Gilles' Quebec in 2015.

While Harper is defending his Foreign Affairs Minister for referring to his former former flame as a canine, and the Liberals continue to decide who their new leader will be, it is nice to see that Gilles Duceppe has vision of Quebec that may have come from watching Empire Strikes Back too many times. It seems Mr. Duceppe has wants to be Lando Calrissian, and maybe Andre Bosclair will be Luke Skywalker. By 2015 Quebec will have high speed trains that travel to New York, and perhaps beyond. A new NHL franchise will begin play in orbital arena that will be suspended in mid air. This technology will make Quebec a new Athens, that embraces the spirit of the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, forget the one that followed three years later. The possibilities are endless, and most of it will be funded by the Canadian Federal Government, to build a new sovereign Quebec. I think Mr. Duceppe should lay off the sci-fi films, and don't forget that the Empire moved in and took over Cloud City at the end of Empire Strikes Back. Harper's Empire could try something the same.

Conservative Candidates Wanted: Free Thinkers Need Not Apply

In the world of Stephen Harper you are allowed to express obscene gestures to the opposition in the house, use four letter words in committee, but if you dare critize the current government or show any form of independent thoughtl, you are thrown out into the cold. Now I am not condoning Mr. Turner's actions, but unlike Carolyn Parrish, his dismissal from the Conservative Caucas was not based on single issue, but several different issues which for the most part critized the leadership of Stephen Harper. Caucas renegades are nothing new in Canadian politics. Did Bob Rae kick Peter Kormos out of the Ontario NDP caucas when he fillibustered his own party's legislation? That was okay, but posing as a Toronto Sunshine Boy wasn't. He got kicked out of cabinet for that. Oh Bob, if you become Liberal Leader I hope you change your ways and allow the male members of your caucas to show off their pecks.
Alright, off topic, the citizens of Halton elected Mr. Turner as a Conservative Member, and they deserve to be represented by him in that fashion. Simply because he expressed his concern for some of the governments actions does not constitue his removal from the caucas. I do not know if Mr. Turner has left willingly, but it clearly shows the type of leadership Mr. Harper wants to bring to this country.

Hey Harper, Stay Out of the Liberal Leadership!

Never has a sitting Prime Minister interfered more in an opposition party's leadership process. The various party's that Mr. Harper has been a part of had no less than three leadership races under Liberal Governments, and at no time did the Prime Minister make any comments or moves until after the process was completed. This included the last Conservative Leadership race where the Liberal Government accommodated the party by exempting them from the new legislation that was passed right before they were about to choose their leader.

Whether it be creating wedge issues with Afghanistan or Israel, or passing legislation that would put Liberal delegates in violation of Canadian law, this government has gone out of its way to mess with the Liberal Leadership race, when it should be focusing on governing the country. Furthermore the government was going to sue the Liberal Party in name of cleaning up government, but we all know it was a move to dwindle the party's resources. Funny, Harper immediately back peddled on this when he learned his own party could be sued for their own convention fiasco.

Stockwell Day was attacked more by his own party than he was by the Liberals. The Liberal attacks came mostly at election time, when all is fair in love and war.

Harper himself has complained about a press release that the Liberals released shortly after he was elected Conservative Leader calling it "A partisan attack from the sitting government". What it was, was a list of his quotes. If he felt that was unfair, maybe he shouldn't have said those things. Furthermore, the release came after he won the leadership, a common practice by any party when one of their opponents chooses a new leader.

That's right Stevie, change the rules so they benefit you. In that case why don't you just unilaterally proclaim the Bloc Quebecois the Official Opposition.

Harper the Most Vindictive Prime Minister of All-Time.

Stephen Harper fears Michael Ignatieff. Ignatieff's platform for the leadership of the Liberal Party, and possibly the platform he would use in the next election if he became leader clearly dwarfs Harper's pathetic vote grabbing five priorities. As of today it is now four priorities, with a complete denial of any promise to shorten waiting times.
The very fact that Harper has the nerve to critique Liberal leadership candidates before the party comes to a decision clearly shows his hatred to towards the party, which is extremely immature behavior, and not the least bit proper for the Prime Minister of the day.
Harper is clearly meddling in the Liberal Leadership to get his candidate of choice, Bob Rae. I would recommend Stephane Dion, because he is from Quebec, Mr. Harper. That way you can continue your broken record diatribe about the Sponsorship Program. By stating that the Liberals are "Anti Israel", Harper is simply trying to move Liberals to support Rae's leadership, by attacking Rae' opponents. It is well known that Bob Rae is the most pro-Israel of the front running candidates, and Harper knows this. He wants to create a wedge issue in the leadership race. Well the great strategist made a huge blunder, because all he did was move negative attention his way, a fitting penalty for a meddling in partisan attacks.

Harper should concentrate on governing instead of meddling in partisan attacks, which should be reserved strictly for election periods. Otherwise his narrow minded partisan attacks will be his undoing.

Ignatieff Clearly the Anti-Establishment Candidate.

As my previous post stated, of the front running candidates, of the leading candidates, Michael Ignatieff has the least support from individuals who have long made the Liberal Party a closed shop to its grass root supports. The very fact that Ignatieff attracted more Liberal Party members this past weekend than any other candidate is proof that a large constituency in the party supports his leadership. This was not done by taking over riding associations one by one, promises of cabinet posts or giving people a free trip to Montreal. Michael Ignatieff has stated that he has made no promises to those who have supported him, and no people who he courted have claimed they were promised something if they declared their support, even those who haven't endorsed his campaign. The Ignatieff team is not subsidizing any of their delegates, unlike other candidates. Of the 1,000 delegates going to Montreal, they will all be going on their own dollar or their riding associations.

Furthermore, if Ignatieff is defeated, it will be by backroom maneuvering, where promises are made and deals are cut. Hopefully the delegates that initially support those candidates will be independent of their candidates decisions, and seek out what is best for the party.

If Ignatieff is elected leader it will bring forward a new era in the party's history. In the event he is defeated, the party will continue under its old ways and face more difficulty in forming a government.

Party Could Become More Grassroots with an Igantieff Victory.

One problem that has plagued the Liberal Party since Trudeau was Prime Minister more so than leadership infighting, was the lack of influence the party's grassroots members had in decision making. This culminated in a blow up on the floor of the party's 1982 policy convention, and was instigated by individuals who are now major decision makers in the party today. All respect to those individuals who took part in 1982, the party never learned from that experience.

There is an exception. Prior to the 1993 election, the Alymer Conference took place, followed by the 1992 Biennial Meeting in which the party's grassroots voted on what became the "Red Book". The "Red Book" would catapult the party to victory in 1993, and set the standard for future campaigns. This concept was short lived, as the policy for the next four elections came directly from the leader's office.

The problem that the party has had is concentration in the leaders office, too much power in the hands of unelected officials, and a general intolerance to the party as a whole. It began after Trudeau nearly lost the 1972 election, and future leaders vowed to remove this system, but instead it got even worse.

Of the front runner leadership candidates, Michael Ignatieff enjoys the most support among the party's rank and file, but not necessarily among the old guard. That title belongs to Bob Rae. Rae is strongly supported by the party's decision makers from the Trudeau, Turner, Chretien and Martin years. Stephane Dion also enjoys support from these individuals as well. Even Gerard Kennedy and Scott Brison have supporters from these camps. Ignatieff has these people in his campaign, including Ian Davey the son of Keith Davey "The Rainmaker" and Liberal Party backroom legend, but for the most part Ian has not followed his father's path until now, and has only become involved in Liberal politics in recent years. Francis Fox and Denis Coderre have long been major forces in Quebec Liberal politics, but for the most part Ignatieff supporters are life long back bench M.P.s, riding presidents and organizers that have long been shut out of the major decision making in the party. It is far more likely that they will be more involved in the make up of policy and direction under his leadership, while a Rae or Dion leadership could simply return decision making back to the smoke filled rooms. (Several cigar aficionados support Rae, but that is no coincidence)

Now concentrating power in the PMO and Leader's office has produced electoral success for the most part, but in the end the party has suffered in the long term. With politics changing, and the Harper Government adopting a closed door approach to governing, an Ignatieff leadership will not only give more power to the Liberal Party , but for ordinary Canadians as well, and encourage more people to get involved in their political parties of all stripes.

Defeated Candidates Support May Not guarantee Victory.

With Super Weekend now behind us, the shift now moves to what will happen on the convention floor in Montreal to determine the new leader. Political pundits across the country have predicted that a gang up against Ignatieff could happen in Montreal, and make either Bob Rae of Stephane Dion leader of the party. If the trend that began when the first three candidates dropped out continues, who will be the next leader will be uncertain until the last second. When Bevilacqua, Bennett and Fry all dropped out of the race, the media was quick to announce that they were backing Rae. What the media failed to recognize that individuals who supported these candidates did not follow them to the Rae camp, and nearly all of them immediately declared support for Ignatieff. If this trend continues, a Dion or a Kennedy could take their support to Rae, but their delegates may go to Ignatieff.

A famous story about this type of occurrence took place in 1968. Allan MacEachen dropped of the ballot after the first ballot and took his support to Trudeau, with him came a couple of good friends and relatives. His delegates went to support fellow Nova Scotian, Robert Winters, giving him the support he needed to place second on the following ballot.

Who Will Run in the Next Election?

If there is one legacy that the Paul Martin leadership will be remembered for, it was their ability to attract star candidates. Ken Dryden, Ujjal Dosanjh, Tina Keeper and Marc Gagnon all decided to make the jump into politics because of the Martin leadership.
The new leader will have big shoes to fill in this department, but of the front runners, Ignatieff, Rae, Kennedy and Dion, there is alot of potential to attract big names. Bob Rae would most likley have the most potential to attract star political candidates, while Ignatieff could do very well in attracting distinguished academics and celebrity candidates. Both Dion and Kennedy could manage to attract notable activists in poverty and the enivornment.

Here are some of my thoughts on star candidates. None of these names have been confirmed in any way, or courted by the party. They are simply names I personally feel could look good on a Liberal ticket.

Roy Romanow- The old member of Chretien's kitchen cabinet has long been an advocate of strategic voting at the federal level. His work on the Romanow Commision and eight years as Premier of Saskskatchewan make him pure cabinet material. Most likely could be attracted to run under Rae's leadership, but could also want to run under his fellow slavic's ticket, Ignatieff.

Stephen Lewis- Most likely a long shot. Unlike Romanow has never advocated for strategic voting, but could run under a Rae or Ignatieff ticket. Has to be displeased with Harper not showing up at the Aids Conference in Toronto, and would like to see him defeated. Well into his 60's, but could advance his causes in a senior cabinet post.

Maureen McTeer- You can't tell me that her and Joe are going to stay out of politics forever. Higly critical of the merger of the P.C.s and the Alliance, running as a Liberal could solidfy that displeasure. Her home riding of Ottawa-Orleans is in the Conservative's hands, and could easily go back Liberal. Has many issues and projects that could be brought to the table from a cabinet post.

Really Long Shots:

Every single time before an election there are a list of the hockey players considered as potential candidates. The Conservatives have faired poorly in their attempts to court them, perhaps by annoucing in the media first and then approaching the individual. Oh well, here we go: Mark Messier, Patrick Roy, Ray Bourqe, Wendel Clark and yes, Tie Domie. Don't hold your breath on these characters.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart- Alright, don't laugh or call him our version of Jesse Ventura. When he was a wrestler, he cut promos supporting universal healthcare and gun control in Canada. Is very patriotic and passionate about the country. Could run in the vunerable Calgary Centre riding and give the Liberals a good chance of scoring an Alberta seat. I would also recommend him has a replacement for Gary Betteman, because of his views regarding our national game.