Dion Wins Liberal Leadership

[c9]

Go Stéphane Dion!

What happens in the next election? First, the NDP have a hard time because Dion is very strong and believable in their strongest areas: social justice and the environment. Next, the election is very West-vs.-Quebec (which is not a big change).

If Ignatieff had won, Harper would have been happy because it would have meant a majority for the Tories next time. But now he's a little worried. I think Bob Rae worried him the most, so as long as Bob Rae can be enticed to run in the election and be part of the campaign, Harper should be shaking a little bit.

Even though Dion's speech was of course calculated to bring Liberals together and make everybody else feel a bit better about losing, but I liked it, and thought it showed some class. Hopefully the party won't get stuck in the muck of rivalries like Chretien-Martin caused, and Ignatieff-Rae could have caused too.

I am finding myself far more warm toward the Liberal party now, just because of my trust in Dion. It's funny to see that in myself, since usually I'm commenting on people I would never vote for. :)

Comments

[kdborg.livejournal.com]

I was chatting with a strong supporter of the conservative party today. He was hoping for Bob Rae to win so that the conservatives could go after his history in Ontario during a major recession.

Harper should be scared since Dion has a charm that he's still learning to project.

[c9.livejournal.com]

It's true, Rae has a history in Ontario, but it's kinda like Hillary Clinton: everybody's already made up their mind in Ontario, and he's loved in every other province. I don't claim to know enough about exactly what happened in 90-95 despite being there, but I know that he's more than proven he can win people over to his interpretation of history and circumstances. I wouldn't bet against him in a debate with harper, that's for sure.

[kdborg.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't bet against him either.

Harper and the Conservatives now have a problem on their hands. If they keep going after the Liberals for past mistakes and linking Dion to the scandal, the general public will be tired of it and question what they did to correct those mistakes. Something the Conservatives probably don't want to answer.

[canuckotter.livejournal.com]

Rae was a stupid choice for the Liberals. Maybe he could have won over Ontario again, but it would be hard, and the Liberals depend on Ontario for their elections in the same way that the Neoconservatives depend on Alberta. it's just a huge block of practically guaranteed votes. The Liberals would have to have been insane to pick someone who they knew for sure would drive away what should have been easy votes.

I'm also a little curious whether the fact that Dion had virtually none of the "old guard" of the party actually contributed to his success, sort of the Liberal Party's way of saying "We're not Chretien any more!"

[bartok.livejournal.com]

I'm more than a little concerned now that the Americans will think that *Celine* Dion has been voted in as a high ranking senator in the Canadian House of Congress...

[whobunkyboo.livejournal.com]

Wasn't there a leaked memo from the Tories some time ago that said Bob Rae was the candidate that they felt was most likely to result in their (Tories) getting reelected?

[c9.livejournal.com]

Sort of. It was leaked by someone who only writes things down that he *wants* leaked. It said "oh no we so scared of iggy help help" (paraphrased), but what it really meant was "please choose iggy so we get our majority".

[jamincan.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if it would actually be a factor, but Gerard Kennedy, who will likely end up being a rather high ranking member of the party after this convention, could very well be a factor in gaining western support.

I find it interesting that Dion won as a Quebecois, despite most of the votes from Quebec going to Ignatieff. Also, although being wooed by Chretien into the party, in many ways, Rae represented the old Chretien establishment more than Dion/Kennedy, who seem to have represented to a lot of delegates the renewal and change that is clearly necessary in the party.