The Kind Of Things Money Just Can't Buy
Belinda says no to Liberal leadership.
Good on Belinda for realizing that she wasn't ready for it this time around. She's saved herself some embarrassment by not running and will certainly play a key role in the next Liberal government/opposition.
Good on Belinda for realizing that she wasn't ready for it this time around. She's saved herself some embarrassment by not running and will certainly play a key role in the next Liberal government/opposition.
posted by calgarygrit at
11:32 a.m.
66 Comments:
It's one thing to know you are not ready and say it. It's another to jump in and do it anyway; either because of pride or coercion. I think for her this is a commendable move. My respect for her is increased by this.
Good for her, and good for the party.
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Anonymous, at 12:12 p.m.
That was a nice speech on her part. If she keeps that up, then she will be ready the next time around.
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Leny Vilekoskytch, at 12:18 p.m.
I now have more respect for Belinda Stronach. Realizing one is not ready for such a major move is responsible. As I have said previously, let her prove herself in the House and in public policy before going farther.
David Imrie - dave.imrie@gmail.com
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Anonymous, at 12:26 p.m.
I s'pose Belinda has answered those who asked if she had any patience...
She continues to surprise us, as i recal about this time last year I thought it was an April fools joke that she'd crossed the floor.
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Anonymous, at 12:38 p.m.
OMG!! THIS IS THE BIGGEST TRAGEDY EVER!!! OHHH THE HUMANITY!!
What about the Belinda leadership hospitality suites!!
Why!? Why?!!
*sobbing on the floor*
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Anonymous, at 12:42 p.m.
Good move Belinda. LOL @ thsoe thinbking she didn't run beacuase she doesn't think she's ready, or woul dbe "embarassed". She knows the Libs are going to be slaughtered next time out, so why run only to end up beign the next kim Cambell? She'll be there to pick up the pieces next time...hopefully with a better organizer then Alcock
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Anonymous, at 12:43 p.m.
So does this mean we don't get your profile of her? :(
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Reality Bites, at 12:46 p.m.
I think some of our conservative friends are going to be very disappointed by Ms. Stronach's very responsible decision.
My respect for her just went up also. As a bonus, this decision is a slap in the face to Harper and the rest of Conservatives who referred to here as a Wh###.
Perhaps she is a lot smarter than we all gave her credit for?
Lets hope Brison and Volpe follow her example.
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Anonymous, at 12:48 p.m.
Brison is still running....in fact Richard Diamond was just talking 10 minutes ago about how this news help Brison because he is going to pick up a lot of the Belinda organizers...
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Anonymous, at 12:55 p.m.
My hat off to Belinda, one down and I hope many, many more to come. We don't need the likes of Volpe, Brison, Rae, Fry etc... just to name a few or what's his name the transplanted American who decided to move back to Canada, get back where you belong.
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Anonymous, at 12:56 p.m.
Come on! you are a bunch of wanks. The only good she is to the Liberal party is her cash and pull with the upper-upper class which is more of a liability when it comes to elections.
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Anonymous, at 1:02 p.m.
anon 10:56 - what a great idea. maybe only one person will be on the ballot at the convention. that would lend itself well to party renewal.
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Anonymous, at 1:02 p.m.
"what's his name the transplanted American who decided to move back to Canada, get back where you belong." - Anon 10:56
Words like that always restore my faith in the idea that Canada is a state that welcomes people.
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Leny Vilekoskytch, at 1:10 p.m.
I was right. from my commont on cg's post yesterday "let the floodgates open:
"i'm crazy for outlandish theories, so here's one: Belinda doesn't want the Liberal leadership this time around. she's guessing she can't win, and i'm not sure she wants the job right now anyway. better let someone else clean up the mess and she'll be poised at the next leadership convention.
then, hopefully she'll have better french, impeccable policy credentials and an organizational strength that recalls the glory days of paul martin.
this is assuming she has patience."
i guess she does.
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Anonymous, at 1:14 p.m.
Good to see Grits repecting her more after she disses them:
"I could have raised the money, I was working on my French, but I realized that I was not going to be free to speak my mind on party renewal"
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Anonymous, at 1:30 p.m.
It's good that she realized she wasn't ready, but at the same time, she wasn't honest enough to admit that that was the reason. Instead, she fed us a weak justification about being unhappy with the leadership process.
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Anonymous, at 1:33 p.m.
I agree that she made the right decision but I hope that she plans to be active in the campaign in some major aspect as she has the ability to draw a lot of people in and brings in alot of money for her appearances. I bet she's getting plenty of friendly phone calls from potential rivals today.
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Ned Noodle, at 1:37 p.m.
I have gained a new found respect for this race... By Belinda backing out it shows that this race may very well be about ideas and not about personal ambitions.
However, Belinda has a point about many issues regarding the "fair"ness of leadership races. As a student club we are faced with these challenges day in day out. Would we as student clubs really be targeted so readily by wet rats if there was a more open process? For you doubters out there about students and student clubs, there really are many of us who truly believe in this party and are not just paper hangers. If the issue of democratic reform is an issue for the Liberal Party, we should lead by example and reform the way we do our own business. It may or may not be one member one vote, but we need a more effective and open system.
I look forward to a diverse list of candidates to lead this party forward against Harper and the Conservatives. We were, are, and will be the party of ideas, so lets act like it. The intelligence of people such as Ignatieff, Dion, Kennedy, Rae (I hate to admit it) and Brison will definately bring about strong meaningful debate and fresh solid ideas.
Lets move forward not as the Volpe Camp, the Kennedy Camp or the Stronach Camp...
Let us move forward as the Liberal Camp...
...because at the end of the day thats where we are all members.
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UofO Liberal, at 1:45 p.m.
Thank goodness is all I can say.
I just got a whole lot less worried about what we'll end up with.
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Shawn, at 1:53 p.m.
Aaah Belinda's just sucking up to the grassroots with the one vote thing. She'd have very little chance either way but quasi engaged grassroots members will remember her taking a stand for them next time 'round.
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Anonymous, at 1:56 p.m.
Damn, first Alan Rock, then Belinda Stronach. Need Volpe or Brison to win to put the final stake in the Liberal Vampire!!
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Anonymous, at 2:00 p.m.
Smart move. For her, for the party.
The only really tragic thing about this decision is we won't get CG's profile of her.
Ted
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Ted Betts, at 2:05 p.m.
Oh darn...me and my conservative buddies were going to take out Liberal memberships just to vote for her.
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Anonymous, at 2:16 p.m.
If Bush said he was going to nuke Iran and then announced later that he decided it wasn't appropriate, should he be applauded for it?
Fortunately, Side-Show Stronach has chosen to mitigate the audacity she exhibited by implying she had the stuff to make a go of it.
Perhaps the only thing she should be applauded for is realizing opportunism has limits.
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Anonymous, at 2:17 p.m.
BS today: "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going away."
Anyone recall the last leadership race that prompted the same BSS remark?
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Anonymous, at 2:25 p.m.
She didn't bow out because she wasn't ready; she claims she is. "Je suis preparer ...(and) mon french is bonne" or something like that is what she said. She is being unfairly treated by a process that won't allow her to buy the votes of delegates. What a great loss to the country!
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Anonymous, at 2:27 p.m.
Thanks Belinda for making it easier to stay positive during the Leadership Campaign. Now if only some others would also do likewise and I and many other positive-minded Gerard supporters will have lips left in December.
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Anonymous, at 2:46 p.m.
I actually already had Belinda's profile writen up (was going to throw it up tomorrow or next week...grrr....). So maybe this summer I'll toss it up on a slow news day for some fun.
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calgarygrit, at 3:00 p.m.
This surprises me, but I suspect there are more surprises in store. I still cannot accept that Rae, an ostensibly smart man, would choose to subject himself to the blood-letting and inevitable defeat of a Liberal leadership race. This was a bizarre idea from the get-go, and I expect we will see him make an announcement similar to this one from Belinda in the near future.
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Anonymous, at 3:34 p.m.
The statement containing the words "Belinda" and "smart" are mutually exclusive.
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Raphael Alexander, at 3:56 p.m.
The smart thing to do. If she can learn French (her Wikipedia profile says she speaks German, so it isn't out of the question), and get some more experience in government, she could make a serious challenge next time.
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IslandLiberal, at 4:02 p.m.
Belinda just proved that she isn't a Barbie doll. She is a lot smaarter than anyone gave her credit for. She is also dead on when she said that the Liberal party needs to open up the voting for the leader. The delegate selection process is both yesterday's format and open to abuse as the Party's recent past illustrates. The fair and open way to choose a leader is to give every Liberal Party member a vote. The technology is there, but I'm not sure the current Party executive has the will to make the necessary changes.
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Anonymous, at 4:03 p.m.
Stronach claims "My French is better than you think".
A recent interviewer asked her in French if she was going to join the leadership race. She was unable to understand this simple question and had to ask him to repeat it in English! How much better could her French be? Not much!
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Anonymous, at 4:48 p.m.
Belinda has proven nothing other than the fact she knows how to cross a floor, and dance on a bass speaker on other side.
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Raphael Alexander, at 4:48 p.m.
I hope Belinda hangs around. I don't think I'd have supported her, but I did think she had a certain style. Things like marching in the St. Paddy's parade were cool. It put a human presence on a person most people only see on TV. It's called connecting. I hope other leadership hopefuls take note.
Especially with the bunker mentality Harper and his ministers seem to be leaning towards.
http://centreofcanada.blogspot.com/
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Don, at 4:50 p.m.
Being a public servant in Ottawa the first thing you learn is that there are two classes of people: bilingual and unilingual.
Second thing you learn is only bilingual people get the good jobs. Its a tough lesson to learn but unless you speak French then you are a second-class citizen and will never be leader. Sorry Belinda.
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Anonymous, at 5:27 p.m.
e transplanted American
Oh honestly.
What's with all these brain dead morons who think Ignatieff was in the US for 30 years?
Don't people read any longer?
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Anonymous, at 5:28 p.m.
Backing out because the system is unfair is a crock. It's a cover for saying she does not have the support. Every leadership candidate, if asked, would say that they are in favour of a OMOV system. To say anything else would be undemocratic.
I do think she made the right choice in withdrawing her name from consideration. Acknowledging that she encourages a OMOV system for next time would have been a great move, but stating that is the reason for her departure is, I think, false.
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Anonymous, at 5:38 p.m.
This woman is such a bitch. And she is NOT capable of learning our second official language. She is rich but she is not smart!
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Anonymous, at 6:45 p.m.
And you have an anger problem. We all have our faults. Well, not Iggy, but everyone else.
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Leny Vilekoskytch, at 7:47 p.m.
http://erg.environics.net/news/default.asp?aID=603
Cons 41,
Libs 22,
NDP 21,
Bloc 10,
Green 5.
Libs at 11% in Quebec and 6% in Alberta.
God Bless Canada!
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Anonymous, at 7:55 p.m.
She still found a way to embarrass herself.
At least she's your problem now. :)
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Michael Fox, at 8:12 p.m.
Jet-setting Belinda is going to spend six years in Ottawa toiling away on the opposition benches, doing the long hours in committee, responding to constituents' CPP problems? Yeah, right. If the CPC wins majority in the next election, expect a by-election in Newmarket and Aurora.
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Anonymous, at 8:35 p.m.
For you Iggy fans, something I just don't get. I listened intently to his Ottawa speech, and he is to the right of the CPC in almost every area, is it just about if he can win, principles be damned?
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Anonymous, at 8:38 p.m.
Re: the anynymous who complains that if you don't speak French, you'll never get the good jobs,
Well, yeah. And that's probably how it should be. Any intelligent person should be able to speak at least two languages. If you can't get the jobs you want because you don't speak French, then what on earth are you waiting for? Learn it. It's not that hard.
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Anonymous, at 8:52 p.m.
I heard about Belinda's plans this morning, but I had to work, so I missed her Press Conference.
I still respect her. I also agree that the leadership process of one member=one vote needs implementation.
David Imrie - dave.imrie@gmail.com
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Anonymous, at 8:53 p.m.
I too think that one member one vote is the way to go...but to hear Belinda critizing the party is just a hard pill to swallow considering she is not yet at the one year mark.
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Anonymous, at 9:12 p.m.
Stronach claims "My French is better than you think".
A recent interviewer asked her in French if she was going to join the leadership race. She was unable to understand this simple question and had to ask him to repeat it in English! How much better could her French be? Not much!
And yet, she took that question, and answered it, in French.
Stronach did the smart and principled thing. I've said all along that I think she is both, so I am not surprised.
By
Ryan Ringer, at 9:16 p.m.
Oh, just to clarify, I meant the question where she was asked in French, "Does this decision have to do with your inability to speak French." She took that one and answered, also in French, "My French is better than you think."
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Ryan Ringer, at 9:18 p.m.
eli:
That's fine to say only intelligent speak French but can you explain how the Liberal party is supposed to win the West in the next election with that snobbish, elitist attitude of yours ?
We're trying to re-build our party attracting as many people as possible and we aren't going to do that with a "unilinguals need not apply" elitist attitude.
Losing Belinda because she doesn't speak French is a big loss and sends a dangerous message to all the unilingual Canadians out there that you are not wlecome in the Liberal party.
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Anonymous, at 9:24 p.m.
Anonymous:
If you don't have the required qualifications to be a lawyer, you likely won't apply for a job at a law firm, will you? Speaking French and English happens to be necessary to be the leader of the Liberal Party, in order to be able to communicate with unilingual Canadians, in the Saguenay as well as in Alberta.
I don't think it's snobbish or elitist to claim that it's not that hard to speak more than one language. It's reasonably easy to learn a foreign language, especially when the language isn't really foreign, but has official status in your own country.
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Anonymous, at 9:56 p.m.
Eli didn't say "only intelligent (people) speak French" -- he said, it's not that hard for an intelligent person to learn another language.
He's right.
If you want to be a fireman, go to fireman school. If you want to be a flight attendant, learn the other official language. If you want to be Prime Minister, speak English and French proficiently.
Would you vote for a PM that couldn't speak to you in English?
Didn't think so.
Neither would the French - rightly so.
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Anonymous, at 10:00 p.m.
Good on her. Mind you, when she skipped on Edmonton, I knew she was beginning to withdraw as all other hopefuls are there.
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Anonymous, at 10:56 p.m.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
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Leny Vilekoskytch, at 11:02 p.m.
Anon 6:38,
One thing we need to clear up first, where do the Cons stand on any issue outside their fab five?
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Leny Vilekoskytch, at 11:04 p.m.
Belinda is going to support Ignatieff, trust me on this one.
Peterson and Belinda are tight.Expect she might even be at Ignatieff's official coming out party tomorrow.
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Anonymous, at 11:52 p.m.
"That was a nice speech on her part. If she keeps that up, then she will be ready the next time around."
What a bunch of horse sh*t(bleep). She didn't learn French and she will NEVER learn french.
If you look at her history she has NEVER completed anything worthwhile. If she couldn't buy it she didn't do it. She dropped out of University-a quitter.
AND, BTW, what is she going to do now that the Liberals are getting into bed with the Bloc(according to Graham). Didn't she quit the conservatives because she said Harper wanted to work with the bloc.
Politicians for the most part are hypocritical. Belindabeast takes hypocrasy to a new level.
BUT------she does have nice legs.
Horny toad
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Anonymous, at 12:01 a.m.
Just saw Belindabeast press conference. She "reads" a good speech. Wonder who wrote it.Maybe Reg did.
And did you notice,as she READ her speech, how often she turned the pages. Ohhh, BIG PRINTING. Probably not more than 20 words per page.
She IS bitter towards Haprer, isn't she.
And, did you notice that everything she wants the liberal party to change is already in place in the conservative party. I'll bet if Harper invited her back she'd cross the floor again. But fortunately, he's not that dumb.
Horny Toad
Oh, just about forgot. She does have nice legs.
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Anonymous, at 12:12 a.m.
Right...this is kind of important. You don't bleep a swear after you have said it. TIming is big here..."What a bunch of horse BLEEP" or "What a bunch of horse sh*t" You can do one or the other...but both is just wrong...wrong and unnatural (probably immoral too)
About your other point. I have an idea for the Cons come next election. They can replace "Changeons pour vrai" with "Stephen Harper - politics as usual"
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Leny Vilekoskytch, at 12:50 a.m.
Small town,
One of the issues I was referring to w.r.t. Iggy being right of the CPC was foreign policy. Now that isn't part of the "fab five", but we know where they both stand, so is your post a puerile attempt to be disingenuous, or are you an unthinking parrot of whatever pablum comes out of the smoking ruins which used to be LPC headquarters.
By
Anonymous, at 10:09 a.m.
Anon,
I think you're missing a third possibility. My post might have been calling attention to the fact that the Cons haven't been paragons of consistency on a lot of issues. I suppose this was a far too subtle dig at your "is it just about if he can win, principles be damned?" line.
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Leny Vilekoskytch, at 10:33 a.m.
"everything she wants the liberal party to change is already in place in the conservative party".
Not quite. Before belinda was for one member one vote she was against it. Belinda and Peter scrapped one member one vote and got the Ontario PC rules instead.
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Anonymous, at 12:14 p.m.
Belinda Stronach is at heart, just a bored little rich girl. She'll stick it out a while longer, but if she comes to see that people don't realize how "special" she is, she'll leave. I think she'll use dad's money to support a possible winning candidate....but she'll expect a cabinet post in exchange.
Let's face it....Belinda stronach would be waiting tables somewhere if it weren't for her father.
(this is in NO WAY a put down to honest people waiting tables today)
On that note.....I wish she did stay in the race and win.
James Halifax
By
Anonymous, at 1:02 p.m.
I'm not a Liberal, but also think Belinda can best help the Liberal's by being the Critic for Complex Files and not the Leader of her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.
Belinda Stronach has ambition enough for a small city. She is also smarter than people give her credit for. Some day she may balance these two with life experience and be a real force.
...although I doubt it. She will leave politics within 2 years.
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Anonymous, at 10:30 p.m.
I'd like to add my voice to those requesting that CalgaryGrit post her profile anyway.
I also find it rather amusing that so many people have decided that someone's intelligence is inversely proportionate to running for the Liberal leadership. ;)
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Anonymous, at 2:30 a.m.
Lets give Belinda some credit for crossing the floor. As it turned out, it shored up her majority in her Newmarket-Aurora (which turned out to be a Liberal riding after all), and it got her into the cabinet. No guarantee of her winding up in Harper's cabinet, especially given what we now know about how Harper makes appointments.
And yes, being bilingual is a job requirement for being federal PM these days. If you can't or won't learn the other official language, you can still have a career in provincial politics.
By
Anonymous, at 11:47 p.m.
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