And the new Liberal Party President is

[CaptainCrunch]

Drumroll please

I've sat down and watched the news coverage of the Liberal Party Convention. Beyond seeing that they were crying about the same old thing about the Conservatives being big meanies and having a hidden agenda. But they did a smart thing today by electing Mike Crawley as a party president and basically told Sheila Copps and the old school liberals to piss off.


I give credit, they opened things up so that you didn't have to have a party membership to vote and participate as long as you weren't a member of another party and that you were basically a hardcore liberal (huh)

I don't know if its going to make a difference in an election three years down the road.

With all the conversation though its clear that they'll let Bob Rae break his promise and run for the next leadership of the party, if he is elected leader the Liberals will be dead.

Now they have three years under a shiny new Mike Crawley to raise funds and rebuild the party, it will be an interesting study.

I have no doubt that the Liberal's will move back into opposition in the next election when they take on the self destructing NDP, but I think they've got a long way to go to rebuild the Liberal's and completely change their message.

It was pretty clear to me that there is going to be a split in the party between the old school Copps supporters and the ones who wanted to move forward.

Could be interesting.

[killer_carlson]

if they let that NDP in sheep's clothing Rae run and take leadership, I'll lose my mind.

[Slava]

Ya, I think Crawley was a wise move. I don't get the "supporters" idea though. I mustbe missing something, but why would anyone buy a membership? There's no advantage, right? You still get to vote and unless the nomination is contested (lol) then there's no point at all!

I also don't love that the leader can veto policies if they so choose. So basically, why vote and debate in the first place? Seems like a waste of time if the leader's not onside to begin with.

Lastly, they voted against the primary system to elect a leader. Thats a mistake IMO. You add supporters, but don't get that full drawn out (exciting and media filled) benefit from doing so.

I do think they regain opposition (if they get a credible leader). That said there are some questionable policies here.

[Bownesian]

What you're missing is they'll make more money from "supporters" than just looking for memberships alone.

Part of becoming a Supporter is providing your address, phone number and name and so supporters will be on the list for fund raising and membership drives for local nominations. If any of the Supporters who wouldn't otherwise buy memberships make a donation, it's a winning policy.

[Cheese]

so if the NDP self destructs who do you think the votes will go to? The Cons? Not very likely in Quebec.

[Flabbibulin]

Google imaging "Mike Crawley" yields some interesting results...

...assuming safe search is off

edit: apparently Mike Crawley is also the name of a well known photographer

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Cheese

so if the NDP self destructs who do you think the votes will go to? The Cons? Not very likely in Quebec.

Back to the future....the Bloc Quebecois

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Bownesian

What you're missing is they'll make more money from "supporters" than just looking for memberships alone.

Part of becoming a Supporter is providing your address, phone number and name and so supporters will be on the list for fund raising and membership drives for local nominations. If any of the Supporters who wouldn't otherwise buy memberships make a donation, it's a winning policy.

Ya, and maybe that will work. Its a bold step and could be good for that, but I think it holds more promise for a get out the vote strategy (which is another reason a primary strategy was so important!). I'm not convinced that someone who wouldn't spend $10 on a membership now receives a pile of spam and decides to donate money. I could be way off on that.

To me the value is indeed the contact info, but to turn supporters into voters. That would've been much more far reaching with the primaries, particularly when no other party does that today.

[Bownesian]

It's a smart idea on a lot of fronts. It's not a huge step from declared supporter (just to have a vote for leader) to caring about the party's fortunes to buying a membership or making a 20$ donation. They won't get everyone but the Liberal party has had a problem for a long time in that they have broad support in Canada but relatively few party members because of their arcane internal rules and structures.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Bownesian

It's a smart idea on a lot of fronts. It's not a huge step from declared supporter (just to have a vote for leader) to caring about the party's fortunes to buying a membership or making a 20$ donation. They won't get everyone but the Liberal party has had a problem for a long time in that they have broad support in Canada but relatively few party members because of their arcane internal rules and structures.

But why buy a membership? Thats my point. As a supporter you can do everything except vote for local candidates I think? Why get a card when you don't need one?

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Cheese

so if the NDP self destructs who do you think the votes will go to? The Cons? Not very likely in Quebec.

it depends on how they handle the next few years

Quebec voters have proven to vote with whomever promises them the most, but at least in switching from the BQ to the NDP they are getting disillusioned with not having anything get done

they may want some actual representation in the party in power

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

it depends on how they handle the next few years

Quebec voters have proven to vote with whomever promises them the most, but at least in switching from the BQ to the NDP they are getting disillusioned with not having anything get done

they may want some actual representation in the party in power

yup...which could be the Libs if the vote changes to the reds.

[Bownesian]

Originally Posted by Slava

But why buy a membership? Thats my point. As a supporter you can do everything except vote for local candidates I think? Why get a card when you don't need one?

Because after you start to care about something, you tend to become more invested in it, not less? Some of the supporters will inevitably want to participate in their local nominations or move further into participating in policy discussions and whatnot.

Theirs has been a problem of a withered base and no grassroots involvement or direct donations for years so this is a positive step, whether they end up buying memberships or not. I'm not a supporter but I saw this as a shrewd fund-raising move first, a get-out-the-vote move second and a party grassroots rejuvenation third.