Go Randy Go!
I'm not a PC Party member so I'm not going to make any endorsements. Well, scratch that, I endorse Randy Hillier. Please vote for Randy. Not just because it would mean an easy win for McGuinty, but also because, as was pointed out to me by a clever grit this weekend, it raises the very real possibility of a PC campaign run under a "Are You Feeling Randy?" slogan.
In all seriousness, Hillier has run a solid campaign. As I said in my profile of him, he's latched on to some good conservative issues people can relate to, and has been nothing but a consistent voice for the right wing of his party. Whoever wins is going to have a tough time marginalizing Hillier, especially if he's able to move his votes to Hudak for the win.
Frank Klees may be a good candidate. But, for the life of me, I'm so incredibly uninterested in his campaign and him that I don't think I'll be able to bring myself to complete my website profile series (other than to say: Damn, that is one big picture of Frank on his website). In fairness, a lot of people probably said the same thing about Dalton McGuinty when he ran for Ontario Liberal leadership in 1996, and they certainly said the same thing about Ed Stelmach when he won the Alberta PC leadership in 2006. But, I'm not a PC member, and life is just too short to spend it researching Frank Klees.
So this weekend's vote, if the pundits are to be believed (always a risk in leadership contests), comes down to Tim Hudak and Christine Elliott. Of the two, I think Elliott has run the best campaign, would make the better Premier, and would be a more formidable opponent to Dalton McGuinty in 2011. In a leadership race lasting all summer, I don't doubt for a second that she could have reeled in Hudak and won it.
But Hudak had a leadership-ready team in place, and a big lead when this thing started. In a short contest, that's worth a lot more than substance. In a delegated convention, he might have been Iggy'd in a front-runner gang-up, but I suspect the individual voters' second choices will scatter (or they'll leave the ballot blank), allowing Hudak to eek it out on the third ballot.
We'll find out this weekend.
In all seriousness, Hillier has run a solid campaign. As I said in my profile of him, he's latched on to some good conservative issues people can relate to, and has been nothing but a consistent voice for the right wing of his party. Whoever wins is going to have a tough time marginalizing Hillier, especially if he's able to move his votes to Hudak for the win.
Frank Klees may be a good candidate. But, for the life of me, I'm so incredibly uninterested in his campaign and him that I don't think I'll be able to bring myself to complete my website profile series (other than to say: Damn, that is one big picture of Frank on his website). In fairness, a lot of people probably said the same thing about Dalton McGuinty when he ran for Ontario Liberal leadership in 1996, and they certainly said the same thing about Ed Stelmach when he won the Alberta PC leadership in 2006. But, I'm not a PC member, and life is just too short to spend it researching Frank Klees.
So this weekend's vote, if the pundits are to be believed (always a risk in leadership contests), comes down to Tim Hudak and Christine Elliott. Of the two, I think Elliott has run the best campaign, would make the better Premier, and would be a more formidable opponent to Dalton McGuinty in 2011. In a leadership race lasting all summer, I don't doubt for a second that she could have reeled in Hudak and won it.
But Hudak had a leadership-ready team in place, and a big lead when this thing started. In a short contest, that's worth a lot more than substance. In a delegated convention, he might have been Iggy'd in a front-runner gang-up, but I suspect the individual voters' second choices will scatter (or they'll leave the ballot blank), allowing Hudak to eek it out on the third ballot.
We'll find out this weekend.
Labels: Christine Elliot, Frank Klees, Randy Hillier, Tim Hudak
posted by calgarygrit at
10:36 p.m.
8 Comments:
CG: check the meanings of eek vs. eke
By
Finnegan, at 11:25 p.m.
Christine "Flat Tax" Elliott? I'd enjoy that campaign.
By
Jeff, at 11:43 p.m.
The flat tax is a nice target, but so are the human rights tribunals. Either way, it's fairly obvious they'll try to Tory the Tories again.
By
calgarygrit, at 9:33 a.m.
Dulton "I killed the Ontario Economy and put you and your friends in the Unemployment line" McGuinty has a nice campaign ring to it.
By
Anonymous, at 12:47 p.m.
"Are you feeling Randy" works a lot better than "Klees Please", as a slogan.
By
Anonymous, at 12:55 p.m.
I'm for Randy because he wants to permit wine and beer sales in supermarkets. Think of it Ontario beer drinkers - your choice of the beer you drink and how much you pay for it is controlled by three foreign companies: Coors (American), Inbev (Belgian) and Sapporo (Japan).
By
Anonymous, at 2:35 p.m.
I'm for breaking the government monopoly on liquor sales in Ontario, too!
How does Randy feel about decriminalization of marijuana? Since it's far less harmful personally and societally than beer, I mean.
By
Ashley_Wilkes-Booth, at 3:00 p.m.
I think Christine could pull it off. She has enough of a "compassionate conservative" vibe that she might get away with a flat tax. It doesn't hurt that Dalton McGuinty's economic record is among the worst in Ontario's history.
*sigh* I miss Mike Harris... my first political love.
(well okay, I also liked Mulroney, but I was 4-5 and thought the news was a fictional show and he was my favourite character)
By
french wedding cat, at 2:19 a.m.
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