If this story is at all accurate, shame on all parties involved. This is a disgrace. Pierre Trudeau, Lester Pearson, Louis St. Laurent, William Lyon Mackenzie King, Wilfred Laurier, Edward Blake, Alexander Mackenzie, George Brown, Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine must be rolling in their graves. We've been in worse shape. Mulroney wiped the floor with Turner. Diefenbaker destroyed Pearson. Mackenzie King lost office twice including in the wake of the 1929 crash. Laurier's Grits were in tatters after 1911. Before Laurier we held power for 5 out of 29 years. Brown was almost never in government. Lafontaine had to run in Ontario for fear of his safety in Québec.
The Liberal Party has survived in basically one incarnation for the past 150 years not solely as its critics would tell you because it lusts for power but because it stands for Canadian progress. In its earliest incarnations it stood for democracy. It stood against the corruption of Sir John A. It stood for Laurier's dream of a great nation leading the world into the 2oth century. It stood for Pearson and Trudeau's vision of responsible action abroad and justice and equality at home. It still stands for balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility. Bad poll numbers, even bad elections do not give any party insider the right to negotiate away that history. At very least, a full consultation with the party membership should have been undertaken to ask their opinion.
On Monday evening, the Toronto-Danforth Federal Liberal Association will conduct its Annual General Meeting in its continued efforts to unseat the leader of the NDP. My riding association exists for a reason. My party exists for a reason. May history condemn any person who would sell out their party for the feint hope of power.
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7 comments:
The whole story is being engineered by Kinsella and his (very few) remaining friends in the GTA.
No serious person is looking at this option.
Kinsella is getting his payback, and trying to drag the party down with him.
If the Liberals stand for balanced budgets what was Trudeau about. Im not complaining about his government, I'm just suggesting it is a little bit of a myth to claim the ground of balanced budgets.
As too a merger or an agreement to co-operate, You should recall that King adopted over half the CCF election platform in order to win re-election. He might very well have lost power if he had not.
Pearson the great man himself adopted the CPP and Medicare from the NDP to stay in power and today your party can claim to have helped establish some of Canada's most cherished social programs.
Trudeau worked well with David lewis and the NDP for several years. Why? Cause he had to in order to stay in power. They worked out their differences and we ended up with some very good programs like affordable housing, ei benefits extended to cover sick leave and birth of a child.
Then we have the charter of Rights and freedoms. That was written in good part by Chretien and Romanow.
martin even stayed in power when he worked with the NDP. Many of the Liberal party accomplishments are the result of working with others.
Im not so sure I will always like the idea of merging, I do know one thing, I like a lot of Liberal MP's. I know I can work with them.
We owe it to our country to try. merger or co-operation. It has too happen, failure to do so means Harper will be the PM for years to come baring a huge scandal.
Aaron
Seems the LPoC has a few people of influence working to undermine the current leadership, Mr. Ignatieff in particular. Two names that seem to consistently pop up are Kinsella and Rae. One wonders why the party keeps them around.
The Rae camp has been active in complaining to anyone that listens. CTV personalities stated in May 2009 the latest palace revolt was different because Ignatieff supporters joined in.
W.K. has publicly confirmed he was unhappy how Davey was treated and has made no bones about the riding contest shenagins of locking out the other candidates.
W.K. from a strategic point of view believes in negotiating from a position of strength and fears if the Liberals were to be reduced to Turner level, a CPC majority will enact the political party subsidy. W.K. does not believe the Liberals will survive the loss of 63% of their funding.
Most of us agree with that assessment and the opposition will not be able to fight an election every two years.
The Separatists benefit with over 87% with the same subsidy. It will be a campaign issue.
In November 2008 the opposition demanded it be kept. It will be indefensible on the campaign trail.
With all due respect - and I say this as long standing Liberal Party supporter dating back to the Trudeau years, before I was even old enough to vote - what is so liberal about the Liberal Party these days?
The pivot point of the political pendulum has been dragged so far to the right in the last 30 years that today's Liberals are well to the right of the Robert Stanfield - Joe Clark tories. Everything changes and I think it is time for the Liberals to return to their principles - and a coalition or even a merger with the NDP might be the best way to do that.
Why would Canadian Sense, tell us what is going on in our party? Is it really up to you. I guess you are not fomer PC, because if you were you would be pissed about what Harper and Mackay did to your party and I do not want that happening to my party
Anon never voted for PC or Brian Mulroney's party.
York South Weston Rae/Nunziata voter.
Voted Ind -Nunziata and than moved to Mississauga-Oakville went Alliance-CPC.
CTV - Clark, Fife have made those comments about the Bob Rae camps.
TSTAR articles back up divisions in LPOC.
I don't care about mergers, I went for credibility first.
Liberals blew it with too many scandals and playing cultural war left with Reform.
No policy, just games wafer, photo-op, bodybags, prorogue, Helena, Rahim, $ 57k pool, backing up China on Human Rights, Americans on Abortion.
Canada before politics. Adult supervision is needed.
W.K. is now being thrown under the bus. (I don't like or agree with W.K)
Same thing happened with Janine Krieber.
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