Just announced on CBC, Martha Hall Findlay says she won't run for the Liberal leadership. I must say, I liked Martha's reasoning, she felt there were other avenues available to pursue her desire for grassroots renewal. On the question of who she might support, Martha eluded to possible "neutrality", if she does assume a position within the party for the greater good.
I can understand why Martha would take a pass this time, and she did mention her debt, but her voice would have added texture to the discussion. One thing is clear, this leadership race looks to be a far more narrow affair than the previous contest.
19 comments:
Too bad, I like Martha. Her speech in Montreal was fantastic and her involvement in the last race added flair to the green discussion.
Will this race be all about white guys? What a shame.
Or this race will be all candidates who have a hope in Hell of winning!
Deb, it does look like it will be all about the white guys. I just hope there are more than 3 of them. Then again, never rule out a surprise.
I'm sorry to lose Martha's voice in this race but perhaps we'll hear it in another context. I do believe she can do some valuable grassroots work.
The Libera Party has better woman than Martha Hall.
She would have had less delegates this time then last and that would have done her in.
Not according to Martha. She in fact said that support was much easier to come by this time around.
I think there are many terrific women in the party, but Martha is right up there.
It's simply amazing that some people feel a need to put people down, completely unprovoked and certainly unwarranted.
I would have liked to see her in the race, but I think she made the right decision. I will second the comment that the Liberals have many excellent women in the party and Martha is one of them. I like the idea of her being one of the co-chairs and that she will be helping to rebuild the overall organization of the party.
On a side note, the term "grassroots" is getting tiresome and overused.
Waiting for the other shoes to drop now. Perhaps, Dhalla will run now that Martha is out. It sounds like Cauchon might not have the dough. I have a feeling Coderre will run just to be a pest. It seems that Leblanc may be stealing a lot of GK's thunder. The younger supporters that supported GK last time seem to gravitating toward Leblanc. Resentment towards Iggy's team seems to be growing again. I am still uncertain. Leblanc and GK have great appeal for me, but Iggy seems like the safe choice. Decisions, decisions...
Martha's decision was the correct one....she is a valuable m.p. and will help re-build the image of the party but i have never be one to say an individual should run based on gender.. in terms of who to consider to have as leader..very simple listen to what canadians said when we all canvassed at the door during the election - ignatieff - or which candidate has the best chance to make inroads in quebec - ignatieff - and finally which candidate can galvanize his supporter snd get "liberals" to the polls and finally which candidate can get those "905" swing voters in ontario and in south western ontario back into the fold ... simple "ignatieff"...hmmm i am still neutral as supporter but i do have my leanings.....finally we need a spirited debate much like the one between clinton and obama so not sure what martha was talking about what she meant "divisive"....
also forgot to add...we need those small "l" liberals back in the fold i.e. the ones that went to the conservatives...if we get those million or so voters that abandoned us last time ...on a percentage basis and doing the math the NDP falls down to mid teens in popular vote which is where we need them...interestingly the ndp vote (absolute amount) from my understanding actually decreased ...so we need a candidate from the left
Micheal Ignatieff will never lead the Liberal party. No matter how much you love him Francesco. My how you Blue Liberals try my patience.If you do get your boy in the liberal party would be liberal in name only just like John Howard's "liberals" or Gordon Cambell's. Sigh.......
If you do get your boy in the liberal party would be liberal in name only just like John Howard's "liberals" or Gordon Cambell's. Sigh.......
First off, do you have any evidence, based on his platform in 2006 to back up such a claim?
Regardless...sounds good to me. Hey, didn’t Gordon Campbell gamble most of his fortunes by introducing a carbon tax? I despise the NDP, laugh at the CPC...this "Blue Liberal" is right at home with the LPC.
-ITC
liberazzi,
Patience is a virtue. Those impatient individuals who may have worked on Gerard's campaigns in the past and who could not wait any longer will be missed, but will be replaced by just as good and just as capable staff. Those leaving, will continue to be friends and will be welcomed back in May.
With that said, SOME of these folks have not left Gerard because they do not believe in him, but because he was not ready to make them PAID staff.
That's what Gerard is sacrificing in insuring that his two major obstacles - Quebec and fundraising - are addressed.
Even though Gerard started at a disadvantage in 2006 - not an MP, started late - Gerard and his team recruited the MOST new Liberal members and had the SECOND most number of delegates outside Quebec after the Delegate Selection Meetings (yes, more than Rae and Dion).
If Gerard decides that he can mount a successful run in Quebec and the fund raising apparatus is in place, Gerard and his team will again encourage the most number of people to become Liberal Party members and will probably have either the first or second most number of delegates outside Quebec after the March Delegate Selection Meetings. And it will be without the fine, few folks who have decided to join other candidates this time. Gerard will surround himself with other good, capable people. That's what an intelligent, charismatic leader like Gerard can do.
BTW,
MHF is young and will in the future have other opportunities to mount a leadership campaign.
In 2006, she inspired many. And I would be amiss to not credit her for inspiring more than a few people to join the Liberal Party.
MissPeter,
Wake me up if Justin Trudeau can go into East Montreal and the Eastern Townships can get them to vote for Gerard Kennedy as Liberal leader. I see this as the only nut that he can crack in this province. Going down there and telling soft nationalist voters that they are voting for the Bloc because they are bitter old separatists afraid of global economic forces in an age of uncertainty. GK touched on this issue briefly the last time. He needs to go full blast now.
Best thing for Martha to do now. Run for Party President. She can be the Grit version of Howard Dean, building the organization and logistics for the next time.
Pity. I like MHF a lot. Really... a lot and in fact she just seems to get better all the time whenever she appears on TV as a commenter.
She would likely have made a great leader of the party, but absent that occurring, I'd agree with the sentiment expressed by others here about her running for party president.
Absolutely the right person for the job and just the sort of "change agent" the Liberals need right now. So yeah... leave the leadership position to the old, white guys for now... her time will eventually come.
I think Francesco hit it on the head. The party needs Ignatieff to lead it. It's actually refreshing to see other potential contenders recognizing it. We have a Canadian Obama in our midst, and need to take advantage of it.
I think the Obama comparison is a little rich.
Sure, Ignatieff is smart. But if he ahd the same kind of charisma that Obama had, would he have lost to Stephane Dion?
Ignatieff is more H. Clinton than Obama. One hopes he truly learned from his mistake on Iraq.
Oh boy, here we go. Don't disagree - just hate any candidate you don't happen to support and have a double standard -
"simply amazing that some people feel a need to put people down, completely unprovoked and certainly unwarranted"
....if it's about someone THEY support.
By the way - Ignatieff is a very good friend of Samantha Powers and Obama.
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