GT: Federal Election

[peter12]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

Yeah, that was annoying. To be fair, their are annoying pundits on both sides. Like that Young Turks guy. While I generally agree with him, his style is grating. That whole "head explosion" thing he does doesn't help his points. Buddy, you're not John Stewart.

But he wants to be. So so bad.

[Flash Walken]

Can't watch young turks segments.

Would rather watch Glen Beck.

[Blaster86]

I remember the Young Turks actually starting out as a watchable and informative program. It backslid hard.

[nik-]

Yeah, they started off with promise but Cenk Uygur is pretty obnoxious at this point.

[jayswin]

Yeah, the Young Turks is a classic case of buying into your own hype and not realizing what made you successful. They started out as kind of an internet counter to major media outlets.

People were tired of having to sift through lies and slant, and their show cut through that and presented current stories in a brash, straight forward manner. The problem is Cenk and assumedly the producers thought it was his over the top, sarcastic, comedic (see: not comedic) delivery that made them popular.

News flash, nobody was checking you guys out for D level news delivery and over the top sarcasm. They were checking you out for the no bull**** approach and a willingness to skewer major corporations/figures without fear of media bosses/corporate sponsors reacting poorly and therefore diluting the delivery of the news.

[rubecube]

Pretty hard to disagree with this assessment of the NDP and Mulcair.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cana...teps-1.3280900

But the Liberals didn't only win by luring defectors from the NDP. They also energized new voters. For every vote the NDP lost between 2011 and 2015, the Liberals gained four. And so the party must also ask itself: Why couldn't New Democrats inspire such a wave of first-time voters?

In this campaign, bold and even reckless moves were consistently rewarded with success, while caution was punished.

The NDP itself was the first to demonstrate that, by standing up to oppose the Harper government's anti-terrorism Bill C-51, which at first appeared popular with a Canadian public shocked and scared by the attacks of last October.

But then the boldness dried up.

Eager to show that New Democrats were not wild-eyed spenders, the party embraced small-bore proposals based on a commitment to balance the budget. The commitments lacked ambition compared with those of the Liberals, and also seemed to many to be unrealistic, since they were predicated on revenues that assumed a $63 barrel of oil.

"Ours is the most progressive platform in this election." That became one of Justin Trudeau's favourite lines during this campaign, as he pitched a tax hike on the top one per cent of income earners, an aggressive infrastructure plan financed by deficits, means-tested child benefits and the legalization of marijuana.

By contrast, the NDP's balanced budget approach looked staid and conservative.

Trudeau's core message, repeated over and over throughout this campaign was: "Stephen Harper won't help you, and Tom Mulcair can't help you, because he's signed on to Harper's budget."

In the end that message proved more damaging to the New Democrats than even the niqab.

It was Trudeau who correctly read the zeitgeist among change voters: They wanted their change big, and they wanted it now.

The party was also too anxious to bottle up "Angry Tom," and repackage him as a more friendly and soft-spoken politician. The result was unnatural.

Trudeau is a natural-born campaigner, and Mulcair would always have found it tough to work a crowd the way Trudeau does. Mulcair never really mastered the art of speaking to a crowd. His approach is: I talk — you applaud. I talk — you applaud, all delivered in the same flat tone.

Trudeau speaks with a wide range of tone and emotion, talking over the applause, letting the crowd drown him out, then roaring back to the message, carrying his listeners with him.

I watched Mulcair deliver a speech on Sept. 22 at the University of Ottawa, where students packed the atrium and hung over internal balconies and staircases on four storeys. It was a crowd that was there to be stirred, and ready to respond in kind.

Instead, they got a laundry list of the NDP's platform from a man who seemed more prime ministerial than passionate. Mulcair shared their rejection of the Harper government on an intellectual level, but not a visceral one.

Mulcair was never going to be able to shine the way Trudeau can. But in an election where seven out of 10 voters said they were hungry for change, a bit of righteous anger would have been a good substitute.

Those voices in the NDP may be all the louder given that Trudeau appeared to pass the NDP on the left. If Mulcair now opposes Trudeau's plans to stimulate the economy with infrastructure spending, taking the same side as the Conservatives surely will, the rumbling will only grow.

Already, there is unease in the party's grassroots about Mulcair's peremptory dismissal of candidates during this campaign for even fairly mild criticism of Israeli government policies.

From now on, he will find it much harder to discipline and silence the critics within.

[saillias]

How has Mulcair not stepped down? After Dion's and Ignatieff's defeats, they immediately stepped away from the leadership of the Liberal party. If you don't, you're sending the message that 2nd, 3rd place is ok. NDP seems to be saying meh, we're ok with our natural place as the 3rd wheel in Canadian politics.

Is the entire party uncomfortable with the concept of walking the walk? A lot easier to bleat on the sidelines about the environment and refugees and the homeless when you have 30 seats?

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by saillias

How has Mulcair not stepped down? After Dion's and Ignatieff's defeats, they immediately stepped away from the leadership of the Liberal party. If you don't, you're sending the message that 2nd, 3rd place is ok. NDP seems to be saying meh, we're ok with our natural place as the 3rd wheel in Canadian politics.

The problem for the NDP is that they lost quite a few prominent MPs in the election. People like Leslie and Dewar who could've acted as interim leaders don't have seats anymore. Mulcair still gives them a strong presence in the House until they can find an adequate replacement.

[FlamesAddiction]

I think the biggest mistake the NDP made was believing in their own hype from the last election and not realizing that a lot of the NDP voters the last time around were Liberal voters basically protesting their own party. The Bloc made the same mistake before.

They did very little to keep that support since the last election, although I am not sure what they really could have done to keep it either without abandoning their core. What we saw was more a regression to historical support than a loss. I don't think it is completely fair to make Mulcair wear this, although the optics will probably make it that they need a new leader before the next election.

[killer_carlson]

It was speculated on CBC that Mulclair might wait around as leader because the CPC is rudderless right now, and he thinks Parliament needs an experienced opposition leader to hold the Liberals to account for the first year or two.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I think the biggest mistake the NDP made was believing in their own hype from the last election and not realizing that a lot of the NDP voters the last time around were Liberal voters basically protesting their own party. The Bloc made the same mistake before.

They did very little to keep that support since the last election, although I am not sure what they really could have done to keep it either without abandoning their core. What we saw was more a regression to historical support than a loss. I don't think it is completely fair to make Mulcair wear this, although the optics will probably make it that they need a new leader before the next election.

Sort of. They were still riding high in Quebec prior to the Niqab debate. The problem was they didn't do anything to separate themselves enough from the Liberals or Conservatives to have something to fall back on when they lost support for that.

[Coach]

Yeah that pretty much nails the campaign for the NDP.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by saillias

How has Mulcair not stepped down? After Dion's and Ignatieff's defeats, they immediately stepped away from the leadership of the Liberal party. If you don't, you're sending the message that 2nd, 3rd place is ok.

I disagree, I think it's foolish for any political party to write off a leader just because they weren't able to seal the deal the first shot they got. That being said it is appropriate sometimes and the NDP took a big step backwards.

I think that it would be a mistake for Mulcair to not stick around for a while... they are now once again the third party in the HoC so they need a leader that can keep them relevant in the HoC and Mulcair is an able Commons performer.

What would be ideal for them would be to keep Mulcair as leader for now and then have him step down in 2 years. That would give them an able presense for the next couple of years and allow a new leader (Topp or Cullen most likely) enough time to organize for the 2019 election while retaining some of that "new leader" shine.

[EldrickOnIce]

One of the first things Trudeau will do as PM is drop 10 million into 24 Sussex Drive. Good stuff.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/cana...154536203.html

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

One of the first things Trudeau will do as PM is drop 10 million into 24 Sussex Drive. Good stuff.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/cana...154536203.html

Wait are you saying we shouldn't perform upkeep on the property?


It isn't like he came in, look around and called it a #### pit.

If this is what is being addressed then, yeah fix it up:

"Twenty-four Sussex is in need — has been in need since I was there 40 years ago — of major infrastructure repair, and it simply hasn't been done.

"They'll live somewhere else while — not decor, not fancy stuff — just plumbing and roofs and all the things that keep a house standing [are repaired]."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-br...rive-1.3285314

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

One of the first things Trudeau will do as PM is drop 10 million into 24 Sussex Drive. Good stuff.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/cana...154536203.html

How dare he!

Getting tired of this socialist and the constant need to fix the plumbing and heating in his home. Total garbag.

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

One of the first things Trudeau will do as PM is drop 10 million into 24 Sussex Drive. Good stuff.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/cana...154536203.html

Internet lacks tone, please tell me your response is a satirical joke.

[Drak]

24 Sussex is old, and has had needed repairs for years.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ca...-wont-move-out

... the National Capital Commission asserts anew the need for more than $10-million in repairs deemed “urgent” four years ago.

The commission, which manages the three-storey, 10,850 square-foot, 34-room residence, said this week that “extensive” work is now required on the 143-year-old building — repairs that will “require the occupant to vacate the premises” for more than a year....

In 2008, the Auditor General issued a report that said “extensive rehabilitation” of certain 21st-century amenities had become an “urgent matter.” Some aspects of the home were deemed to be in critical condition, a designation defined as posing an immediate threat to personal safety, heritage preservation, or the environment.

[Duruss]

Originally Posted by Drak

24 Sussex is old, and has had needed repairs for years.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ca...-wont-move-out

I think it is a good thing that they are going to do the repairs, the house is a piece of our history and should be maintained. So this seems like a definate case of about time.

What I want to know is if the Liberals are going to cancel the "Mother Canada" and "Victims of Communism" monuments, unless they already were and I missed it.

[JohnnyB]

Trudeau just can't wait for the infrastructure investments to get started.