Grits must rebuild

[CHIMO]

OTTAWA — John Manley’s announcement that he will not be a candidate to lead the federal Liberals is symptomatic of a greater malaise infecting Canada’s “natural governing party.”

Former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna’s return to Canada is seen as a slam-dunk for his Liberal leadership ambitions. One high-powered Grit told me he could raise $1million for McKenna in one hour.

Where does that leave the party that desperately needs a real leadership race, not the make-believe farce that characterized Paul Martin’s rise to power? Is the party’s desire for power so deep that the obvious message emanating from last week’s election remains unheard?

The recent election defeat is a lesson for Liberals. After his 2004 loss, Harper took the time to find out what went wrong and correct it. If the Liberals have any intention to win back their base, they must follow Harper’s example and “heal thyself.”

http://torontosun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Copps_Sheila/2006/01/28/1416261.html

[glarius]

1. This column was written by Sheila Copps

I know she is bitter about the Liberal party because of what happened to her, but it is a bit much for her to say that Harper is "in closer touch with the electorate". Harper is a right wing extremist who has managed to persuade Canadians, who were looking for a change, that he is a middle of the roader, because he knows that's the only way he could sell himself to us. He cannily went into every part of Canada and told Canadians what they wanted to hear; not what he believed himself, but what he knew they wanted to hear. He told Quebec he would give them the right to represent themselves abroad almost as a separate country. I believe that is mainly why he got support in Quebec. I have read the insulting things he said about Canada to the right-wing American group. He also went on Fox TV and apologized on behalf of Canadians because we weren't in the Iraq war! Just watching him operate I find him to be deceitful (all his talk about accountability yet he refused to talk to the ethics commissioner re the Grewal taping deal) and a control freak.

<snip>
The recent election defeat is a lesson for Liberals. After his 2004 loss, Harper took the time to find out what went wrong and correct it. If the Liberals have any intention to win back their base, they must follow Harper’s example and "heal thyself."
---------------------------------

I would say that after his 2004 loss, what Harper learned was how to disguise his real intentions. Copps should take some of her own advice and "heal thyself."

[CHIMO]

2. Well

Then I guess it will be up to the NDP to prevent Harper from ruling, if you read the whole article. Because if the Liberals go ahead and anoint someone then they won't even be the opposition after the next election.

[glarius]

3. You're right .....I agree they shouldn't anoint someone.......I guess

I didn't say anything about that point...sorry....What was bugging me is Copps taking up the cause of Harper as if he was some harmless guy.

[Spazito]

4. Believing Sheila Copps has the answer to ANYTHING is to

naive, imo. She is bitter and focused on her very narrow and, due to her bitterness, less than accurate view of the world, imo. Her 15 minutes of fame are long past but she has and does refuse to recognize that fact.

One has only to ask why her column is only being printed by a recognized right wing paper such as the Toronto Sun and the answer is obvious, imo.

[CHIMO]

5. OK

Well welcome to Martin's appointment of McKenna. So we won't say anything bad about him now or we will be agreeing with Shelia. What else is it that she is recommending, so we will know what the Martinites don't like to hear. It is his party now, as he captured all the riding associations. So I guess any progressives or lefties, should realize now what parties are left for them to work in.

Down with Shelia. Sounds good. Hey, the revenge of Crosbie.

Looks like it will now be a cakewalk for Harper's majority.

[jackbourassa]

6. These attitudes against Sheila Copps is what is wrong...

with the Liberal Party. Damn, okay she wrote an article in the Toronto Sun. Get over it. What she is saying is essentially true. This party needs to take a cold hard look inward, otherwise we wouldn't have learned anything from this defeat.

This cult of personality bullshit has to stop. Argue against someone's ideas and proposals, not who they are. Otherwise it will be a long cold winter.

[Spazito]

8. LOL, I find it interesting that Sheila is now the NDP's best friend,

or, at least NDP supporters best friend,that sure wasn't the case when she was in the House, quite the opposite. Now she is a bitter woman who's agenda is revenge against her former party, she is suddenly credible. Again, interesting. Sheila never did have the pulse of her party or that of the Canadian people which is why she is where she is today.

Why would you think, just because Sheila says so, that it is a coronation of McKenna? I suspect it will be an inside fight between the Martin supporters who will, indeed, support McKenna and the Chretien supporters who will champion Tobin. Given Martin wasn't even able to hold it together enough to serve one full term, his side of the fight will be weakened, imo.

Edited to correct typo

[IntravenousDemilo]

13. Sure she's bitter,

but she has every right to be, after the shabby way she was treated by a party to which she'd given a substantial portion of her life.

[glarius]

14. Is that a reason for her to sell out her country by promoting Harper?

:shrug:

[iverglas]

21. good bloody god

Is that a reason for her to sell out her country by promoting Harper?

How the hell is making an ASSESSMENT of Harper "promoting" him?

Harper earned the support of recalcitrant Canadians by presenting a platform that appealed to a broad base.

HE SAID WHAT PEOPLE WANTED TO HEAR.

Acknowledging that is neither promoting him nor asserting that any of his promises were true, or any of his characterizations of Liberals or anything else were accurate. HE SAID WHAT PEOPLE WANTED TO HEAR.

Sheila Copps abandoned the Liberal Party under Martin, so she must be ... a Conservative traitor ... an NDP traitor ... hell, she's probably an undercover operative for the Fourth International AND Focus on the Family ... which would be redundant, since I'm sure the former is just a cover for the latter anyhow ...

She's a Liberal who hates Paul Martin. I don't exactly understand the breed myself, but I gather they exist in some large numbers. Hell, there are some here, including some making nasty noises about Sheila Copps (cripes, is there anything more stereotypical than the "bitterness" of the scorned woman?), who evidently love the Liberal Party and hate Martin. What on earth is the big deal? Martin took the Liberal Party down. Liberals don't like losing.

But I guess any peep of criticism of the Martin Liberals is nothing but a paean of praise for the Harper Conservatives. Well, no, I don't, but I guess I'm supposed to.

As for being in the Sun ... what, there's some left-wing media outlet I haven't heard of that would leap at the chance to give Copps a big audience? Linda McQuaig wrote for the National Post. So nothing she has ever said deserves any consideration, right?

[Spazito]

15. Being aggrieved because she feels she was treated poorly by

Martin, which is her REAL beef, is one thing but she is being very hypocritical, imo. When she was part of the Chretien government, the party ousted other Lib candidates in favour of their hand picked favourites and she was very supportive and defended the practice. It is only when the same was done to her that she has suddenly discovered how despicable it was as if Martin had invented this nefarious practice when, in reality, we all know it goes on in all parties.

[glarius]

16. It was done by Harper in the recent election....in Ottawa when he injected

Allan Cutler, the whistleblower into the race, replacing the person who was running at the time. Hypocracy abounds!

link:

http://www.cbc.ca/ottawa/story/ott-riddell25112005.html

[Spazito]

17. Yep, exactly!

I think the practice sucks and ALL parties should disavow it and allow the local constituencies to choose the candidate without interference from the federal party.

[MrPrax]

7. Pass the Proverbial Tequila, Shelia...

It's always good to see former politicians to discover the error of their ways LONG after they are in politics.

Funny, Shelia you served under enough 'appointments' yourself...funny, other than the shameful by-election that your party tried to pass off as a referendum on Chretein 'lie' about the GST, you or your party never really cared what the public thought.

Why change now?

The liberals didn't really do all that badly considering...they did get 102 seats after all...and Harper didn't get nearly the number that the Liberals received first time around...they could easily run another ruling class 'hero' and win...any of the hopefuls being mentioned could knock of both Harper and the NDP 'threat'.

I am reminded of what Margaret Kimberley in the Black Commentator wrote last week about Hillary Clinton's plantation comments:

"...Democrats behave the way oppressed people usually do. They cow and begin believing that their masters are not only powerful but deserving of the position they hold. Too few dream of waging war against the plantation system. Most just want a seat at the table in the big house and are satisfied when the master doesn't beat them too badly. If a few crumbs are thrown their way they are in seventh heaven.
(snip)
Bill and Hillary are the masters of their own plantation. It is called the Democratic Leadership Council. The DLC exists to make sure that anyone who dares to break free realizes their error and runs back to Tara before sundown."
Link Here

Kimberley's comments could easily be applied to Liberal supporters, especially in Ontario...after a few months of Harper, they will be running back to the plantation, more than happy to be 'hobbled' for the next 20 years.

Back to sleep, Shelia

[glarius]

9. Apparently McKenna being slam-dunk is a little premature...He just

announced on TV that he's not running!

[Spazito]

10. LOL and Hmmm, looks like Sheila is still batting ZERO on her

predictions, no surprise there.

[Mother Jones]

11. Really?!!!?

Interesting!!

Geez, I hope that's not just to make room for Ignatieff.

[Telly Savalas]

19. It's still good news.

McKenna and Ignatieff would be equally bad, but it'd be easier for other elements of the party to mount an opposition against Ignatieff since he's newer to the political process and hasn't lived in Canada for decades.

[Spazito]

12. Here is the link to CBC's article on McKenna

McKenna won't run for Liberal leadership

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/01/30/mckenna-liberal060130.html

Anyone wanna bet he will be back on the Carlyle Group board quicker than spit? lol

[ConcernedCanuk]

18. Read the whole article - Sheila is telling the Libs to wake up

.
.
.

She is NOT supporting Harper, merely explaining how he managed to dominate the electorate on the tail of the Liberals "fucking up" so to speak

read it thoroughly, and THINK!!

not much wonder GW got selected and REselected down there - -

sheesh!!

[glarius]

20. I read the article.....She was on TV several times during the election

and said things that were helpful to Harper then...She is not acting with Canada's best interests at heart or even the Liberal party's interests. She is just being a spiteful, vengeful shrike.