Another day, another set of NDP leadership campaign stories. – Niki Ashton won the support of the NDP’s Socialist Caucus. – Nathan Cullen expanded on his joint nomination proposal with a far more appealing discussion of co-operation in general: Cullen isn’t shy about what he has in mind. “If the
Continue readingTag: Peggy Nash
wRanter.com: Even with a new leader, the NDP can’t defeat the Tories alone
I just can’t get excited about the NDP leadership race, which ends March 24 in Toronto, because irrespective of who wins, it’s hard to see it leading to a positive outcome for progressive politics in this country. Will Thomas Mulcair, the party outsider who reportedly flirted with the Tories prior to
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: My NDP leadership ballot rankings
Let’s just get it over with: Nathan Cullen Brian Topp Peggy Nash Paul Dewar Niki Ashton Thomas Mulcair Martin Singh These rankings are not necessarily who I think is best as the leader, but are for a variety of strategic reasons as written below. The major choices involved where I
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: The decisive question
Following up on my candidate questionnaire and previous posts about party organization, I’ll offer my own observations on the final two questions I posed to the leadership candidates. I start from the premise that the primary goals of a leader are to serve as the party’s public face and chief
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
With the NDP’s leadership campaign entering its final week, it’s no great surprise to see plenty more punditry than usual surrounding the race. But what might influence the ballots cast this week (which may end up making all the difference)? – The most attention over the last day or so
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Candidate Rankings – March 18, 2012
Since last week, we’ve seen the NDP’s leadership campaign win plenty more attention in the media. But has any of the news managed to change the positioning of the candidates? 1. Thomas Mulcair (1) Well, we’ve certainly seen Thomas Mulcair under the microscope more than he’s ever been. But while
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Questionnaire Response – Peggy Nash
Last week, I crowdsourced some questions to the NDP’s leadership candidates about their plans for party organization. (Unfortunately the comments have disappeared, and I’m still working on getting them to reappear – but as you’ll see I incorporated changes into my draft version.) Obviously it’s been a busy time for
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
The latest couple of days worth of news as the NDP’s leadership campaign enters its final week – aside from multiple candidates including Niki Ashton, Paul Dewar and Peggy Nash all taking the opportunity to call for unity in the wake of the continued overreaction to Ed Broadbent’s latest comments.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
A couple more days’ worth of developments in the NDP’s leadership campaign… – Niki Ashton argued that Canada’s grain supply should be considered a strategic resource in evaluating takeover bids for Viterra, and earned a glowing profile from Carol Goar. – Nathan Cullen unveiled another caucus endorsement from Bruce Hyer
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On shifting alliances
Having pointed out the effect of Peggy Nash’s willingness to consider cross-party cooperation in my rankings post, I’ll double back to one of the other noteworthy developments today – as Thomas Mulcair may have utterly reshaped the expected movement of down-ballot support. Since the start of the campaign, plenty of
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: Vancouver NDP leadership debate candidate rankings
The NDP’s final leadership debate wrapped up today in Vancouver in advance of the March 24th leadership convention. It has been a long road since the first debate back in Ottawa, and every candidate has managed to both improve their debating skills as well as set out key policy and
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Candidate Rankings – March 11, 2012
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen what look to be a couple of noteworthy efforts among the NDP’s leadership candidates to reach out to other campaigns’ supporters in order to win over the down-ballot support that will likely decide the outcome of the campaign. So how have those
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
Assorted news and notes from the NDP’s leadership campaign as we approach today’s final debate… – Niki Ashton pointed out how the NDP should be able to tap into the desire for democratic decision-making that once motivated the Reform Party before it was turned into a top-down organization under the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
A few days worth of news from the NDP’s leadership campaign… – Niki Ashton appealed to NDP members to consider the need to build among younger voters. – Co-campaign manager Jamey Heath took to the opinion pages in defence of Nathan Cullen’s joint nomination proposal. But I seem to recall
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Reading the NDP Tea Leaves
Any good pundit (for is that not what I aspire to become?) must dispense with caution and modesty from time to time and, in godlike fashion, attempt to predict the future. It is a virtually risk-free enterprise. If my prediction turns out wrong, no one will notice or care, because
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
As we enter the last few weeks of the NDP’s leadership race, we’re of course seeing loads of attention. But what from the flurry of activity might actually affect the results of the leadership race as well as the party’s future development? – Niki Ashton took questions at Rabble, including
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The Dippers Vote
Ballots have arrived to thousands of NDP members, who now have until March 24th to vote for a leader. Originally, the field reminded me a lot of the 2006 Liberal leadership race, with the role of the establishment front runner lacking elected experience played by Brian Topp, the polished veteran
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Candidate Rankings – March 4, 2012
With the voting window open and the second-last debate having just finished, we’re into the home stretch of the NDP’s leadership campaign. I’ve posted on the outcomes I’d like to see – but since that’s a separate question entirely from how I think matters actually will play out, let’s see
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Leadership 2012 Roundup
I haven’t done a roundup post in quite some time (having focused instead on candidate analysis and preliminary endorsement posts over the past week). But in advance of today’s Montreal debate, let’s take a look at some of the noteworthy developments from the week. – Niki Ashton spoke to the
Continue readingThe Equivocator: The NDP Leadership Foreign Policy Awards – 2012
The evening of the Academy Awards a good friend and I were reviewing the foreign policy platforms of three NDP leadership candidates, Tom Mulcair, Brian Topp and Peggy Nash. Here are some awards we created for each of the three candidates’ policies: Most impressive foreign policy recommendation: Peggy Nash –
Continue reading