Your blogger with Alberta Party Leader Glenn Taylor just after his election last May. Mr. Taylor’s election, that is. All your blogger’s ever been elected as is a “local legend.” Below: Robin Campbell, Barry Madsen. With an election looming, it’s nice to see that Alberta Party Leader Glenn Taylor has
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I see the BC Liberals have learned from Harper’s Ignatieff attack ads
Watching the Canucks. Ad comes on real slick-like. I mean Conservative slick. It’s a BC Liberals ad attacking NDP’s Adrian Dix. I swear the ad could’ve been made by the Cons. It looks and sounds exactly like any of the many Ignatieff attack ads. Oh, here it comes again. And
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Travaillons ensemble
Following up on this post, I’ll expand briefly on what looks to be one of the more interesting questions for the balance of the NDP’s leadership race. I’ve pointed out before that one of the subtle advantages of having a leadership race immediately after ascending to Official Opposition status is
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Importance of Geography in the NDP Leadership Election
When choosing the next NDP leader, one question that can be raised is considerations for where the NDP leader is geographically based from. How much of a difference does this make, and, if it matters, where ought that region to be? The list, found at the end of this post, shows the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Links and Policy Roundup 3
Assorted policy and punditry from the NDP leadership campaign. – On the policy front, it’s looking like time to give Nathan Cullen full credit for being well ahead of the pack with a well-rounded and detailed set of policies. I missed his democratic reform proposal in my last policy roundup
Continue readingRed Tory v.3.0.3: Faking Poverty
Jagrup Brar, NDP MLA for the Vancouver-area riding of Surrey Fleetwood today embarked on his vow to spend one month living on the paltry $610 that single (ostensibly “employable”) people currently receive from the province on welfare, responding to a challenge by a coalition of social groups that wants the
Continue readingthe reeves report: The cautious politics of choosing a leader
NDP leadership candidates at the first debate held in December, 2011. As the race to replace Jack Layton heats up, it was only a matter of time before the candidates began taking significant steps to differentiate themselves from their fellow candidates. Eight candidates remain in the race to lead the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Anyone But
As promised, let’s take a closer look at the dynamics of “anyone but” movements in leadership campaigns – with a particular focus on whether one looks likely to develop in the NDP’s current race. The most obvious prerequisite for an “anyone but” movement is the perception that a particular candidate
Continue readingCurrent NDP Leadership Rankings
This is currently how I think I’ll vote. I’ll provide more detailed explanations later: 1. Mulcair 2. Dewar 3/4 Saganash 3/4 Ashton 5. Topp 6. Cullen 7. Nash 8. Singh
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 14, 2011
Monday, November 14 saw MPs return to the House of Commons from a week’s break. But if anybody thought the time away would lead to less contentious debate, the day instead saw one of the more fundamental debates we can expect to see out of our elected officials – with
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Reference Page Update
Once again I’ve made some changes to my Leadership 2012 Reference Page. For those curious about the content of the candidate profiles so far, I’ve dealt mostly with personality and strategy based on the lack of detailed platforms for comparison so far in the campaign. But I’ll continue to point
Continue readingThe Equivocator: Canadian Politics Word(s) of the Year: 2011
Today is the final day for writing/releasing end-of-the-year posts. 2011 featured a federal election and provincial/territorial elections in Manitoba, Ontario, PEI, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Yukon and the NWT. At the end of 2011, Canada now has 4 female premiers (up from 2 at the beginning of the year), the BQ have
Continue readingthe reeves report: Mulcair reaches out to NDP’s environmental wing
NDP leadership candidate Thomas Mulcair NDP MP and leadership candidate Thomas Mulcair has staked his leadership bid on the support of the NDP’s remaining environmentalists by pegging ‘sustainable development’ as the cornerstone of his campaign. It’s a policy decision he hopes will clinch him the leadership of the federal New
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your year. – Paul Krugman once again laments the determination of anti-government fundamentalists to avoid learning the lessons that should have become glaringly obvious over 70 years ago: In declaring Keynesian economics vindicated I am, of course, at odds with conventional wisdom. In Washington, in particular,
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Candidate Profile – Niki Ashton
The final candidate to enter the NDP’s leadership race was Niki Ashton. And initially, far too many observers seem to have been eager to write off her candidacy. But while there’s little doubt that Ashton faces some hurdles in her candidacy, she’s done plenty to establish herself as a strong
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Jeffrey Simpson manages to write an entire column on important political developments he managed to miss in 2011 without uttering the words “NDP” (or any member thereof). Which surely looks like an early nominee as a continued blind spot in 2012. – Peter
Continue readingBrian Topp Sinks to a New (Conservative) Low
What was it that most attracted people about the NDP campaign in 2011? Was it that we offered a social democratic alternative to the hard edged ideology of Stephen Harper? Was it that we actually planned to implement our platform unlike numerous Liberal governments and could therefore be trusted?
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Candidate Profile – Peggy Nash
In some ways, Peggy Nash’s candidacy is the easiest and most straightforward to analyze among the NDP’s leadership contenders. She’s drawn her core support from the intersection of the party and the progressive movement, meaning that her initial strength can be set at a level that should keep her on
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament in Review: November 4, 2011
Friday, November 4 saw another day of spirited question period debate on the economy. But for once, the main theme was total cooperation – even if much of the day was spent lamenting its absence. The Big Issue The main bill up for debate was the Cons’ legislation dealing with
Continue readingPample the Moose: Anniversary Post and a Call for Political Advice
Pample the Moose is seven calendar years old today. I’m not sure how old that is in blog years. My posting has become more erratic in recent years, but I’m still committed to keeping it going for the foreseeable future. So as to have some content here beyond a simple
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