Liberal Leadership
Independent News Page
Super
Weekend - Rightwing Bush Man Poised to become Liberal Saviour
By Gary Morton October.2.2006
Liberal organizers carried him back from his long sojourn in America. And
like Stephen Harper praise for the failed war on terror, war in Iraq and war
in Afghanistan is still fresh on his lips. He’s still shaking off rust in his
knowledge of Canadian politics, but what he lacks is being supplemented by the
high placed party hacks, adoring right wing media, cash flow and Liberal Party
members that just want to somehow win. They’ve uncritically swabbed his mouth
every time he’s put his foot in it and have now catapulted him to the front of
the pack, as the man to beat at the Liberal Leadership convention.
Michael Ignatieff has done well and though he’s not the darling of the left or
even the centre, he is the beloved of rightwing columnists and editors at
papers like the Toronto Sun and the Globe. Many of them seeing him as
a dream come true; a Harper light candidate who’ll be in line with most of
their bidding should the unthinkable happen and the Tories get cast by the
electoral wayside.
As predicted the race did narrow in the voting. With most of the super weekend
ballot in Ken Dryden, Joe Volpe, Scot Brison and Martha Hall Findlay are out
of the race. Dryden and Volpe sit at around four and a half percent while
Brison is at four percent and Findlay one percent. Dryden
has the highest profile among Canadian voters and is still considered
important to have onside.
Ignatieff has about 30 percent of the ballot and Bob Rae about 20 percent.
These two have the most strength across the country. Corporate media is
playing it that Rae had a poor showing in Ontario, but he in fact has a
respectable 17 percent which is as much as Ignatieff has in BC where Rae fared
much better than him.
Gerard Kennedy did surprisingly well with 17 percent nationally and a strong
showing in Ontario and Alberta. He has to overcome his weak numbers in Quebec
to be seen as a winner at the convention. Dion also grabbed close to 17
percent of the national vote, but with only 10 percent in Ontario he has the
same type of trouble as Kennedy.
How this will play out in the weeks leading to and at the convention is
unknown. No one knows what wildcards may emerge to influence the vote, but if
none do then it will be hard work on behalf of the candidates that counts.
Some think that Ignatieff has strong support among 1000 ex-officio delegates –
MPs, senators and other senior liberals. Kennedy also has strong support of
that type in Ontario. Rae is the favored second ballot choice of delegates and
if that holds he may be the one to kill off Ignatieff. Dion could also come up
if his campaign strengthens and gains support before the convention.
At the end of super weekend Michael Ignatieff remains the man to beat, and it
is almost certain that George Bush will be hovering by the phone waiting to
rush that congratulatory call through. That’s if he can get through before
Jack Layton, who’ll have a bigger reason to celebrate when NDP butts have been
saved from annihilation by the election of a right-winger in the Liberal
Party.
For some on the right and on the left, Michael Ignatieff is a saviour indeed.
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