Sunday, November 02, 2008

The Gerard Kennedy Experiment - Deux

Interesting...

Apparently, Gerard Kennedy is leaning strongly to running in the leadership as the party renewal candidate.

It will be interesting to see if the 308-riding strategy can lure Kennedy into the race. Like Obama running hard for delegates in Idaho, Kennedy is the candidate most likely to win delegates where the Liberals have been wiped out: rural BC, rural Alberta, Northern Ontario, etc.

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posted by calgarygrit at 9:11 a.m.

41 Comments:

  • Yesterday, I was out for lunch with a friend and we had to return a video to blockbuster on Dundas near Kennedy's campaign office and when we were walking back we saw a bunch of Young Liberal types sitting around a table working on something. It looked like a bull session so I thought maybe Kennedy was still thinking of running. Interesting.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:12 a.m.  

  • Well, what I've been hearing points in the opposite direction. And as I've said to friends, he would be wise to sit this one out. He's got time. Right now, he's wearing egg on the Dion election.

    And running as a renewal candidate would be a bit rich after getting Dion elected. Dion was the only leadership candidate for whom party renewal was no big deal. Kennedy is the reason we're another 2 years behind.

    By Blogger Gauntlet, at 10:22 a.m.  

  • We are not 2 years behind because of Kennedy. The Party elected Dion, not Kennedy.
    What is the proof we would be further ahead with Rae or Ignatieff? Nada.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:59 a.m.  

  • We don't know if Kennedy can be forgiven for being the kingmaker in December of 2006. By being the man who put Dion over the top didn't he :

    1. Back the wrong horse?
    2. Hitch his wagon to the wrong candidate?
    3. (Insert other applicable idiom's here)


    BTW, Nextface is back!
    You didn't expect to go through this leadership debate without us did you?

    Visit us at : www.nextface.blogspot.com

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:27 a.m.  

  • Tobias,

    Dion was everyone's second choice and endorsed by many newspapers at the time. We have much more than leadership problems in the Liberal Party right now. Further, I don't think Rae or Ignatieff would have been any better.

    Kennedy and the Party stopped Ignatieff. That makes him an admirable politician in the minds of many people.
    Your Nextface is pretty much the same old face.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:47 a.m.  

  • Um, anonymous? How long have you been reading this blog? These problems were in 06 too.

    Frankly, Dion really should have stayed on. Maybe given the others a role at least. Who really thinks Rae will help? I mean, half the caucus is in the GTA anyway..

    By Blogger Alexander Soley, at 12:04 p.m.  

  • Kennedy shit the bed on his organizational chair position.

    Those involved have kept thier mouths shut, but let it be known that our olde friend Gerard is about as useless as tits on a bull.

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

  • to profanity-laced anon at 12:27,

    Kennedy was not in any organizational position for the election. He initially helped with election readiness in 2007 but that position ended 1.5 years ago.
    Whether he runs or not, he certainly deserves to be treated with respect as all these politicians make huge committments and family sacrifices to contribute to Canada.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:43 p.m.  

  • Frankly CG, if you don't know if he's running, none of us do.

    So, IS HE?

    By Blogger James Curran, at 12:47 p.m.  

  • Kinda hard given LeBlanc is fighting for that space, they would cancel each other out.

    By Blogger In_The_Centre, at 1:08 p.m.  

  • Kennedy stopped Ignatieff? Ah, that really helped during the election - duh.

    Kennedy would be wise to pay off his debt from the last campaign and sit it out.

    Harper would make mince-meat out of him at this point.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:25 p.m.  

  • Anon at 1:25pm,
    It is really naive to think that Ignatieff would have done better than Dion. The material for attack ads against Ignatieff is extensive-more than Dion.
    And, the Liberal Party still does not have any money to counter.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:31 p.m.  

  • Anon 1:31 - who's naive here?

    Here we go again - bashing and trashing each of the candidates. Ya, right....keep up the negativity folks, it really helps the Liberals.

    Challenge a policy, etc. but this constant garbage of trying to fight amongst yourselves and attack and trash and bash - it's childish, harmful and by gosh, why not give the CPC's who read this stuff more ammo. Bright, really bright.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:53 p.m.  

  • When you have a leadership competition it is about the candidates-character, judgement, past statements, political experience and policy. All of these aspects are legitimate and important. There is nothing we can give the CPC that they would not find on their own. It is far wiser to know about all the candidates positives and negatives now, not later.
    It looks like the Ignatieff camp is going to accuse other Liberals of "bashing" their candidate when a negative aspect of his candidacy is raised- this is most unfortunate.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:17 p.m.  

  • Hurrah to the LPC, with another candidate I wouldn't vote for in a million years.

    Might as well choose Volpe or Trudeau.

    By Blogger Möbius, at 5:29 p.m.  

  • It's kind of hard to blame Kennedy for doing the same thing 55% of the party did.

    And it's very debatable if Rae or Ignatieff would have done any better.

    If anything, Kennedy deserves some credit for being a team player and not knifing Dion repeatedly over the past two years unlike certain individuals.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:12 p.m.  

  • And, the Kennedy camp can't deal with the fact that he was the King Maker and responsible for his actions.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:43 p.m.  

  • Can some Liberal please explain to me why party members blame Kennedy for electing Dion, but not Bob Rae?

    If Rae had moved to Iggy on the final ballot, Dion as leader would never have happened.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:55 p.m.  

  • These individuals that supported Rae or Ignatieff dissing Kennedy for supporting Dion are getting pretty silly.
    Kennedy had every right to choose who he wanted to support. Just because he did not choose the guy you wanted to win does not make his choice wrong.
    Not only that, he did not tell even one of his delegates to vote for Dion-he is way too classy to do something like that. Kennedy delegates were free to vote any way they wanted to.
    Dion was the second choice of the overwhelming majority of delegates and a good proportion of the Rae delegates thought the same as they put Dion over the top.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:55 p.m.  

  • I'm sorry boy and girls, but watching the kennedy folks trying to spin their way out of him being responsible for Dion is a joke. I was a delegate, and anyone who was there knows what happened. Gerard went to Dion because he wanted it next time, and the french/english alternating rule would rule him out for next time if either bob or Micheal won. Plain and simple.
    Everyone knows that- you can't say he did it out of any policy connection, because he proceeded to disappear once it became clear that the party brass and the caucus was ignoring him on his election readiness role.
    Let him run. let him get half the delegates he got last time. He might be a decent Minister in a social portfolio. I can't for the life of me understand why that isn't enough for him. Enough with the pretenders already.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:05 p.m.  

  • Anon at 10:05pm,

    You know nothing.

    I was at the convention in the Kennedy camp. Kennedy did not make any decision based on a "next time". Your little theories confirm that you do not even really know Kennedy, you just think you do.
    Kennedy is a principled politician, there are no dirty tricks and slimy deals with him.

    The Party chose Dion and no one other than sore losers of other candidates thought he was a bad choice at the convention, including the media. After that, Dion like every human being is responsible for their own performance.
    True to his character, Kennedy did not try to stab his Leader in the back or organize a leadership campaign behind his back, unlike the candidates now running that you worship.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:05 a.m.  

  • People who want seek to advocate "renewal" would be better served in their goal if they didn't try to lay blame and re-fight fights from 2006.

    By Blogger Jeff, at 1:10 a.m.  

  • Ahh...long live the anonymous comments!

    Maybe Kennedy deserves some of the credit/blame for selecting Dion. But a lot of people voted for Dion. I believe every leadership candidate except Brison and Iggy were standing in his box by the time the last ballot came around. Some people just need to accept that Dion won fair and square and move on.

    Personally, I voted for Dion after Kennedy dropped out. I probably would have anyways if Gerard had endorsed Rae or Ignatieff. Would I change my vote knowing what I know today? I dunno. As I've said, the problems with the Liberal Party run deeper than leadership. That's why I'm not overly excited by this race as of yet.

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 9:50 a.m.  

  • If party renewal is going to be the focus of this race then I am going to support a candidate who actually knows something about transforming a party.

    David Mcguinty, for example, would be an excellent choice if he runs as he is very bright, fluently billingual and was instruemental in helping rebuild the ontario liberal party after his brother became its leader in the early nineties (look at how successful the OLP is now).

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:01 a.m.  

  • People who want seek to advocate "renewal" would be better served in their goal if they didn't try to lay blame and re-fight fights from 2006.

    Well said, indeed - for every party.

    I think Kennedy used poor judgment in going for Dion; but so did a lot of Liberals. I've overestimated people myself, and I can't think of anyone I know who hasn't done so - he's human, and if he wants to run again for the leadership, let him. I'll listen to what he's got to say.

    By Blogger Ashley_Wilkes-Booth, at 12:05 p.m.  

  • Hopefully Liberal delegates and Kennedy are smart enough this time to recognize that electing Ignatieff is the only way to beat Harper.

    Kennedy messed up as did a lot of other short-sighted Liberals. If they're smart, they'll back Ignatieff this time.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:17 p.m.  

  • No one is answering my question. Why doesn't Rae get the same flack for backing Dion that Kennedy gets?

    I'm not a Liberal, so I have no horse in this race - I'm just curious.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:32 p.m.  

  • Well, Rae never officially backed Dion - he just released his delegates and didn't officially endorse either opponent at the time.

    Whether someone like Kennedy runs or not, who knows? I know lots of people assume he won't, and lots who think he will. For the next week, we'll see lots of speculation. Then another week after we have all the rules of more speculation. Then we see who decides to run. Whoever runs, I hope we can get a healthy debate, and not just a coronation (or even just a 2-man dogfight).

    By Blogger UWHabs, at 2:23 p.m.  

  • Your hope will be fulfilled uwhabs!

    No coronation!

    No 2-man dogfight!

    Lots of debate!

    Real attention to the grassroots!

    By Blogger MississaugaPeter, at 2:38 p.m.  

  • anon 1:05 pm -I don't think it's fair to say that I know nothing. come on. the Dion camp and the kennedy guys were talking strategy for two weeks before the convention- they realized after the DSM's that they were the only way either of the two of them could win, and so the deals were discussed. the deal was whomever came fourth would support whomever came third.
    Sure everyone progressive went to dion on the final ballot- I don'y know why- perhaps the whole convention was a referendum on Iggy, but i know this for sure: most people left montreal thinking we screwed up and feeling depressed.
    good luck talking me, and everyone else in the party out of how we feel about Kennedy's actions in MOntreal. You can't bully people out of thier opinons. Besides, he can't speak french.
    We had better all get along and support someone ready to lead.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:35 p.m.  

  • Did Kennedy support Dion and make him leader? Yes he did. He threw his support to the best of options available after it was clear he could not win. Kennedy and the Kennedy delegates realized that Rae and Ignatieff were bad choices and that Dion was the lesser of three evils. This past election would have been no different or worse with the gaffe prone ex pat Iggy who sucks up to the worst of the Quebec Nationalists, and Bob Rae, a person no one wants to see leading during another ressision.

    I hope he runs, and wins.

    By Blogger Brent Neill, at 5:43 p.m.  

  • Hi CG
    It seems to me everyone has it wrong...including GK
    Yes GK made a pact with Dion...but he truly expected he would be ahead and Dion would bring his votes / delegates to him (GK) and dear GK would be elected leader and he would lead the Libs to victory.
    As much as the past election result was disappointing, it would have been much worse if GK had been the "leader"
    At least the electorate saw a principled position by a credible leader. GK would have been revealed as the shallow pretender and the Libs would have no base from which to build support.
    GK is best erased from the political scene. As backbencher he is exceeding his political skills.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:12 p.m.  

  • Anon at 9:12pm,

    I see comedy is your talent. GK would have been a fine Leader. He is here to stay. As for your postings of BS, well that is what needs to be erased from the political scene.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:56 p.m.  

  • Well Folks,

    I am looking across a room and I see all the massively talented people who are MP's with the Liberal Party of Canada. It is awe inspiring. Many of them will make great Deputy Leaders, Finance Ministers, Foreign Affairs Minsters, Social Development Ministers and the like and we need all of them in the next Liberal Lead Government. Only one of them has something extra to give to this great country uniting folks from east to west for a stronger Canada.He is a dynamic thinker with intellegence, charisma, dedication, vision and talent. He has no baggage,is young, vibrant, straight forward, honest and dedicated. The Liberal Party needs him and Canadians from coast to coast need him to lead us in the face of challenging economic times and a changing economic revolution. That person is Gerard Kennedy. We can all get behind him and join him in renewing our party, making it even more relevant to all Canadians be they from the left, right and or centre. No more fighting between rivals within the party, forward onward and upward and welcome for the better of our party and all Canadians from coast to coast your next Liberal Party Leader and future Prime Minster of Canada: Gerard Kennedy. Keep up those daily French speaking refresher lessons and everything is possible.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:25 p.m.  

  • God, all these bitter Rae and Iggy supporters still can't get over the fact there guys lost the last time fair and square cause they are both giant douchebags.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:25 p.m.  

  • A charismatic leader is someone who really cares about the good welfare of all the people in Canada equally, French or English, easterner or westerner, or whatever, and not another pretender, Christian imposter, Alcoholic, liars, self centered, greedy persons that we seem to too often have instead..

    so don’t be stupid NOW again,
    and don’t select a Liberal leader who
    - is a pretender Christian,
    - a liar,
    - an alcoholic,
    - or one who cannot speak english, never mind read it.
    but note above all it has to be one only from Quebec..
    TRUDEAU’S SON Justine IS TOO YOUNG, and INEXPERIENCED STILL.
    for without the support of the Quebec voters, without a PM from Quebec, you next cannot hope to have a majority government as Harper keeps on finding out.. again and again!

    Try Jean Charest..

    or is he another alcoholic?

    By Blogger paul kambulow, at 7:11 a.m.  

  • Only when Kennedy demonstrates that he is functionally bilingual (able to debate & hold a press conference in either official language) should be taken seriously as a potential leader.

    I'm waiting.......

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

  • Reading what are clearly comments from bitter Rae and Ignatieff supporters on here, makes me less likely to consider either of them for leadership this time...

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 11:41 a.m.  

  • it's like the only calculation is how kennedy supporters feelings are being hurt- what baout the party?

    Dion has dug us a huge hole. and kennedy put him in the position to do so- not single handedly, but he had a bigger hand in it than any other one person. Stop crying about kennedy and be objective for a moment. He can't speak french, and has zero experience with machinery of government in Ottawa. He just isn't qualified to be leader. Period.

    And i could easily see myself supporting him someday when he clears these hurdles, so don't try the tactic of saying my comments are partisan. it's an embarassingly weak rhetorical trick.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:38 p.m.  

  • Kennedy has more experience with the machinery of government than Ignatieff has...and while Bob can claim more experience...that experience was running the Ontario economy into the ground. So Kennedy's enterprising management of Food Banks in Alberta and Toronto, his stellar record as an MPP, and strong reforms of the education ministry show him to have a firm grasp on the machinery of government (more than Harper had before taking the keys to 24 Sussex).

    Kennedy can improve his French. Iggy can't improve his inane inborn lack of political instinct (not surprising since he is a foreigner by all standards, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn have spent more time in Canada over the past 30 years than Iggy has) and Rae can't improve upon his dismal record of failiure.


    Sorry bitter Rae and Iggy fans, your guys are old and failures. Only the next generation of Liberals should apply for this job since the odds are it is going to take the party another 5 years to get into power. Kennedy, Leblanc, Cauchon, McGuinty are all better ooptions than two 60+ guys who will be nearing 70 after there first term is ending.

    By Blogger Brent Neill, at 3:33 p.m.  

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