Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Staying Focused.

A quick scan of Liblogs reveals the following issues up for discussion :
Voter cynicism, Women absent from Harper's cabinet, Harper's eroding principles, Harper’s campaign contributions, David Emerson, The new cabinet, Fortier petition, Edmonton gets the shaft, Moral authority to govern, etc, etc, etc.

While it is fair to suggest that the debates around these issues are relevant, we at Next Face prefer to stay focused. You will not likely find us wading into the Emerson and Fortier controversies. They will take care of themselves. The Tories will implode if that is meant to be. Harper will self destruct if that is his fate. Our priority (like that of Ken Dryden's pictured here with his once patented fixed gaze) is to remain focused on the issues around the new leadership for the Liberal party.

Out of defeat substance.
Not gossip. Not rhetoric.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Check out Gary Dunford's blog ... Carole Taylor for Liberal leader ... good idea! http://dunf.blogspot.com/

James Curran said...

This just In

May 5, 2006.

That's our chance to start fresh in this great Liberal Party of ours. LPC(O) has called their AGM for that weekend in Toronto.

For those of you that do not know how or where to get involved or how to become a delegate, I think you should email me immediately. If you want your voices heard, than there is no time like the present my friends.

Let's stop "talking" about the process. Let's be a part of the process. This is our first "BIG" step on the road to recovery.


Hey, but what do I know.

The What Do I Know Grit

Anonymous said...

Why Harper’s Cabinet Matters – A Question of Trust.

Remember Nixon? Remember the question his opponents raised during an election: Would you buy a used car from this man?

Are we in the same territory now with Stephen Harper, the policy wonk with broken promises in his first day of becoming Prime Minister?


Harper’s Achilles heel over the past two elections has been the question of trust. Many voters examined his views, going back several years, and came to the conclusion that this leopard had not changed his spots. And when he tried in the latest election to sidestep the issue of his beliefs, by simply saying he had “evolved” but his fundamental philosophy was unchanged, may voters were stopped in their tracks. Had he changed? Can this man be trusted?


Then he ran an election campaign designed to focus more on the Liberal’s record – perfectly justifiable – than on his party’s platform. A tightly controlled election that even had some rightwing candidates hiding in kitchens to avoid interviews with the press about their social beliefs. And a leader who avoided questions, sidestepped some, ignored others.

The pattern of avoidance, selective discussion, and ignoring of legitimate questions by the fourth estate, raised yet more concern among many voters: Can this man be trusted?


Now, his cabinet, with surprising choices in at least two cases, and omissions in other areas. A Liberal is elected and immediately joins Harper when Harper asks him to leave the party that elected him and join the minority Tories, now in need of more votes in Parliament. Doug Beazley of the Edmonton Sun puts it in context:
“But political scientist David Taras of the University of Calgary warns Harper is risking the wrath of the backbench. "Two weeks ago, Emerson was saying the Harper Conservatives were heartless. Now they've got to work with them. How can they trust him?" he said. “
But it not just whether the Tories can trust Turncoat Emerson, but whether Harper kept the faith with voters, and honoured promises made during the election. So once more voters are asking: Can this man be trusted?

And Harper’s response to the justifiable outbursts – by Tories and others – simply underscores the concern. To brush the criticism aside as simply being “superficial”, implies the voters who now feel dismayed by the Harper actions, are not capable of forming rational judgments and should leave it to Big Daddy Harper to make those decisions for them.
So the question lingers in voters minds: Can this man be trusted?

Anonymous said...

Want to invigorate the Liberal Party?

Start by reading Don't Think of an Elephant (google this title), and then relentlessly focus on framing the debate each and every day via blogs until such time as the Liberals gain power again.

Harper's amazing cabinet behaviour is a good place to start practicing framing ...

Anonymous said...

We..."know our values"... and we are "framing our debate" just as the book recommends. That is the essence of this post. That is the essence of this blog.

Focus.
Stay focused.

The party should not build themselves around Harper's shortcommings or the so called scandal surrounding his cabinet. That is static. Let Harper deal with that.

TonyGuitar said...

Liberal re-election requires one essential.

The process to be seen as removing Chretien entitlement crony’s. The Adscam tainted members in other words.

Liberal party respect has been further damaged after the election when more people become aware of the fuller extent of 218 scams and rip-offs as summarized in a list in the January 22nd issue of the Toronto Sun.

Stockwell Day warns of shocking news to be released about the Gun Registry.

Liberal fortunes continue to spiral downwards and the party should be engaged in damage control and provide indications of rebuilding.

A Liberal / NDP phone-up campaign to protest Emerson in Vancouver is just not cutting it. TG