Sunday, September 16, 2007

Will Dion Meet His Waterloo in Outremount?

Hi All!

Much has been said regarding the most recent polls in the Quebec by-elections. Steve Janke of Angry in the Great White North was one of the first to speculate on the possible machinations going on behind the scenes in the LPoC. Some of the most insightful text:

In my last post, I considered the possibility that enemies of Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion from within the party would like to see their own party lose the by-election in the riding of Outremont. A Liberal stronghold, the Liberal candidate is Jocelyn Coulon, an academic cut from the same cloth as Stephane Dion himself, a candidate that was not nominated by the Liberals in the riding but appointed to be their nominee directly by Stephane Dion. A loss would reflect poorly on Stephane Dion on a number of levels -- weakness in Quebec, poor decision-making skills, etc -- and might accelerate his departure as leader of the Liberal Party.

And this:

We don't know whether the allegations are true (Ignatieff supporters like Denis Coderre are adamant that these allegations are groundless) but the fact that Dion's people are going public is very telling.

Think about it.

Stephane Dion and his people see a resounding loss shaping up in Outremont, and not a single win in any three of the Quebec by-elections being held on Monday. The Conservatives, on the other hand, are likely to pick up a seat in Quebec, suggesting that Tory strength in Quebec is not an anomaly that will disappear as memory of the Sponsorship Scandal recedes, but a growing threat based on real shifts in Quebec political thought.

And a real threat to Stephane Dion's future.

The knives are out and in the backrooms operatives are being dispatched to plant the seeds of doubt. I think I may have witnessed one of these Johny Appleseed operatives in action. This clip from Garth Turner's recent Lost Tory Tour's stop in Calgary.







So there are some lifelong Liberals wondering out loud about the time lines of another leadership convention. Hhhhmmmmmm. What was this tour really about?

What struck me most about the whole Garth Turner experience was the obvious scripted nature of the questions posed by lib operatives.

Make your own conclusions.

Syncro

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The knives are definatly out with the he said Iggy said stuff over the weekend. The party is going to self destruct all the while THEY say the CPC is in worse condition.

Harper is looking to pick up possibly 2 seats whereas the Bloc might lose two and the libs lose a seat that theyve held oh since my DAD was a kid (and im almost 40)

Dion stuck his neck out accepting Turner as a member of the caucus and you KNOW thats why Garth is trying to prove his worth. Too bad when Dions turfed there wont be room in caucus for him...he will announce his retirement from politics.

And then go on a book tour.

Anonymous said...

AND now if you go on garths site, hes trying to downplay the potential doom of the by election results. If they were going to win it would be a referendum on Dions leadership. The libs in Quebec will be 0-3 as of tonight based on a leader that could "win back Quebec". Hes not doing too hot right now is he?

And of course Garth says "who will remember the results from these byelections?" Um, everyone in the liberal party goof ball! And Garth should remember it as the thin edge of the wedge when it comes to his lifespan in the liberal party.

The tin foil hat party is looking for a leader...Garths a perfect fit.

syncrodox said...

Halton Res

I agree, Garth's political life depends on Dion maintaining control.

Today could be the beginning of the end for both of them. Of course Garth does seem to have the innate ability to "remake" himself so a run at the leadership of the tinfoil hat party is not out of the realm of possibility.

Syncro

Anonymous said...

Garths leadership is now in full swing. If youd like to know more, call Tony McLaren.

Garths tour out west was not only to bash PM Harper and try to prop up the dying leadership of Dion (making good impressions) but to bolster his leadership chances. The person making the comments about Dion at this town hall was NOT a conincidence, but carefully planned.

He may be a jerk, but hes not stupid.

syncrodox said...

Blue Liberal

Very interesting. I will be reviewing the tape of Garth's Calgary TH as I think I observed more than one thing that supports your theory.

Thanks for the heads up....more to come.

Syncro