Saturday, March 24, 2012

Congratulations to Thomas Mulcair on a great win to become the NDP's leader and Canada's Leader of the Opposition!

Thomas Mulcair wins New Democratic Party leadership!

The late Jack Layton, Bill Tieleman and Thomas Mulcair,
outside Hotel Vancouver, September 28, 2007
Congratulations to Thomas Mulcair, the new leader of the NDP and Canada's new Leader of the Official Opposition!

Tom is a worthy successor to our friend Jack Layton.  Tom's Parliamentary skill, experience in government and opposition and fierce determination will put Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the defensive - and acting Liberal leader Bob Rae on the sidelines.

It has been a long, gruelling campaign and every one of the NDP's candidates for leader has done an admirable job building the party as they toured across the country giving their own vision for Canada's future.

Now is the time for the NDP to unite behind Thomas Mulcair and provide an alternative government for Canadians to consider, a constructive alternative to the confrontational, divisive and regressive Conservative administration.

Good luck - bon chance - Tom and thanks - merci - to Brian Topp, Nathan Cullen, Peggy Nash, Paul Dewar, Niki Ashton and Martin Singh for all your efforts.

.

23 comments:

sue said...

Bill, I just cancelled my membership.
Cannot support a lapsed Liberal as leader of the party I've helped work so hard to build.

Anonymous said...

I will now be voting Liberal as I do not like that now once again BC will be ignored. Previous votes such as the redistribution of seats and the vote on supreme court justices show the party with Mulcair will desert BC. I held my nose and Voted for Crowder but not again.

Anonymous said...

Sheesh Bill, name dropping a bit there?



and pish tosh - if Jack could support him so can you sue...

Anonymous said...

"BC will be ignored"

You should have a look at the last election and the trajectory of the NDP vs the Liberals.

Practically speaking - youth sees little difference between the radical right of Harpers Reform government and the fiscal right of the so called Liberals... one forces us to go to church without condoms the other doesn't - at the end of the day you could flip a coin to decide which party would sell off Canada and sell out its youth faster.

Anonymous said...

Sue and Anon @ 9:17pm: The Liberals always picked members from us (P. Trudeau, B. Rae, U. Dosanjh), so why not the other way around? Also, Mulcair was NDP from 1974-94, so it means in 2007 he came back home.

Sue and Anon, please don't be so rash. Who do you want out of power? The Cons. Who is best positioned to replace them? The NDP. Get back on board!

Anonymous said...

Sue and Anon @ 9:17pm: The Liberals always picked members from us (P. Trudeau, B. Rae, U. Dosanjh), so why not the other way around? Also, Mulcair was NDP from 1974-94, so it means in 2007 he came back home.

Seems be more of a convenient commuter than anything else. Crossing the floor twice? Usually it's one direction, not a return trip.

Also don't forget the most comical and famous blogger, The Great Satan. He was originally a Trudeau Liberal, that gang that cared nothing about BC except giving BC a Trudeau Salute.

Sue and Anon, please don't be so rash. Who do you want out of power? The Cons. Who is best positioned to replace them? The NDP. Get back on board!

Why get aboard this bus? It has a bad wheel alignment. Seems to creep over to the left, and I'd be worried about the left front wheel bearing. Seems to be getting a bit squeaky.

and the most comical of all, is Bill's "hello and hugz" after all that political rhetoric about Peggy Nash woyuld be the best ever Leader the NDP had since teh Regina Manifesto.

Read his analysis. Every angle covered in the direction of a Peggy Nash win.

Voting Liberal. Geezus, are NDP that desperate? I hope they would
get some help from Jack Daniels first before they do that.

DPL said...

I'll wait to see how Brian Topp ends up inside the party, and of course the other contenders. The NDP are known to beat up on each other. But I believe it was Churchill who said Democracy sucks, but what is the alternative?
Harper is there to be beaten or to float along chopping up the country. Bob Rae will end up being the Liberal leader so if the middle and the sort of left, are at each others throats, guess who wins? It sure as hell won't be the people.I didn't support Mulcair, but the majority did so like it or not, that's the result we must live with.The options are limited. Stick to the guy or simply leave.Our family has been supporting the party since 1970 when I was leaving the military where voting NDP sure made a mess of a persons security official level)If the new guy heads off to the right or continues to complain about MP's( such as Libby Davies) who have been in the trenches for many years, well the options get less. Maybe he can organize the party election office to have members voting on line on the last day, to actually get to vote.Their help line number was pretty useless. I guess they are not used to actually have so many members.It's early days Sue and its always better having ones enemies in the tent pi**ing out, than having them outside pi**ing in.Right now you and many others are sort of in the doorway

Anonymous said...

The Federal NDP, have a very strong team.

Mulcair wont take any, sneaky underhanded crap from, Harper. Mulcair will call Harper on it.

Go ahead and vote Liberal. Bob Rae used to be NDP.

Anonymous said...

It is rather early to walk when there has been nothing to base your decision on (other than the past). All of us need to see activity in the parliament before such ship jumping. Give it some time. After all we are stuck with Harper and his minions for 3 more years.

Anonymous said...

Go ahead and vote Liberal. Bob Rae used to be NDP.

and Mulcair used to be Liberal.

Geezus. Is anyone going to get a pedestrian light isntalled at that crosswalk, or is there a continued risk of jaywalking across the road?

Bill Tieleman said...

Sue - so you'll be voting Green in 2015 or just staying home? Thomas Mulcair was a provincial Liberal in Quebec - there is no provincial NDP - which is the only federalist alternative to the Parti Quebecois. Mulcair quit cabinet over an environmental issue of principle. He joined the NDP in 2007 when it held zero seats and had almost no organization.

Anon 9:17 - I suspect you were always voting Liberal but if you want to get a Conservative elected in Nanaimo to replace Jean Crowder, that would help do it.

Anon 9:25 - Why yes, I am name dropping here. It's my blog, it's what I do! But you're right on Sue.

Anon 12:32 - Of course I wrote about Peggy Nash - she was my candidate and I'm sorry she didn't do better but that's democracy. Leadership race is over and the bigger battle for Canada is on - Nash will support Mulcair strongly, as will the other candidates - so will I, but critically as I did with Jack Layton - see my columns opposing 2008 coalition proposal and NDP not cracking down on its MPs voting in favour of killing long gun registry - including one leadership candidate.

Good riddance to Bob Rae to Liberals in my view. I'll take Mulcair and record of success to Rae days of failure anytime.

Anonymous said...

Good riddance to Bob Rae to Liberals in my view. I'll take Mulcair and record of success to Rae days of failure anytime.

Muclair had some success in Quebec, but he's yet to be proven nationally.

Mulcair will not raise the NDP to the same level as Jack Layton did.

Wait for the NDP to settle and then sink below the current level Jack Layton), but will be a bit above Alexa McDoughnut.

Also wait for Mulcair to appease Quebec at the expense of BC and Saskatchewan.

and what would Bill do if there's more talk of merging with the federal Liberals (and even better if such a vote is approved by both).

Mulcair had the most endorsements, but Topp had the beter quality.

Anonymous said...

Actually I haven't voted Liberal since they elected Chretian leader. I have voted NDP. Ms. Crowder has never impressed me. Provincially I have voted NDP since 90 but in 1 election I liked the green candidate so I voted green. Anon 9:17 still have trouble figuring out some of the letters on robot killer

Anonymous said...

Even other country's say, Harper is stubborn and impossible to work with. He is known to bully other country's and pitches a fit, when he doesn't get his own way.

So, if Mulcair is feisty, he needs to be. They do say, Mulcair is an excellent debater. I think he will do just fine.

Both the Federal and the provincial NDP, have good, strong teams.

bewlay said...

"...perhaps one-member, one-vote isn't the future of politics after all!"

Maybe not when you don't get your way, but from where I see it you get a more democratic process than before. Work the web bugs out and you might even get more youth vote that is desperately needed in politics.

Political parties need major reform and regulation under this first past the post bullshit system we have. Nice to see the party leadership election system moving out of the dark ages.

Way to go dippers!

Bernard said...

Mulcair makes it possible for me to consider voting for the NDP in 2015. Thomas Mulcair has been in a government and in cabinet and knows that being government is not carte blanche to do whatever you want.

People may think Mulcair's anger is a downside, but I think it will be a great asset.

I also think Mulcair is the only that really drive a stake through the heart of the Liberals. Canada has had a century of either crappy government or crappy opposition because of the Liberals - they were never good at either role. Canada has to have a the two parties that alternate government being on the left and the right.

To those of you that think I could only a Conservative, in 2004 I not only voted NDP, I dedicated many volunteer hours to the NDP candidate in that election.

The federal Conservatives have strayed too far from what I think is the correct way to govern. The ends never justify the means.

Anonymous said...

Harper is not stubborn - unless you consider locking yourself in a bathroom until you get your way at a diplomatic summit stubborn...

http://www.politicolnews.com/canadas-harper-locks-himself-up-in-bathroom-in-brazil/

Anonymous said...

can't trust any politicians with a beard. actually that's anyone person with a beard.

Anonymous said...

Does that include Jesus?
Everybodys favourite Socialist.

Anonymous said...

Actually can't trust anyone with a mustache or beard.

Anonymous said...

who's jesus? I don't vote and I definitely don't believe in god. There's never a favorite socialist aka freeloader.

Anonymous said...

Socialism for the rich!
Capitalism for the poor!

Anonymous said...

Socialism for the rich!
Capitalism for the poor

Yeah right. A real oymoron from a moron to be sure.

So who pays when the poor don't want to work (and there are many of those. I am not talking about those who can't work, but those who simply won't).

Capitalism means working for your wealth. Not expecting a handout when you don't deserve it.

Work for and earn an "A" or "B" in school, but don't expect that to be diluted to a "C" or "C+" in order to give away half your earned mark to the idiot at the back of the class who is study the whale tail of the cheerleader rather than the ecosystem of whales.