Monday, April 16, 2012

Enough With This Game, Liberals Need Clarity

Bob Rae wants to run for the permanent leadership, so can we just dispense with the perceived ambiguity, make some clear decisions and get on with it please? As it stands right now, we have a man angling for the permanent job who is enjoying an unfair advantage that the interim leadership affords, as we ALL pointed out months and months ago. Getting old FAST:
Whether Rae will be at the helm of the party remains past 2013, when a new leader will be elected, is uncertain, even to him.

“The party is going to have to decide what the rules are and if they say they’re going to take the limitation on the interim leader than, obviously, I’ve got a decision to make. Arlene and I will make that decision once the party’s made up its mind,” he said in the one-on-one interview. “There’s going to be a contest for the leadership. It’s not going to be a coronation for the leadership. It’s going to be a very competitive, open race. I’m just waiting to hear whether or not I’m allowed to participate in it.”

Is Rae allowed or not, because if he is, he's running and that is becoming a problem? Clarity is required, whether perceived or real.

UPDATE

Great chronology of the Bob Rae evolution here

8 comments:

Kyle H. said...

Link doesn't work Steve!

Matt Guerin said...

I quite agree. Rae is pushing himself on the party by continuing to serve as interim leader and push all other contenders off the stage, just like Ignatieff did to him. If Rae was decent, he would not wait for the party to decide the rules, he should decide his own rules that if he plans to run for permanent leader (which he seems to have decided) then he should step down immediately. Canadians see through this.

Steve V said...

Vol

Ahh, you need to add the link address ;) What a stooge!!


Matt

I will say this, any inclination I had to support Rae is utterly gone and I suspect I'm not alone. It is really transparent what has been going on here for months, I find it a complete turnoff.

Kyle H. said...

I agree as well. I like Rae personally and he has done a decent enough job, and maybe on those merits alone he could have earned my support in a leadership race. But the longer he drags out this pointless game, the less chance there is I'll give him my support.

But it's not even just for a future run, it's for his current position as well. I'd rather not be on the wrong side of the Leader, but what can you do when he's sitting there like its his position to play with?

Steve V said...

He's done a great job as interim, I applaud Rae. This game he's playing though really tarnishes.

rockfish said...

You are so right; we'd have been much better off finding a Nicole Termel (sic) of our own to carry us through this easy walk-in the park time.
This is getting ridiculous. At this stage, only one other person I recall wanted the job (and agreed, the astronaut is no termel)... what advantage does he have, other than being slammed regularly by his competition and now narrow minded insiders? I'm eager to consider all candidates for the real job, but right now none of them could do the interim post the justice that Bob has -- especially since the party really is standing on wet sand. Give it up.

Steve V said...

You give it up, Bob is stunting the process. Ridiculous is right, just because he's your choice for leader shouldn't mean to toss out what he promised, nor what advantages interim delivers. Run or don't, but let's stop this nonsense.

Steve V said...

I'd also add, we are now seeing how the interim phase is an illusion, the NDP are tied with the Cons, Turmel was a temporary whatever in the grand scheme. Liberals need to realize the real fight begins the day after our own leadership, that is when voters will notice or not, this period largely irrelevant to future prospects. We are now back to our 2011 election tally, again showing all the "gains" with Turmel, Rae, were just a temporary circumstance.