NDP Leadership Convention 2017

[Hatman 🍁]

Called it. Gonna eat some crow Rogue Beaver?

[Hatman 🍁]

He is staying till a new leader is picking, but he can't stay 2 years as a lame duck. Should resign and name an interim.

Given how it went last time, that's a bad idea.

Yeah, there's no issues with him hanging on in the interim. He'll be needed for the transition. Dippers just don't want him being the leader in the next election.

[Hatman 🍁]

Ashton's not going to win, guys. Let's move on.

Cullen and Leslie have both said they're not running, but 2 years is a long time.

[Hatman 🍁]

Cullen said that today?

No, but I heard he told some media he wasn't running if Mulcair lost the review.

[Hatman 🍁]

Ashton's not going to win, guys. Let's move on.

Cullen and Leslie have both said they're not running, but 2 years is a long time.

Yeah yeah yeah, Cullen feigned disinterest to avoid being seen as disloyal but no one takes that seriously. Keep in mind that for a year after the 2011 election Justin Trudeau steadfastly insisted he would not run for the Liberal leadership and wanted to spend time with his kids...what happened with that?

You're absolutely right of course, there's no reason to count him out. As I said, two years is a long time (to change his mind).

[Hatman 🍁]

If there is a public intellectual who will run, it will be Naomi Klein. Chances of that happening though are next to nil.

Anyways, I think we need to stop saying "so and so would be a disaster" (even though I am guilty of suggesting Ashton can't win). We all see what is happening in the US with Bernie Sanders. Not too long ago people were saying the same thing about him.

The media is going to tear apart any leftist leader the NDP picks. But who cares? More and more people are turning away from traditional media.

[Hatman 🍁]

Who in the NDP is as left as Corbyn and actually has a legitimate chance of winning?

One reason why Corbyn won was because the other candidates where terribly bland. I don't see that necessarily happening this time. (unless we get a repeat of the last Ontario NDP race).

Hmm... if Leslie and Cullen do not run, I could foresee this happening actually. The NDP brass need to make sure one of them runs at least.

[Hatman 🍁]

Peggy Nash has told CPAC she's out.

Good.

For the record neither Avi Lewis nor Naomi Klein speak French with any degree of fluency - so let's end any speculation right away

Alright, DL. You seem to be an expert, so who can speak French and who cannot?

[Hatman 🍁]

Why should we care about this? The NDP is still f@!king stupid; yes this saga and the concomitant implosion of state parties is hilarious, but it doesn't change anything because they've always been at the bottom of the pit.

There are a lot of the NDP supporters on this board, so of course we're going to talk about it.

[Hatman 🍁]

Brian Topp isn't running either.

[Hatman 🍁]

I really doubt Cullen will run because he knows he is far too like Mulcair for the state the party is in now.

I'm not sure what that means. Much of the objection to Mulcair was his personality, lack of ability to nber a team player and lack of charisma. Cullen would remedy that since he comes across as a genuinely nice guy and seems to work well with others.

12 years ago Alexa McDonough was pressured to quit ostensibly because she was flirting with Blairite "third way" social democracy. but in reality i think people just thought she was a bore. Jack Layton was even more centrist ideologically but no one cared because he had a pleasing personality  

Jack certainly wasn't the centrist candidate in 2003 (I am sure you're aware of his reputation at Toronto city hall at the time)... he did move to centre the longer he was leader though.

[Hatman 🍁]

Can Jagmeet Singh speak French? He would make a good leader... he'd be like the Barack Obama of Canada. There are enough racists in the country to keep him from leading the NDP to victory, but I think there are enough progressives that would fall in love with his candidacy, and might just be the right person to assure the party stays relevant. Also, might be key to winning immigrant votes.

[Hatman 🍁]

Jagmeet would likely be a shoe in to succeed Andrea Horwath as ONDP leader after 2018 (or if a miracle happened and the ONDP won that election he would be a senior cabinet minister)...the only reason i could see for why he might want to go federal is that i hear he is personally much more interested in federal than provincial issues.

Isn't he also the New Democrat that joined the idiotic protests against the changes to sex education?

Oh, right. Well, he fits right into the religious left I guess, which is certainly an NDP faction. Sikhism is generally a progressive religion, but it's not perfect.

Jagmeet would likely be a shoe in to succeed Andrea Horwath as ONDP leader after 2018 (or if a miracle happened and the ONDP won that election he would be a senior cabinet minister)...the only reason i could see for why he might want to go federal is that i hear he is personally much more interested in federal than provincial issues.

Well he did run federally first.

[Hatman 🍁]

NDP leadership campaigns aren't typically very nasty; I doubt the issue will come up. And if the Liberals bring it up, it would reek of cultural insensitivity.

[Hatman 🍁]

If Megan Leslie is out, than perhaps Yvon Godin as an Atlantic candidate?

Dexter would be a disaster. He is the Bob Rae of Nova Scotia.

[Hatman 🍁]

When you are an opposition politician and the government of the day brings in a policy that is wildly unpopular in the riding you represent - but where you and your party are actually supportive of the substance of that policy - then the logical thing to do it is to attack the government for incompetently managing the issue and failing to bring stakeholders onside etc...

Do you seriously think an NDP government would have done it in a more "consultative" manner?

The Ontario NDP? Probably. It has much more of a populist streak behind it.

[Hatman 🍁]

The NDP will be fine guys. All it will take is for the Liberals to  up again, and those promiscuous progressives will be back. Alternatively, a Sandersesque/Obamaesque leader could galvanize progressives as well. There'll always be an attraction for a social democratic party. Just because the NDP is polling at 10% doesn't mean it's going to be forever like that. Trudeau is very popular right now; we have to be patient.

[Hatman 🍁]

I can recall that the NDP had a huge existentialist crisis back in 2003 too.

[Hatman 🍁]

Heh, forgot why I came to this thread to post in the first place. There is a new name in the mix that I don't believe has been mentioned on this thread.  The two journalist membe panel on the CBC program 'the House' both mentioned that Jack Layton's son, Mike Layton, was interested in seeking the leadership.

[W]hat does he offer besides having his father's last name? 

That's what we asked about Justin.

[Hatman 🍁]

I'm obviously not Canadian and very far from being an NDPer, but...wouldn't Nathan Cullen an extremely logical choice, if he runs? I've also heard next to no speculation about Topp, who came in a very strong second last time, though I suppose now isn't the time for the NDP to choose someone who isn't an MP, considering how few places there are where a by-election would be safe for them.

Yes, obviously Cullen is the frontrunner at this point.

[Hatman 🍁]

I'm obviously not Canadian and very far from being an NDPer, but...wouldn't Nathan Cullen an extremely logical choice, if he runs? I've also heard next to no speculation about Topp, who came in a very strong second last time, though I suppose now isn't the time for the NDP to choose someone who isn't an MP, considering how few places there are where a by-election would be safe for them.

Yes, obviously Cullen is the frontrunner at this point.

He is far too like Mulcair policy wise to win.

Wasn't just his policy that got him canned. But I digress, Cullen may not win, but he is clearly the front runner at the point if not for any other reason that no one else has emerged yet.

[Hatman 🍁]

Brosseau is considering.

YES!

OMGOMG

[Hatman 🍁]

Stop ruining our fun, DL. This isn't the first time we've heard about a REB candidacy. Her story is right out of a movie; I think she would attract a lot of attention. Of course, she may not be able to carry herself in a national campaign (yet), so it would be a gamble. But there's a reason why she was the only NDP MP to see a positive swing in her riding. You can't ignore that kind of hard data.

[Hatman 🍁]

Party pooper

[Hatman 🍁]

Well, her dad is going to have a lot more time to help her this time around.