at 10:56 p.m.
Did they ever make that Stopwatch Gang movie?
By
Anonymous, at 12:11 a.m.
Ha!
But more seriously, what about Willowdale? Did he directly appoint her to the candidacy there, or did she win the nomination herself? If it was his own initiative, he's 1/2.
By
Anonymous, at 12:43 a.m.
Frnacis, Martha was appointed by Dion, so Weston missed that one too.
By
Jeff, at 7:43 a.m.
Given that Mr. Weston assumes Jocelyn Coulon is a woman, his statement is extremely problematic.
"..forced a woman candidate on a riding"
Are you kidding me?
His logic that female candidate = unelectable (or even less electable) is circa 1980 and contradicts all available evidence. I would hope we can do better than that.
It's hard to tell if he is aware that Martha Hall Finlay won her seat, however ignoring her example conveniently reinforces his dated logic.
At the very least, my disgust with Weston's comments are tempered by the fact that he is obviously an complete idiot. It's just sad that he is able to maintain such a high profile job.
By
Anonymous, at 8:43 a.m.
I believe Martha was appointed with the blessing and at the invitation of the local riding association. Dion agreed with their selection and recommendation to forego a nomination process.
Where he has been the instigator of candidate selection, his lack of judgement has been clearly demonstrated.
By
Anonymous, at 11:17 a.m.
Dion bombed appointing a man in Outremont and bombed appointing a woman in Saskatachewan. Weston's point makes a bit more sense if you assume Coulon is a woman but it's still weak. Both times, it wasn't against the will of the riding - just against the will of a few rival candidates who wanted the nom themselves.
By
Anonymous, at 1:52 p.m.
“Both times, it wasn't against the will of the riding - just against the will of a few rival candidates who wanted the nom themselves.”
The results speak for themselves. Dion appointed weak candidates who couldn’t do the job in their ridings. Look at the swing in voting margins.
Joyce Murray did not have much of a network and certainly didn’t perform like a star candidate. Joan Betty couldn’t overcome her starting disadvantage. Coulon had no political experience, and his predecessor was anti-Dion.
On the other hand, MHF had a network from her leadership bid. Of course, her results from the leadership bid were pathetic. But, her machinery was competent enough for an election in a safe riding.
By
JimTan, at 4:31 p.m.
If you're going to take Orchard, you get the bad with the good.
Unfortunately, you're now seeing why the CPC doesn't miss him.
Thanks to Dion, one less woman in politics.
By
Möbius, at 8:01 p.m.
Greg Weston for Governor-General.
By
sir john a., at 8:02 p.m.
Oh, and never buy bread from a Weston that can't tell a woman from a man.
By
Möbius, at 8:07 p.m.
The results speak for themselves. Dion appointed weak candidates who couldn’t do the job in their ridings. Look at the swing in voting margins. Joyce Murray did not have much of a network and certainly didn’t perform like a star candidate.
Joyce Murray wasn't appointed. She won a nomination race. Which, I'd gather, takes some kind of a network.
By
Jeff, at 9:09 p.m.
"Joyce Murray wasn't appointed. She won a nomination race. Which, I'd gather, takes some kind of a network."
I stand corrected. In fact, Ms Murray had the support of members of the LPCBC establishment.
That said, Ms. Murray couldn't energize her campaign and apparently had some staff changes in her campaign. You need to see her in person to gauge her political presence.
At a riding media event, dion became the star of the show. Ms. Murray seemed like a guest in her own riding office.
Let me highlight my concern with dion’s political strategy. He’s bowing to pressure from core support groups. He’s been seen showing off his women and academic candidates. While sidelining a guy like astronaut Marc Garneau.
This bodes poorly for the Liberals who must hold the middle ground.
By
JimTan, at 12:43 a.m.
This comment has been removed by the author.
By
JimTan, at 12:44 a.m.
dear Hammertimegp,
Please don't spam.
By
JimTan, at 3:38 p.m.
Post a Comment
<< Home