Monday, November 10, 2008

Ignatieff "...picking up caucus support from Gerard Kennedy."

If Next Face fan Jane Taber has it right, then we might have some bleeding from the Kennedy camp over to the Ignatieff side. See her Sunday Globe and Mail story here.

"...Mr. Ignatieff is already picking up caucus support from Gerard Kennedy, the insider says. Mr. Kennedy ran for the leadership in 2006 but has not announced plans to run this time."

mississaugapeter, can you confirm or deny?
Is there panic in GK's camp?

Is Kennedy in fact going to run, or is he looking to team up with and support (or be supported by) the young Trudeau as Lawrence Martin would have us believe in his story today?

Here's an idea. What if Kennedy and Trudeau warm up to either Rae of Ignatieff and form an alliance - an inner core as it were - intended to build a long term leadership base that would see either senior candidate lead and mentor the two younger, future leaders? What a concept? Where have we seen this before?

17 comments:

thescottross.blogspot.com said...

I will tell you from personal experience, Trudeau does not like Ignatieff. I know that to be a fact.

-scott
thescottross

Anthony said...

yea scott because Chretien and Turner were best buddies too!

ottlib said...

Paul Martin did not like Jean Chretien but they worked together for their mutual benefit.

thescottross.blogspot.com said...

I forgot...I'm dealing with Ignatieff fanatics here.

Let me change what I said then.

Ignatieff is so great he'll have Bob Rae endorsing him next week....Then the week after I hear the Queen will get behind him...

-scott
thescottross

Anonymous said...

Jane Taber will print whatever the Iggy camp feeds her.
There is no "bleeding" from the Kennedy camp because there is no Kennedy camp. Kennedy has not declared that he is running and I doubt he will. This is a move by the Iggy camp to create phony momentum.
As for strange bedfellows, Kennedy will work with all opponents, he has a track record of doing that and he is not a Liberal just because there is a Leadership vacancy (unlike a couple of "leading" candidates).

Arnone and Co. said...

anonymous 11:35am
if you are referring to Next Face as "Ignatieff fanatics" you have it wrong. NF was and remains neutral territory. No declarations here. No backing candidates here.

We called Dion in the 4th ballot in October of 2006. Did that make us Dion fanatics then?

Truth be know we had a soft spot for Kenny Dryden, but that was because we still have his rookie cards that we collected as kids...

thescottross.blogspot.com said...

Arnone: I did not purposely suggest "Nf" was an Ignatieff fanatic I suggested those who responded to that first comment of mine were. As I had not said Trudeau wouldn't work with Ignatieff, I said he didn't like him. And both Antonio and Ottlib immediately misconstrued what I said.

-scott
thescottross

In_The_Centre said...

Raymond Chan - Bob Rae

Navdeep Bains - MI

Only rumours but strong indications for us involved on a more day to day level.

-ITC

In_The_Centre said...

Raymond Chan - Bob Rae

Navdeep Bains - MI

Only rumours but strong indications for us involved on a more day to day level.

-ITC

burlivespipe said...

But where are the souls who backed Dion -- i know there weren't a lot of them, but Murray, Orchard (oy vay!) and ... well, i'm drawing a blank. Marissen is on the Iggy train, apparently. Which gives me another reason to size up the other options a little closer.

calgarygrit said...

This is what happens when a newspaper decides that it will base news on “Liberal insiders”...

Anonymous said...

Of course Kennedy is running.

The man is hardwired in his DNA to run in every leadership race that opens up. I half expect him to announce his intention to run for the leadership of the Ontario New Democrats.

Gerard Kennedy: Never has someone who has accomplished so little aspired to do so much.

MississaugaPeter said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MississaugaPeter said...

You asked, here is my answer...

When I read the article, I asked who defected? I now ask, who defected from what? A campaign team that has not even been mobilized?

in_the_centre, claims Raymond Chan (is that because Braedon (who twice put up the same blog "WEB VIDEO: Bob Rae for Prime Minister" yesterday on Liblogs), who did support GK last time around, took, I hear, a PAID position with Bob Rae. Does that mean he took MP Raymond Chan with him? NO, it does not! Navdeep Bains (can't figure out why his name was brought up).

Gerard will not declare in the next 3 days folks. I assure you that. Until he does, everyone who supported him last time are up for grabs. I expect some will take PAID positions in other camps (like the aforementioned Braedon, I know of another who took a PAID position with LeBlanc). Gerard will have VERY FEW PAID positions and is going to lose some of the people he had last time because of that (and Gerard does not harbour negative feelings about it, he understands that people need incomes to survive).

LESS PAID POSITIONS, more use of volunteers, grassroots supporters, unpaid bloggers. If Gerard decides to run, no other campaign will more successfully use its volunteers, grassroots supporters, unpaid bloggers. In 2006, the GK campaign signed up the most number of new members before the July deadline. That is why, outside Quebec, Gerard came second only to Iggy (ahead of both Dion and Rae) after the DSM. Volunteers, grassroots supporters, unpaid bloggers, made that happen. If Gerard runs again, the same will happen - the most number of new members, done by volunteers, grassroots supporters, unpaid bloggers. BUT, there will be even 3X-4X more of them!

I am a volunteer. And will continue to be if Gerard does decide to run. There is a difference between blogging volunteers and blogging paid staff. That's why even when I was at odds with Jason Cherniak, I always personally respected him.

Anonymous said...

Thank you mississaugapeter.

We would fall under the category of blogging volunteers without commitment to a candidate.

But we can be bought and become blogging paid staff if the price is right!...

ottlib said...

scott:

You may remember I washed my hands of the Liberal Party and its leadership race weeks ago so to accuse me of being a supporter of any of the contenders is idiotic.

I just pointed out a fact.

As for misconstruing your intent it is blatantly obvious that you are a Kennedy supporter and after reading your posts you have a history of accusing folks who do not hold the same belief of all sorts of things.

I can understand you are passionate for your guy but I would suggest you remember that not everybody agrees with you and that they may disagree with you in good conscience.

Otherwise you are no better than Conservative supporters.

thescottross.blogspot.com said...

Ottlib: Its not obvious I'm a Kennedy supporter, its a fact I was a Kennedy supporter. Please don't act like I've even hidden it or not admitted it.

Now my real target was Antonio, I never directed the Iggy fanatics comment at you directly but it was assumed you were because all I said was a fact, yet you felt it necessary to make a comment that would support a thesis that would make Ignatieff more viable.

True my original comment did not limit cooperation between Ignatieff and Trudeau, but it did not support it, yet you felt you should argue otherwise using apples to oranges.

So you may not be an Ignatieff fanatic, which I apologize for labelling you that term, but you did offer some rationalization for Ignatieff's viability.

As for any other accusation I've made I've provided evidence and have been justified.

-scott
thescottross