Archive for March, 2010

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These are the challenges. Here’s a few ways to fix em’. But wait.. Who’ll do the fixing? How? Where? When? This trailing of questions only leaves a guy to be pretty depressed pretty quickly.

Can150 was depressing. (By the way–sorry for the long post. It’s a big issue and it needs all the verbosity I have to be as clear as possible.)

So many problems. So many issues. In one direction we have an ageing population, and in another direction we have an ever increasingly competitive world that requires youthful, energetic thinking. In another direction we have institutions that ‘happen’ to work and other  that ‘happen’ to be terrible, with no clear ideas on the whys and the hows. Then there was native issues, and health care issues, and end of life issues, and financial issues…

As PM Paul Martin said so long ago “The whole world is fucked.”

There wasn’t any shining ray of hope. No gladiator fighting for the weaker people, nor any shining behemoth moving forward a clear path towards a better Canada. None. Zip. Zero. In other words, absolutely depressing. Bullet in the brain depressing, even.

Err, although some may say it is a failure because of this I would like to argue the opposite. Well, in fact, it is the opposite of that. The conference was a success. Not all politics and not all actions are instantly a failure if people are depressed by it. It is still depressing, though.

It was depressing because these are the issues we are facing, though.

It was depressing because without leadership there’ll be no solutions made (note the absence of ‘political’ in front of leadership). Ignatieff kept quiet, the Liberals barred (most) politicians from the room from the Liberal party, and leaders watched from afar–not engaging nor being involved. Experts in different fields and in different histories of expertise (from welding to business to academic) are needed for leadership and guidance–without that, well, we’re hooped. We need the knowledge and the experience of all those who are in this nation.

It was depressing on the first day that there were only 9,500 people on the webcast, only 2,700 logged into the live chat, and only 24,000 hits on the website. We need 34 million viewers and participants (note how they’re tied together and not separated: we need both actions to be taken by citizens) for such an event to be a success–everyone has to know these issues and to not reach every person means it is not only depressing but incapable in its cause.

The Liberals will not win the next election more easily because of this conference. Tactics was not and is not a consideration for this conference. This is more of a point directed at my fellow political bloggers and my not-so-fellow pundits than anything–this means that the conference will not earn you more hits on your websites or get you kudos from your buddies after a good smashing of your opposing pundit on the TV screen. This conference doesn’t help Liberals in the next election and doesn’t provide a horse race or political battle for people to be in.

Anyways, we’re doomed to being a backwater if we do not stare straight into that very deep chasm. We are doomed unless we stare straight at the oncoming events and tumult bound to come. We are doomed if we do not rise up, face the future, and grit our teeth together as we pursue those tough choices and decisions that require leadership and ingenuity.

It’s this unsaid bit of hope that has stuck with me. There are issues and there is a way to solve them–just we need to continue pushing hard into the future with apt solutions.

Now, the reason why I think it’s a success is because there was no partisan cr*p at this conference. There were no frothing mouths screaming partisan remarks at either parties. Just a few shots of Ignatieff sitting in a corner every 30-40 minutes. To have politics influence this endeavour would have been terrible, seeing that there would have been a motivation to highlight the good things that the Liberals had done and only focus on what would make the Liberals more popular. It would turn to a self serving endeavour, which is absolutely poisonous to, well, actual solutions and an actual public discourse.

If Ignatieff started speaking from a podium it would have been minutes before the Conservatives would have fired something back. In fact, that’s what the Conservatives did anyways (with Harper cutting some ribbon on an ice rink)–calling upon an image that polarized himself as a down to earth fellow and not a wishy-washy ivory tower academic. Political manoeuvring would have abounded if the Liberals fired back a response and that didn’t happen. It was a non-political affair.

The biggest piece of proof in that it was a non-political affair was that Don Martin says it was a failure and it was depressing, and so many other reporters said as such. That doesn’t sound like good politics on the Liberals part. The argument I would give a cynic would be that Ignatieff robustly handled the contraception issue earlier this week so well (by having all his female caucus members together, hitting the government so deftly, scoring political points on four different issues in quick succession…), and to not guide this conference with as much political manoeuvring is telling. Quite telling, in fact.

(Side note: there is a difference between channelling public opinion and knowing whether or not you have votes in parliament. The contraception mishap is an internal issue not an external one, which was what this conference was.)

Secondly, it brought up issues into the public mind. Or to most of the public mind. Politicos tend to have their heads firmly cemented in a special place where the sun doesn’t shine–where we’re surrounded by political ideas, ideologies, and debates on issues. The average person does not have this (which is likely a blessing). If we place such things on TV, push reporters to talk about issues and not political flare, and get these issues raised, well, that’s quite a success.

Thirdly, partisans on all side assume that another group does something solely for its own tactical benefit… and this conference throws a wrench in it. In a world of echo-chamber media (where opinions and reactions to events are reported more than the events themselves) there is this emphasis on the metaphorical horse race between groups–that tactical viewpoint is still taken.

This conference serves no tactical benefit to Ignatieff. He doesn’t win that ‘abortion issue’ with Harper, nor does it score points anywhere. (By the way, where are these ‘political points’ I hear once in a while? I’ve never seen a scoreboard for these points. Ever. I suppose it’s just that competitive thinking with games being transferred into politics.) The Conservatives and punditry can then say it’s a failure because Ignatieff never received a bump in the polls or that he seems more like a leader now. There was no strategic benefit to this conference. None. And it can be construed as a failure because of that.

But wait a moment. Let us turn this logic on its head. There was no tactical gain by the Liberals at this conference. We will not win the election because of this conference. Depressing to a few, and confusing to a lot more, this is in fact a success.

A notable success in this conference was to put issues forward, not to raise the profile of Ignatieff or the Liberals, and it did that.

A success that can be pointed out would be that problems triumphed over politics.

A success to be pointed out is that the future and long term problems were considered and explored, not those issues that decide elections and almost biyearly elections–the focus was longer term, less focused on, and rising issues of greater importance.

There was no benefit to the Liberals. Only a benefit to Canada.

And this is why I think this conference was a success. It was an act of non-political action focused on understanding and attempting at getting everyone on the same page. That’s why it’s a success.

(By the way, let the pundits retch in agony and the bloggers to declare their positions! I know what happened at this conference and it goes beyond what this political class of people can contemplate in their quick-witted words and bravado. It’s simply beyond them and the world they choose to live in.)

Update:

This is odd. Someone agrees with me.

I will also add what he had to add to my spiel here since I agree with him:

To which I would add one thing: the satellite workshops allowed the politicos — MPs, Senators, and the like — an opportunity to really connect with their grassroots, and not just with their junior party members. True, they saw some ignorance, but ignorance borne of lack of information, not partisan blindness. It was proof that regular Canadians do have the ability to confront and discuss contentious issues.

Which is about to end in about ten minutes. More information to be added later.

Update(1):

With seven out of 177 districts reporting  in… there has been 5 young Liberals and 2 Independents elected.

Update(2):

Scratch that. Make that 7 young Liberals and no independents. The @cyaelection feed didn’t have a party listed for two people and I assumed that they were independents. Oops.

Update(3):

York West Centre’s Grant Goldberg (ANDY-AJND) scored zero votes and Julia Krupa (LYPC-PJLC) wins in a landslide. Arash Nayerahmadi wins via an Election Committee ruling on a hacking by unnamed forces. This makes 9 Liberals and no others (so far).

Update(4):

Matt Pryce, brother to Liberal Youth Party of Canada (LYPC) national director Paul Pryce, wins in Calgary Centre by 2 votes. 10 Liberals so far, and zero in either the Conservative or Dipper camps.

Update(5):

Two more constituencies are in: Jermyn Voon (Independent) wins in Calgary West and Isinger wins in Vancouver North-Port Moody. That is 11 Liberals and a single independent.

Update(6):

And the final results:

Liberal Youth Party of Canada: 27 seats

Independents: 10 seats (to Michelle Yu, Julian Whippy, Jack Dreaddy, Nathaniel Allen, Dave Parker, Michael Scott, Randall Shank, Jermyn Voon, Taylor Rothbell, and Brennan Kislinsky.)

Conservative Youth Party of Canada: 3 seats

Labour Progressive Party: 3 seats

Youth Green Party: 1 (Peter Browne)

Currently there are several ties and run-offs are expected. As it currently stands the Liberal Youth Party of Canada has swept the election and towers over the other parties in its garnered seats.

Link

Go to 1:18. If you look you’ll see Richard Dur (the campaign manager for the Wildrose Alliance win in the Calgary-Glenmore election) holding the microphone for one of my friends (who was pointing out that gays face a deficit of 800 civil rights in the USA and that Coulter’s conception of the equality of gays in the USA is skewed). I’m the scruffy looking guy in the red shirt and business suit behind him, waiting patiently so that I, too, could ask a question.