06.23.2012 04:00 PM

Liberal leader list

Lord, it’s long!

Lotsa good names, too.

If you couldn’t win your seat, however, you shouldn’t run. Same goes for those who carry debt from previous runs.

See? I just shortened the long list, big time. You’re welcome.

54 Comments

  1. Michael S says:

    They didn’t mention Naheed Nenshi. That’s the kind of fresh blood that is needed. The fact that he’s from Calgary? All the better.

  2. reformatory says:

    She forgot to mention Mark Carney, Carol Taylor, and Warren Kinsella!

  3. D says:

    What about Elizabeth May?

  4. Michael says:

    When a candidate can win his or her riding without campaigning I would not put too much stock in electoral success or failure.

  5. Dennis Hollingsworth says:

    HOLY MACKEREL … WHAT A LIST OF INTELLIGENT, INFORMED, CARING, CONCERNED CANADIANS … A LEADING EDGE CANADIAN WHOSE WHO !!

    I’M AUTOMATIC … MARTHA HALL FINDLAY … SHE HAS BRAINPOWER EXCEEDING THAT OF HARPER’S ENTIRE CABINET OF MARGINAL PERFORMERS.

    WARREN … YOU ARE STILL CLOSE TO LEFT COAST … WHAT OTHER BEAUTY BRITISH COLUMBIA NUGGETS CAN YOU SHARE … ADVISE YOU STAY AWAY FROM WRECK BEACH AND DO TRY SOME TENNIS ON THE OCEAN AT KITSILANO BEACH !!

    • Tim Sullivan says:

      MHF has debt from the last time and she can’t win her seat. What can she do for the Liberals while she’s out trying to get HERSELF elected and get HERSELF out of debt? Didn’t Dion just get out of debt, and he was the LEADER!?!

    • Dan says:

      All caps, why?

    • po'd says:

      Add one more category, exclude those who sleep with the Mintz’s.

      Debt, disassociation and dishonor should keep the nails firmly in place on the lid of that coffin.

      Of those I know and are serious possibilities, Goodale, LeBlanc and Brison are the Stars that shine brightest for me.

      All able and honorable men and that counts large.

  6. frmr self-confessed Raelian says:

    I like Carole Taylor….a talented lady who brought labour peace to BC during her tenure as Finance Minister (to be fair the province was flush with cash during that time, and Gordon Campbell wanted nothing to rain on his 2010 Olympics)…..she smart, attractive, and articulate…….but dont know if she’s bilingual…….and shes now pushing 67……..which was one, ahem, of the complaints against Bob Rae….

    I also like Kirsty Duncan, for reasons aforementioned on this fine forum…..

    As a former PC’er meself, I like Scott Brison a lot(smart, articulate, with passable French, and a good sense of humour)but Canada is not yet ready, imho, for a gay leader…..maybe the next generation……

    Ive railed against the party reaching yet again for a “messiah”, but of all the candidates on the list, the only one who creates any buzz is Justin. Given the recent Ipsos poll results, this is what this party desperately needs…..sell the sizzle, and hope that he surrounds himself with a coterie of top-notch advisors(Mr. K?)…..in comparison, Harper will look like the tired old fart he is…..

    • !o! says:

      All the buzz you hear about Justin being a messiah, and how the party has to stop looking for quick fixes in leaders is useless rhetoric– I’d almost say it originates from Con strategy, but regardless, it’s a really superficial and simplistic discourse.

      There is no question Justin can rally the youth vote– if the youth are a targeted demographic in the next election, expect substantive policy that targets them as well. He also epitomizes unity– not sure if the soft rumble you hear here and there on ideological unity is also strategic, or if it’s just something that resonates like hell in the current climate, but he can run with that ball as well. He’s an amazing speaker too.

      I’ve always thought that if they can bleed Con voters with a plausible economic strategy they can really make the next election interesting. (Needless to say CPC won’t be in government whatever happens– there’s no way they’ll keep their only enduring brand capital– a (somewhat misplaced) reputation for good economic management)– through the slow motion European trainwreck that’s lumbering over our way, and with all the other crap Canadians are enduring, the backlash will be severe.

    • pomojen says:

      I think I disagree re: gay leadership. I think Canada is ready for that. I am not sure about Scott Brison, because I remember him from the PC leadership race as a bit too corporate-friendly. But perhaps things have changed…

      Is it crazy fro me to think that the cons might have a harder time tearing him apart, assassinating character etc? There would be some risk attached to getting too angry about him, too personal….might paint themselves as homophobic. They need to be careful about stuff like that… look what happened to the Wildrose when they let their homophobes out of the closet?

      • frmr self-confessed Raelian says:

        Mr Brison of course ran for the Liberal leadership as well in 2006…..No I dont think the Cons would attack Mr. Brison on his sexuality…….they’d have to be mighty careful given the number of gay men in their front benches…….I wss thinking more of the saleability aspect to the Canadian electorate, tis all……I just dont think the electorate is ready for this yet……the younger generation yes, the generations that vote…….frankly, no……..

  7. Byron says:

    I like Belinda S., business and political experience,,,,I think she’d be great.

  8. sean says:

    Have to say that I disagree with the “you have to win your own riding” assumption. With the exception of maybe 20 seats, the age of the “Riding M.P.” has been dead for about 30 years, especially in urban communities.

    • Tim Sullivan says:

      If you can’t win her seat and you tried to win one, it speaks a bit (a lot) about your political acumen, talent, capabilities. It is the sine qua non of electoral politics.

      On a completely different subject, how did John Tory do as leader without any demonstrable ability to win his own seat?

      • sean says:

        uh huh…how did WLM King do? Not so bad as I recall.

        • Tim Sullivan says:

          No spending limits. Undeveloped social media, news media and 24 hr news channels. National security crisis. Constitutional crises.

          uh huh … how did John Tory do? Not so well as I recall.

  9. Dave says:

    As for having to win your own riding, just look at Mackenzie King – not only was he defeated in 1911 and 1917, the two federal elections immediately prior to the 1919 convention that made him leader – he went on to lose his riding twice as Liberal leader, in 1925 and 1945 (the last time to an upstart named Diefenbaker)

  10. Jordan says:

    While I agree that not winning a seat is an issue, to be fair some of those who lost their seats, like Bertschi and Hall Findlay, won higher shares of the vote than some elected. I believe Hall Findlay won 39% while Bob Rae won like 40%. As well both Jack Layton and Stephen Harper were defeated on their first attempts. I think it could be a good thing for the Liberals to have a leader outside parliament for a while to help with the rebuilding process, though it would be nice to see them in the House before 2015.

    On another note it’s nice to see Jim Karygiannis making shots at Martha Hall Findlay on twitter, he’s a real parliamentarian and not at all what’s wrong with the party.

  11. Bill From Willowdale says:

    I am not sure if losing your seat should be a reason to discount your candidacy. As we all know, some seats are more competitive and others less. Should only candidates that come from Liberal bastions be the only ones considered? I hope not.

    • Tim Sullivan says:

      No. Trudeau’s riding of Papineau is not a Liberal bastion. He competed and won in a difficult riding. Electoral success is the sine qua non of electoral politics. If you tried and didn’t get a seat, or had one and lost it (legitimately, not with overspending, voter suppression and ballot box stuffing like we’ve seen NOT THE LIBERALS do), you are discounted as a legitimate contender.

      If you still have debt from a prior race, what hope is there that you can mount a credible run, raise enough to fight off whatever ads come your way from the CPC, and how do you respond if you are not in the House, or able to get there?

  12. Mark says:

    Two things about this list:
    1) It’s not top heavy with old farts. That’s a very, very good thing.
    2) There doesn’t seem to be any “choice of the inner circle” candidates; that too is a very, very good thing.

  13. Cromwell says:

    What a long list of also-rans and retreads. LPC is better to fold its tent and join the NDP.

    • Dan says:

      Agreed. If this is the best the Lpc can come up with, then they’re done. Nothing inspiring about these has-Belen’s, most of which are never-where’s.

    • Jordan says:

      How are people like Marc Garneau, Justin Trudeau, Denis Coderre, Geroge Takach, David McGuinty, Dominic LeBlanc and Scott Brison “also-rans” and “retreads”?

  14. Anne Peterson says:

    Just dont dust off John Manley. Thats all I ask.

    • po'd says:

      Agreed. All the personality of a fish, and would only be a second attempt to clone Harper. The first try didn’t work so well in case some have forgotten already.

  15. dillon says:

    I throw out the one person with all the credentials including star power. Louise Arbour. Incidently she was born in Montreal. With the backing of Coderre and Chretien she would turn the contest into a coronation.

    • Michael says:

      How did the last coronation work out for you?

      • dillon says:

        Ignatieff was simply a fraud and a buffoon who secured the leadershi[ through the corruption of Apps Davey and the other Toronto effetes. Arbour is a woman of accomplishment admired and respected worldwide for her intelligence principles and social values.

        • Michael says:

          So let her run in a true leadership test her mettle against real candidates and let the chips fall where they may. The last thing the Liberal party needs is a coronation.

  16. Derek says:

    A troubling part of the list: every single person on it is white. It is 2012, and LPC should be more inclusive, with people from all backgrounds giving it a shot.

  17. JamesHalifax says:

    Hmmm…with a list of all those “special Liberals” you would think they would have enjoyed more support by the Canadian public.

    Oh well…I guess they are all like a Paul Martin # 1 priority…..

    You’re all special……which means none of you are.

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