(WARNING: Canadian politics alert. American readers may wish to instead look at this cute puppy. You have been warned.)
So Bob Rae has finally won himself a seat in Toronto Centre, in the by-elections that were for all practical intents and purposes a referendum on Stephane Dion’s leadership. (A referendum which offered an inconclusive, dithering result: the Liberals won two traditionally Liberal ridings handily, but got clobbered in a swing riding in Manitoba and barely won a traditional Liberal bastion in BC.)
Unfortunately, Rae’s victory will serve as something of an endorsement for his future candidacy as leader of the Liberal Party. Someone really has to explain to me how the hell Bob Rae became a contender for the Liberal party leadership [1], because I don’t quite follow how a party-hopper with a history of breathtaking political failure gets consideration for party mascot, let alone leader.
None of this should be taken as a personal condemnation of Bob Rae; I’ve always felt he got unfairly tarred for handling a terrible recession as best he could. But that doesn’t mean he should be considered for a party leadership role, for crissake – the man puts Ontario severely into play for the Tories, who otherwise only get to be competitive in one-fifth of the ridings. The Dippers hate him because he killed the provincial party in Ontario for at least another decade yet so he loses votes on the left; Tory/Liberal swing voters hate him because he let Floyd Laughren do what the latter felt necessary, so he loses votes on the right.
And everywhere else in Canada, he doesn’t win votes; he loses them. Let me stress this point again, because god knows we need to make this clear: he loses votes. Regardless of whether you think it good or bad, Bob Rae is political Kryptonite on a scale almost nonexistent in Canadian politics, on the level of a Brian Mulroney or a Paul Martin. He energizes opposing party bases.
It’s not like the Liberal Party is short of solid potential leaders. Gerard Kennedy is fairly young and charismatic. Ken Dryden is a bonafide Canadian icon and an amazingly eloquent speaker and writer. I don’t like Michael Ignatieff, but even he would probably be a serviceable party leader, and the man can speechify like a demon. Why would anybody pick Bob Rae over any of these guys? Are they trying to tank it?
[1] *cough* friends on Bay Street *cough*
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16 users responded in this post
Well put, except that the swing riding was in Saskatchewan.
Pft, whatever. It’s all the same amount of flat.
That is a very cute puppy.
Speaking as an American wholly ignorant of Canadian politics (start warmongering and torturing, you’ll get our attention), is Michael Ignatieff the same guy as the writer/historian. Or is that a totally different Bizarro world Ignatieff?
It’s exactly the same guy. He’s a Canadian, and he went into politics prior to the last federal election in 2006.
I agree 100%.
That is a very cute puppy.
Awww, he’s like the little fluffy explosion that could.
That is a very cute puppy, I think.
Would comparing him to Hillary Clinton (if she actually wins a pyrrhic victory for the nomination) be too much of a stretch, from your description? Rae to Clinton, that is. Not the puppy. 🙂
It’s not a totally bogus comparison, because both are intelligent politicians with an unfairly smeared reputation. The difference is that Hillary’s bad reputation comes largely from idiot fantasy, whereas Rae’s comes from stuff he actually, you know, did while in office. That it was probably necessary for him to do much of it is besides the point.
Absolutely agree. Except I apparently like Ignatieff more than you do. But seriously, Bob Rae? Really? Him? REALLY? I don’t think it’s because I’m from Ontario. I was a kid when Rae was Premier, and while I am certainly informed as a voter, I don’t have that viscerally negative reaction to Rae that some older Ontarians may have. I just don’t understand how, of all the other possibilities, the federal Liberals first picked Dion, and now seem to be hailing Rae, as leader. It’s like one giant WTF for me.
Hey, you have to read about our politics all the time, the least I can do is return the favor when you have something to say about it.
A few of my own thoughts here, at least as far as your suggestions for the other guys.
“Gerard Kennedy is fairly young and charismatic.” – IIRC, he’s also not bilingual, which is a death sentence in the Liberal Party.
” Ken Dryden is a bonafide Canadian icon and an amazingly eloquent speaker and writer.” – yes, but can he covert that into votes? I don’t think so. He’s never really been put into a position of any authority in all his time in parliment, so it implies that he’s just there to bring in some kind of “Star power”
“I don’t like Michael Ignatieff, but even he would probably be a serviceable party leader, and the man can speechify like a demon.” – Except that in his initial foray into the political arena, he made so many rookie errors that he went from “Future powerhouse” to “Oh God, no, just stop.” Nevermind that his politics are a little futher right than most Liberals are comfortable with.
I don’t understand the Rae thing either. It’d be like asking John Tory to run for the Federal Conservatives at this point.
It’s makes me sad that you’re right, because I *really like* Bob Rae. I don’t fault him for any of what happened in Ontario and I think he has a track record since his premiereship which is incredible. He was by far my favorite to win the Federal Liberals.
But then, I am imfamous for completely misunderstanding the bulk of other people. I don’t get the Common Man at all; not even one bit.
I was extremely disappointed by the so-called cuteness of the puppy, who clearly needs a goddamned haircut. Please post a picture of a legitimately cute, less hippyish puppy.
Dogs. Meh. I wanted a kitty.
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/images/catten_und_racken.jpg
“start warmongering and torturing, you’ll get our attention”
I’m not sure what comment is more appropriate here.
A) THE IRONY.
B) I always knew Americans were interesting in warmongering and torturing.