It was shaping up as another good week in the NDP leadership race for Tom Mulcair. The party’s Quebec lieutenant had a strong debate performance in Manitoba and he picked up a big endorsement from Robert Chisholm, the Nova Scotian who left the race.
Then yesterday – and isn’t the timing interesting? – a five-year-old story came back to haunt him. It came courtesy of the Conservatives who clearly don’t want to face Mulcair as opposition leader.
The Conservatives leaked the news that instead of joining the NDP he would have joined the Conservatives if team Harper had met his demand for a cabinet post.
Mulcair had talks with the Conservatives back in 2007. I recall his volunteering the information about the talks in an interview I had with him at the time. He didn’t mention anything about a cabinet post offer and he is denying he ever asked for one.
But this becomes a whose version do you believe type of thing and it could damage Mulcair’s prospects of becoming leader. Other NDP challengers will make hay, despite the dubious source behind the story.
Throwing a wrench into the NDP leadership race and undermining Mulcair fits team Harper’s purposes splendidly. The Harperites have obviously known of their dealings with Mulcair for a long time. Why did they wait until now – the very time when NDP leadership voting begins – to leak the story? Had the Conservatives wanted Mulcair to win this thing, they wouldn’t have bothered. They would have let sleeping dogs lie. This clearly shows that they don’t want him to win.
Before this news arrived I had just written how there appeared to be fewer and fewer doubting Thomases. The consensus was that Mulcair was leading the race and that the lead was widening.
Importantly, from the second tier of candidates, the three or four bunched behind him, no clear favourite had emerged. “People are waiting for an anybody but Mulcair movement to get rolling,” said Steven Staples who heads up the left-leaning Rideau Institute. “It hasn’t happened yet.”
It’s “the old head versus heart thing,” Staples said. “Some people have their social democrat values and think this guy or this woman is the one closest to those values. But there are a lot of other people who are saying we need someone who can take on Harper, we need someone who can hold Quebec and who can hit the ground running.” That someone was Mulcair.
But if ammunition was needed to fuel a stop Mulcair movement, his opponents clearly have it now. The old-stock NDPers have always been a little wary of his credentials as a social democrat and the allegation of his negotiations for a Conservative cabinet spot will confirm them.
Mulcair leads all NDPers in caucus endorsements by a long shot. Chisholm, the former NDP leader in Nova Scotia, became the 41st caucus member to endorse him this week. “Tom has the ability to reach out and unite progressives of every.” He said he had watched NDPer Darrell Dexter become Nova Scotia’s premier by reaching out beyond the base and that Mulcair could do the same.
Mulcair benefitted from the Winnipeg debate because one his top rivals, Peggy Nash, put in a mediocre performance. Nash has a lot of union support and benefits greatly from backing from women in the party. But while solid her style is plodding and she has looked dodgy in hedging on the question of reversing corporate tax cuts.
Paul Dewar continues to demonstrate an impressive ground game but his lack of communications skills led a top official from a rival camp to quip that, “He would have been good in the pre-television era.”
Brian Topp had a good debate performance in Winnipeg while Nathan Cullen, under attack from rivals for his position on cooperating with the Liberals, lacked some of his usual spark and wit.
With the old-news revelation on Mulcair, the hopes of several of the other contestants brighten. Much will depend on how the party’s Quebec lieutenant handles the situation. He has to put this one to bed in a hurry or the race that was his to lose takes on losing possibilities.
Original Article
Source: ipolitics
Author: Lawrence Martin
Then yesterday – and isn’t the timing interesting? – a five-year-old story came back to haunt him. It came courtesy of the Conservatives who clearly don’t want to face Mulcair as opposition leader.
The Conservatives leaked the news that instead of joining the NDP he would have joined the Conservatives if team Harper had met his demand for a cabinet post.
Mulcair had talks with the Conservatives back in 2007. I recall his volunteering the information about the talks in an interview I had with him at the time. He didn’t mention anything about a cabinet post offer and he is denying he ever asked for one.
But this becomes a whose version do you believe type of thing and it could damage Mulcair’s prospects of becoming leader. Other NDP challengers will make hay, despite the dubious source behind the story.
Throwing a wrench into the NDP leadership race and undermining Mulcair fits team Harper’s purposes splendidly. The Harperites have obviously known of their dealings with Mulcair for a long time. Why did they wait until now – the very time when NDP leadership voting begins – to leak the story? Had the Conservatives wanted Mulcair to win this thing, they wouldn’t have bothered. They would have let sleeping dogs lie. This clearly shows that they don’t want him to win.
Before this news arrived I had just written how there appeared to be fewer and fewer doubting Thomases. The consensus was that Mulcair was leading the race and that the lead was widening.
Importantly, from the second tier of candidates, the three or four bunched behind him, no clear favourite had emerged. “People are waiting for an anybody but Mulcair movement to get rolling,” said Steven Staples who heads up the left-leaning Rideau Institute. “It hasn’t happened yet.”
It’s “the old head versus heart thing,” Staples said. “Some people have their social democrat values and think this guy or this woman is the one closest to those values. But there are a lot of other people who are saying we need someone who can take on Harper, we need someone who can hold Quebec and who can hit the ground running.” That someone was Mulcair.
But if ammunition was needed to fuel a stop Mulcair movement, his opponents clearly have it now. The old-stock NDPers have always been a little wary of his credentials as a social democrat and the allegation of his negotiations for a Conservative cabinet spot will confirm them.
Mulcair leads all NDPers in caucus endorsements by a long shot. Chisholm, the former NDP leader in Nova Scotia, became the 41st caucus member to endorse him this week. “Tom has the ability to reach out and unite progressives of every.” He said he had watched NDPer Darrell Dexter become Nova Scotia’s premier by reaching out beyond the base and that Mulcair could do the same.
Mulcair benefitted from the Winnipeg debate because one his top rivals, Peggy Nash, put in a mediocre performance. Nash has a lot of union support and benefits greatly from backing from women in the party. But while solid her style is plodding and she has looked dodgy in hedging on the question of reversing corporate tax cuts.
Paul Dewar continues to demonstrate an impressive ground game but his lack of communications skills led a top official from a rival camp to quip that, “He would have been good in the pre-television era.”
Brian Topp had a good debate performance in Winnipeg while Nathan Cullen, under attack from rivals for his position on cooperating with the Liberals, lacked some of his usual spark and wit.
With the old-news revelation on Mulcair, the hopes of several of the other contestants brighten. Much will depend on how the party’s Quebec lieutenant handles the situation. He has to put this one to bed in a hurry or the race that was his to lose takes on losing possibilities.
Original Article
Source: ipolitics
Author: Lawrence Martin
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