Quote:
Originally Posted by burn_this_city
Personally I think theres a large contigent of liberals that want Dion to fail to force a leadership change..
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The problem is there's seemingly a vast shortage of qualified Liberals who want the job. As a card-carrying Liberal, the last federal election had the exact result I wanted -- a small Conservative minority that has had any right-wing social policies held back by the three other (more left-leaning) parties. This resulted in Martin resigning and the Liberals would then hopefully choose a leader with no association with the sponsorship scandal, thereby defeating the CPC's main election plank (Liberal scandals vs. Conservative accountability).
The smart money was on either Frank McKenna or Brian Tobin gaining the leadership. Either of those two would have been an excellent prime minister and would have easily mopped the floor with Harper in a federal election. Unfortunately, neither of them wanted the job, so the Liberals were left with a slate of bland and uninspiring candidates. The only guy with any real ideas, Ignatieff, was unpalatable because of his previous unwavering support for the Iraq invasion.
The the Liberals foolishly elected the worst choice of all, Dion, a Chretien-era cabinet minister from Quebec. How were they supposed to distance themselves from the sponsorship scandal with him at the helm? It makes no difference that he was never found to be involved (just like Paul Martin, but that didn't stop Harper from attacking him over it and making it the central theme of the last two elections).
So as a Liberal, I'm hoping the next election will have a similar result as the last -- a small Conservative minority that will lead to Dion resigning and a better leader brought in. Hopefully this time McKenna or Tobin can be coaxed into running.
As per Afghanistan:
One of my best friends is a Canadian soldier who has completed two tours over there (so far). Several men from his unit -- a few of them close friends of his -- were killed in the line of duty. When I asked him about his thoughts on the mission, he said, "It's not worth it for me or my friends to die in this POS country."
Make of that what you will.