After looking at how the supporter system was conceived yesterday, today I gaze ahead at what its future might hold. Specifically, the musings of some that the LPC could still hold staggered primaries, even though a motion to do this fell short of the 2/3 majority needed to pass at
Continue readingTag: primary system
CalgaryGrit: Why the Liberal Party Took a Chance on the Supporter System
The boldest and most surprising outcome of this weekend’s Liberal Renewalfest in Ottawa was the party’s decision to open its doors to all Canadians by adopting a supporter system. As a result, any voter who supports the Liberal Party will be able to vote for its next leader – no
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Primary Debates (2)
Myself and Jeff Jedras follow up our online debate, with a video chat over beers on the primary resolution which will be up for vote at this weekend’s convention. After the video ended, the rest of the bar patrons joined in on the argument and it ended in a brawl.
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Harper Tories arrogantly skating on thin ice
On June 30, 2013, we will look back over the past 18 months are realize that the month of November in the year 2011 showed the high tide of one political party, the ebbing of the tide of another, and the coming high tide of another. The Tory Achilles Heel:
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Handy summary of the Liberal Party Renewal Plan – please pass it on
The media has been buzzing with talk about the Roadmap to Renewal and supporting documents, and Liberal circles are also astir. This quick summary gives you the gist of the main proposals, and also some good links. Please pass this on to friends and neighbours – the more the merrier!
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: Primary Debates
In his Macleans.ca debut, my friend Jeff Jedras takes aim at the proposal Liberals will be voting on in January to move to a US-style primary system to choose the party’s next leader and nominate candidates.While I’ve already voiced my support for this…
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Fatal Flaw in the Liberal Party Renewal Plan Primary Election of new Leader
The devil is in the details, and Peter Wrightwater of the blog Paper Dynamite Online has just unearthed a major defect in the Liberal Primary Election plan which could have major anti-democratic consequences.He examines the proposed Electoral College w…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: An Open Party
The Liberal White Paper on party reform has been leaking out over the past few days, and will reportedly be released in full tonight. I’m sure there will be a lot of worthwhile ideas within it, but the one likely to grab the most headlines is the propo…
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Liberals, let’s use the Two-Tier Primary system for electing our next leader
In an earlier post I mentioned the problem of raiding or hijacking which bedevil open primaries: your opponents might vote for the weakest Liberal candidate in the hope of reducing Liberal chances of success in the general election.Blunt Objects, in a …
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Primaries are Infectious: Ask MP Sarah Wollaston of Totnes, UK
In 2009 Dr Sarah Wollaston became the first candidate for election as an MP in the UK to be selected by the Conservative Party through an open primary.Danniel Hannan says this about the primary selection method:Once one party adopts open primarie…
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Suggestions for a new Open Primary election of the next Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
Bob Rae has opened the dialogue about how we elect our party leader, with a suggestion that we consider an open primary system of electing out next leader in 2013.Bob Rae and the LPC Primary SystemTo advance the dialogue, I would like to table a few su…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: The Alberta Test Drive
No surprise, as Raj Sherman wins the Alberta Liberal leadership race on the first ballot:Raj Sherman: 54% (4684 votes)Hugh MacDonald: 26% (2239 votes)Laurie Blakeman: 9% (854 votes)Bill Harvey: 7% (626 votes)Bruce Payne: 2% (197 votes)As I wrote on Fri…
Continue readingCalgaryGrit: This Week in Alberta – The Liberals Pick a Leader
It will be a busy fall politically, with provincial elections in Ontario, Saskatchewan, PEI, Newfoundland, and Manitoba. Although we likely won’t see an Alberta vote until 2012, the province will get a new Premier, thanks to Ed Stelmach’s surprise resi…
Continue reading