Leadership by artsies

Until the NDP returns to its practical roots from its current status as a bunch of fools with liberal arts diplomas none of whom could change a tire to save their own lives, Canadians are going to have to hope the Liberal party can pull something together.

The NDP's current anti nuclear stance believing Canada's energy future lies with wind and solar, reveals them to be simply too stupid to allowed any say in government.

Puts them right up there with the Fascists whose pro fossil, anti nuclear stance is based on Big Oil/Media campaign support and their wacky religious base which sees nuclear energy as the devils fire.

Oh boy

Still undecided. Peggy is a great person and capable as Tieleman describes. But I can't help but be worried that once the leader of the opposition she will be painted by the Cons and Libs as a "labour lapdog", and the simple media will lap it up. It will take about a month to Dion her.

Mulcair won't keep this party together. Us old NDP industrial types won't hand around for his pompous bullshit. Nathan is a one man band and frankly he does nothing for me at all.

I'm leaning toward Dewar, I think his NDP bona fides are good. His positions are sound and he is polished enough to perform publicly, which sadly is about 60% of the job these days. I'm also considering Topp. Strategically sound, brilliant mind, but experience is worrisome.

Thoughts

Unfortunately, what it comes down to ---- is to find a leader who can make an impression on TV.

It would be nice if there also was some substance behind the polished facade!

Good point about the british accent, it turns off a lot of people.

Fluent french is essential, even if here in BC any other language would be more appropriate.

Nash vs Cullen

I saw Nash and Cullen together on Evan Solomon's "Power Politics". In my view Cullen came off the better choice, appearing refreshingly forthright. Nash appeared the more typical politician, evasive and mealy mouthed.

Your problem is that Party's dinosaurish thinking...

...not the candidate selection.

How you can say that Peggy Nash "understands economics" is baffling. Money-printing, maybe?

Among the candidates, Nash is widely regarded as the most "left-wing", a supporter of big organized labor unions. That alone negates any understanding of how free markets and caapitalism work and any incentive to work to provide jobs for the unemployed and minimum wage earner.

Moreover,I suspect a woman with those views, as leader, would exacerbate the NDP's three-decade old contnuing drift away from economic socialism and towards a legislation-driven fairness/feminism/equality/social justice obsession - something the economy cannot support anymore...

Our last experience here in BC with Carole James..

Doesn't really make me wish for another venture into female leadership. Admittedly, having watched a few of Peggy Nashes videos, she comes on a lot stronger than James. She certainly has more pizzaz. Unfortunately, even though we may have a member's vote, we will have to rely on those in the inner chamber for a more personal knowledge of Nash.
Just my opinion.

Votes?

Plain truth is I would have far more appreciation for the federal NDP if they had voted against the invasion of Libya. But when a socialist party votes to invade another socialist country as a matter of political convenience, they prove themselves to be not the solution but a part of the problem. I don't know who I'm talking to here, but when Canada proves itself capable of ignoring all the truths of humanity in favour of an invasion from the moneyed interests because they fear democracy in Africa, then they no longer represent even the poor people in Canada.
Imagine how they will represent you, gentle reader, if you decide to rise up and say ENOUGH! We live in one of the richest areas of the world, and if we weren't encumbered by politicians of 'representative democracy' persuasion we would be the richest country in the world. British Columbia, a country where people have direct democracy and vote for themselves instead of voting for corruptible politicians. We don't need Ottawa, we don't need China, we don't need anybody. We have the people and the resources to be a much better country both economically, politically and humanely than any other country in the world.
I don't have a stake, an agenda or any profit motive. I'm just saying that we here in BC have definitely been screwed by bankers and transnationals and I sincerely wish that we could get it together and control our finances, control our resources, combine with the Natives and call this country our own. Hell, there isn't even a FREE BC movement yet, but I hope it comes sooner than later, and it will definitely include a vote by the people who live here on their own future. 'Large scale democracy' is dead. It never served any but those rich enough to influence it and it certainly never served BC.
One more thing: If we had our own national government and our own national bank, all controlled by the people who live here, we would soon be the envy of the world.

Female leadership?

You gotta be fulla shit. Take the best and don't discriminate on gender lines. That kind of argument plays right into the hands of those who would separate the electorate on lines of sexism, racism, ageism and religion. Take the best that is offered. Period.

Nah...

I like Peggy but I wonder how she would stand against the nasty breed of Theo/NeoCons nut bars that make up the Harper Cons. And she's a little too close to labour for the likes of us in the growing small business wing of the NDP. As a plus she has sent some appeasing signals our way. However, as someone else has pointed out, she could be meat for the nasty Con attack ad campaigns in very short order.

Dewar is a bit too religious for my comfort. From a purely psychological perspective I have doubts about his ability to make hard nosed evidence based decisions given his very public belief in a deity of questionable existence. And yes I'm an atheist, and that biases me, but we are 43% of the voters in Canada according to a recent Ipcos Reid poll - a huge chunk of which voted NDP.

Top - too much of a political insider (read hack) and I have trouble trusting people who live by making decisions based on politics versus evidence.

Cullen, our BC boy, nice guy - juries still out. Says the right things but is he Prime Ministerial and can he eat Harper for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Mulcair, an interesting personality with both pluses and minuses. He will continue to modernize the party as Jack did, keep the largely social democratic Quebec in the NDP camp where it should be, send the right signals to business both large and small, and give us a crack at taking even more Liberal votes. And he's the best of the bunch at knocking a few Harper Con teeth in - and boy oh boy we could use a lot of that right about now. He's his own worst enemy when it comes to shooting from the hip but I can live with that. And I've seen some secular tendencies which are a major plus in my books.

Niki could be the sleeper and will do better than many think. I don't think she's quite ready to be PM purely due to experience. I'm glad she's running and I've thanked her for doing so.

No comment on the others. We'll see how they step up to the plate over the next few weeks.

Yawn...

Just can't see the leadership of the NDP or any other federal party having relevance to the fact that BC needs to become a country and throw all the 'representative democracy' old politics between the tractor and the plow.
Free BC
Direct votes on issues
Govern our own future.

Nash the best choice

Peggy Nash is the only candidate who has taken on Harper and Flaherty directly on the economy, which will be the key issue in the next election. The Harper machine will attack any NDP leader as being tied to labour. I'm proud that the National Post thinks Peggy is "dangerous" - she is a danger to the Conservatives in the next election. Nash is fluently bilingual with support from Ducasse and other key Quebec NDP figures, a committed social democrat with a practical approach, and most of all, she is the best choice to unite the party after the election. Peggy is my first choice all the way.

Tieleman Spot On

Bill knows how to spot a winner.

Not only is Peggy in the best position to win this race, but Bill underlines the incredible growth potential that she offers the NDP heading into the next election.

What puts Peggy heads and shoulders above the competition is her ability to connect with people outside of the NDP's traditional ideological base.

The warmth in her character is only rivaled by the toughness and confidence she projects when speaking. These qualities are a tricky, but powerful balance when they align.

If Jack taught NDP members anything it's that character matters. Voters flocked to him in mass because he struck the same genuine chord that Peggy has in spades. Bring on the orange wave 2.0!

aDriftwood

I don't know who I'm talking to here, but when Canada proves itself capable of ignoring all the truths of humanity in favour of an invasion from the moneyed interests because they fear democracy in Africa, then they no longer represent even the poor people in Canada.

I am hearing you, aDriftwood, loud and clear.

It's apparent that most Canadians think we only need to tweak our governance a little here, a little there, and our country will again be of sound character. Ultimately though, our nation is not free from the decisions of others because we refuse to make our own.

We should not be going to war unless attacked. We should not be in NATO. We should not be the globe's sixth largest military supplies producer.

We should conduct ourselves according to our International covenants, like the Kellogg-Briand Pact which outlaws all warfare. And we should at least behave according to our own moral and political rhetoric. Sadly, like our American friends, we give ourselves a pass because we mean well regardless of reality.

We mean well when we bomb Libya. The bombs drop and we say the innocent deaths, re-branded as collateral damage, are not intentional. Perhaps not, but nor were they accidental. They were inevitable. And that is a gross affront to humane behaviour coming from a nation of self-described peacekeepers.

NB

'intentional-accidental-inevitable' is from Howard Zinn.

Reality Check Mr leftcoaster

It should be pointed out to you that the voters did not "flock to him in mass".
In Quebec, where Ottawa is just there for more gifts the voters moved from the Socialist Bloc and parked their vote with the Socialist NDP.

In the rest of Canada Layton's NDP actually faired relatively poorly and, in particularly badly in a couple of provinces. That is not an indication of "a mass exodus to the NDP".