tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23680463.post114676538544660525..comments2023-11-05T04:40:23.785-07:00Comments on Rusty Idols: The danger in seeking the centerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23680463.post-1146820117962643262006-05-05T03:08:00.000-06:002006-05-05T03:08:00.000-06:00It's a fine line, I agree. When I ran for the NDP...It's a fine line, I agree. When I ran for the NDP in Calgary I admit to some resentment that the money and hopes were clearly being spent in Edmonton. Pragmatically it made sense but I still like to feel like there's some hope of winning.<BR/><BR/>I've met Jack Layton a couple times, He wasn't my first choice for leader but I think he's a smart guy and I agree with a lot of his strategies. <BR/><BR/>Clearly I belong on the leftward slope of the party, and just as clearly Layton belongs more to the moderate, Blairite Third Way strain - Third Way in the New Labour sense, not the Klein health scam.<BR/><BR/>I see the argument for broadening our appeal, for getting voters who might never have considered the NDP - I just think the real, developing subteranean trend is a swing to the left comparable to the swing to the right we've been living with for the last couple of decades.<BR/><BR/>Nobody seems to have noticed I was quoting - and challenging - an Ed Broadbent line with that 'market economy not market society' line. I should point out that one of my my proudest possesions is a Parliament Visitors gallery pass stamped by Ed Broadbent's office.<BR/><BR/>But the trends in the party I was critiquing here have been ongoing for quite awhile.Cliffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03487395482670731681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23680463.post-1146799272747167662006-05-04T21:21:00.000-06:002006-05-04T21:21:00.000-06:00Personally Cliff, I would like the NDP go for powe...Personally Cliff, I would like the NDP go for power. If we campaign from the 3rd place, we will always be the poor cousin and never be in a real position to put alternate policies forward. When crunch time comes in political wars between Cons and Libs, we become dispensible. That said, we need to know what our core principles are and how we can maintain them.susansmithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02573558646874765432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23680463.post-1146776581611500202006-05-04T15:03:00.000-06:002006-05-04T15:03:00.000-06:00There are many role models out there for the NDP. ...There are many role models out there for the NDP. Germany's SDP would probably be a better fit. They aren't as left-wing as the NDP, but are more left than UK Labour.<BR/><BR/>What Layton is trying to do for the NDP is what Harper did for the CPC. A party that is still maintains its long held beliefs & values, remains distinctly what it is at its core but is more moderate, more pragmatic. Willing to look at ideas that aren't within its traditional idelogical sphere but take those ideas & put some of its own fluorishes on it.McGuirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12771682181997456163noreply@blogger.com