Peace

Well, it's that time of year again... Looking forward to spending some time with family and friends.

I noticed Harper took an opportunity to wish a couple of religions "the best" this holiday season. His buddy "Stock" decided to go a little further in spouting neo-Con gospel, by taking a shot at "spear-chuckers" (whatever he was insinuating with that comment, it certainly wasn't meant in a non-racial way).

I think I'd like to wish everyone the best in a very LIBERAL way:

PEACE
LOVE
GOODWILL

Have a great holiday everyone, and all the very best to you and your's in the New Year!

Here's to victory in 2007!!!

What Conservatives Are Thinking Right Now... And Do They Really Think?

We've probably all had thoughts on what the Cons felt about potential turnouts for our leadership... This article sheds some light on what some of them thought. Regardless of what this indicates - and no matter what kind of line of Conservative BS it is - what the activities of these Cons points out is one very key fact: the CPC strongly feels we had several leadership candidates who could cause them harm. The very fact that they went through the great efforts they did at our convention outlines that they are afraid - they are very afraid.

While the "activist wing" on the right of the party worries about our next leader, the "red wing" of the Cons is actively working on their next leader. Right now the Red Tories are working on trying to build the bridges they require to pick their next great hope.

So... what are the "facts" so far?
1) We know the Cons are afraid of our chances after our leadership
2) We know the Cons are in a nosedive in Quebec
3) We know the Cons have been stuck in the 30-32% polling range for months (even without a Liberal leader)
4) We know Conservative members - including MPs are actively recruiting people (even folks they know are active Liberals) - for an upcoming leadership campaign
5) We know Harper is firing off "hail mary" after "hail mary" in hopes he can grasp both his party's, and the public's attention (these "hail mary's" include: the SSM vote; the Senate gambit)

Let's put aside any doubts we have in our minds that we - as a party - can engage the conservative threat. Let's keep moving forward and take the country back - for Canada's sake.

Harper Thinks Eastern Farmers Are Not "Real" Farmers???

Found this on Prairie Fire's blog:
"Harper said Dion should go out West and talk to real farmers about what type of Wheat Board they want..."

I missed the clips from the debate, but if this is really something Harper has said about farmers, it certainly shows Canadians what he thinks of Eastern Farmers. Typical Harper (and typically Reformer) - always hating "the East". Yes, we know that the Cons have been crying about shutting down the Wheat Board for years. They have been angrily (as usual) screaming about how the Board is bad for the rich mega-acre farm special interest groups who have long supported no-one but conservatives.

As Liberals this statement by Harper presents an ideal launching point for a resurgence of our campaign in the rural areas of Southwestern Ontario, and Southern Quebec, as well as the rural Atlantic Provinces.

If An Election Were Held Today, 30%+ Of Quebecers Would Vote Liberal!!!

I know it's only a pre-Christmas poll, and maybe months from an election, but it is interesting to see these results from Ipsos.

We are sitting at 30% in Quebec - and that should translate into a few seats. Our gains across Canada have come mostly at the expense of the Cons (taking back moderate voters who threw their "sponsorship protest vote" away to the Cons). We also seem to have taken about 2% from the NDP - showing that the "soft NDP" vote is not as soft as some would think. Coming from Saskatchewan, I can clearly say that the NDP is a religion for a lot of folks and things like an idiotic leader making deals with their political opposites (Harpo's Cons) often does not sway them.

The "Nation Question" plays into what the Cons may be in for. The Cons shot themselves in the foot (feet?). Harpo the clown's gambit was that he would steal Iggy's thunder by talking "nation" before our leadership convention. The Cons were very afraid they would lose votes to us in the next election. All worked well for Harpo - until Iggy lost the leadership. All of a sudden, instead of someone battling him for "soft nationalist" votes (a'la Iggy), he now finds himself battling the author of the Clarity Act (although Harpo may argue with that statement), and he may just end up in a battle for federalist votes in PQ.

Now I do think we would have had solid gains - no matter which of the final 2 were our leader (I continue to think Iggy would/someday will be a great leader). I can't wait to see our new stars join our existing stars (like Ralph Goodale, Denis Coderre, etc.) in taking on the Cons in Parliament. In the words of Jean Cretien: "We have work to do"! We can maintain our momentum and win the next election - let's stay focused.

For Anyone Who Wanted to Hear What Iggy Said To His Team After The Convention? This Is A True Measure Of The Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF8UNTAI8e8

Wow! And this guys is only just warming up. We are in for good times folks. With Iggy on the front benches with Stephane, the sky's the limit...

Best Parties From This Leadership Weekend

Okay, time to review some of the parties/hospitality suites at this weekend's incredible convention.

Top Parties:

1) Sukh Dhaliwal's Suite at the Delta. Any party with free booze will top this list. Sukh's party was packed, and the room was busy until it got hard to breathe and delegates poured out into the vast Delta Centre-ville Mezzanine (and filled it too).

2) Dr. Ruby Dhalla's Hospitality Suite (Delta Penthouse). The mini-samosas were a hit. Again, an endless supply of free booze was a big part of it - as was the killer view of Montreal.

3) Young Liberals Event (Metropolis Nightclub). Great people meeting event. Not a good booze situation (one drink ticket), but the Young 'uns get much props for the souvenir shot glasses. Any Young Libs party has to make a "top parties" list, and this one definitely does. We closed the joint, and had some great pizza and poutine across the street...

4) Ken Dryden's Suite. Ken Dryden's hospitality suite, Ken Dryden hockey cards, and the man himself (able to sign autographs). Need we say more?

5) Scott Brison's Suite. Scott knows how to party. Let's just leave it at that.

6) Alberta Hospitality Suite. Alberta beef-on-a-bun. Mmmmm...

Honorable Mention:
4) GK's Montreal Smoked Meat Party... Montreal Smoked Meat - need anyone say any more? Unfortunately the meat only lasted the first hour or so, and late arrivals were SOL.

Worst Parties:
(You know who you are). Basically any party with a cash bar falls into this category. I mean c'mon... how the heck are young Liberals expected to survive if they can't get their free food and booze? Hospitality suites are supposed to be "hospitable".

1) Stephane's victory party. What party? Yes there were a lot of Liberals in the hotel, but a lot of GK's supporters stayed at the Hyatt (they had a pretty big party there; some were even talking to other's about Gerard's upcoming run at the leadership). Number one reason this party was a bit of a let-down? No free booze. Note to Stephane's organizers: When you just won the leadership of your party, try being a little Liberal with the booze, or at least have some food in the room... Oh yeah, and open a window... there were as many party-goers in the frigid hotel lobby (trying to cool off), as in the party rooms. One other thing: When rival candidate supporters come to pay tribute to your winner, you don't criticize them for their Iggy or Rae buttons... Just a hint at bridge-building.

2) Bob's W Event. Once again with the cash bar... We know the campaign had cash... Where'd it go (if not for the important thing like swinging delegates with booze)?

Will be reporting "live" from the BC Liberal Convention this upcoming year. Maybe the Alberta Convention (LPCA) and Sask Conventions too...

Cheers!

What a Weekend! Random Musings on the Montreal Convention

Wow! What a weekend! What a week! After months of crazy preparations, it all came down to this...

A slew of solid candidates battled it out for leadership of our party. The speeches were great. The hospitality suites were great. The delegates were great. The City of Montreal was fabulous as always. What a weekend for our party. Congratulations to everyone on a battle well fought. Sure there were moments of anger and frustration - a lot of jostling during lineups to vote and get into the auditorium were the cause of a lot of this - one of my Iggy campaign co-workers was pushed around and spat on when he tried to speak to someone in the Rae area and a bunch of Dioners surrounded him. Regardless of these regular campaign blemishes, the convention was good for the party - and made great TV viewing.

Nothing was more dramatic than the "not knowing". Viewers at home - and national media types were glued to their TV sets and monitors as the events unfolded. And unfold they did. The odds-on favorite - supported by more Liberals than any other single candidate - was defeated on the forth ballot by a coalition of camps. In the end Stephane Dion persevered in a 54 to 45% margin.

It was great to see the "X-Prime Ministers" on stage throughout the convention. They may still not talk to each other a lot, but they made some valiant efforts to be seen together. Perhaps it was the lack of their "backroom staff" who seemed to hold more of the grudges than either of the PMs. It was refreshing to see the likes of Ms. Caderio (sp? tb) and a lot of the old Martin crew in the Dion/Kennedy camp. Of course most of the membership (and media) was aware of the presence of large numbers of former Cretienites in the Rae camp. One would have to say (after observing all of this) that regardless of the concentration of these "backroom staff" and confidantes in the Dion and Rae camps, there was enough of a spread of the "old school" Liberals from the Martin-Cretien "legacy" in all the camps that we can once and for all say that the old stupidity is finally behind us.

What now? Well, we have to get ready for an election that may come at any time. It was great to get a 6% bump in the polls this morning. Stephane will have to ensure he is focused on his environmental platform. Canadians are open to a frank discussion of the environment. He'll also need to look at Ignatieff's comprehensive environmental ideas. Stephane will need to ensure he renews the debate on the National Childcare Program - so caringly designed by Ken Dryden. He will need to ensure he carries out any promises he made to Gerard Kennedy - which would most likely include party reform. Dion will need to pursue "soft" NDP support that would have come to the Liberal Party under a Rae leadership. Finally, he will definitely have to engage Quebec federalists. He will need to give them hope, and a reason to feel good about the Liberal Party.

How will Canada react? Most importantly, how will Quebec react to him? How will Ontario and Western Canada view another Liberal from Quebec? A group of us did some informal polling as we tooled around Montreal this weekend after the Dion win. I always ask cabbies for their political opinions as I find that they are one of the most informed members of any community, and usually know the mood of the public. Of 10 cabbies we talked to we had 2 who were very supportive of Dion. They indicated they liked mainly his ideas on Afghanistan and on the environment. The eight others were not so kind: Several responded with the exact words: "We hate him". They indicated he was not liked by many Quebequois. As a loyal Liberal whose first allegiance is to the party (over any one person), I really hope our survey was as inaccurate as a survey can be when done fleetingly between various Montreal bars, and Liberal hospitality suites and victory parties.

Go get 'em Stephane! Vive la Canada!