As if the Liberals didn’t have enough problems finding a new leader, there’s this: It costs too much to run, and if you don’t win you might have to mortgage the house to pay off the debt.Yikes, that's not a good start for rebuilding. They certainly have trouble fundraising and what's going to happen when the voter tax subsidy is taken away?
The Hill Times reports that most of the 2006 candidates for the leadership are still deep in hock: Gerard Kennedy owes $164,000, Ken Dryden owes $215,000, Joe Volpe owes $73,000. Martha Hall Findlay still owes $125,000 (to herself, it appears), while Maurizio Bevilacqua, Hedy Fry and even Stephane Dion may all still have outstanding debts. Kennedy, Volpe, Hall Findlay and Dryden all lost their seats this month, making it even harder to raise money now.
And the situation will only be aggravated by the party’s own poverty, which can’t help but get worse when Prime Minister Stephen Harper cancels the subsidy lifeline. Small-time candidates will find themselves up against better-known MPs, plus their own party as it struggles to put together a fundraising apparatus capable of staving off bankruptcy.But that's not their only problem, as Steve Janke points out Liberals are stuck in the rut of their own mushiness. They don't know who they are and what they stand for. They tend to be all over the map on almost everything instead of finding a principal and sticking with it.
Then there's the infighting that's broken out. Well at least there's one silver lining for the Libs, they have at least four years to figure things out and try and make a come back if indeed that's what they choose. In the mean time we can have fun watching Jack Layton and his kids in the House and make sure the Conservative majority government becomes actually conservative.
Now that the Liberal Party doesn't have to worry about another election for 4 years, it's time for them to pay off the debts for these leadership candidates. It's also time for the Party to impose limits on leadership campaign spending - at the very least to only the amount raised via donations. The best thing that Mr. Harper could do is impose a limit into the law in order to ensure that something like this is never allowed to happen again. One extension should be allowable, not 4.
ReplyDeleteOne extension should be allowable, not 4.
ReplyDeleteI agree. They shouldn't get extension after extension.
Best thing that could happen is if EC confiscated the 2.00 vote subsidy to pay off all leadership debts. I bet they were all waiting to get back at the trough and have them forgotten. Didn't happen.
ReplyDeleteAnd why would they make Rae leader, he will be in his 70s when the next election is called. Better he be interm leader, if the libs want to go further down the rabbit hole.
I think the first thing that will have to happen, is that someone will have to go to Elections Canada , slap a few people and read them the Riot Act- that is, make sure EC enforces the law EQUALLY, and not look the other way regarding deadlines for repayment where their Liberal buddies are concerned while nipping at the Conservatives like a rabid squirrel. I think that if the law was enforced as it should have been, some Libs would have been in a good deal of trouble sooner. For some of them it's still coming.
ReplyDeleteMaryT,
ReplyDeleteGiven the history here I can't see EC doing anything to the Liberals without Mayrand being basically forced to and told loud-and-clear it's HIS neck on the line.
After all, was it not him who bent the rules for his Lefty pals??
NO QUARTER
The LPOC have too much baggage which will remain with them until maybe-just maybe, they return the billions of dollars they took from us and with profound apology to all of canada. Then the msm have to do the same-apologize to us for the constant manipulation and lies.
ReplyDeleteBut, so far, none of it has happen yet.
The msm should have been on the LPOC case for years instead, they kept haunting the prime minister Stephen Harper for the work left behind undone unpayed stolen by the LIBERALS.