Friday, January 16, 2009

Looks Like Michael Ignatieff will be Challenged for Leadership

You just knew that it would happen. Somebody would have to come out of the woodwork sooner or later.

In the spirit of fairness, and toward a more free and democratic Liberal Party of Canada, I will lend this fellow a leg up. I do this because, as you will read in his letter, he would like us to share his feelings wih all Liberals.

Here's his letter:

Will all Liberal Riding Associations please forward this to the Liberal Candidate in their area and all concerned Liberals within the Association. There are attachments to this email. Please open them, read them and forward them as well. Thank you.



To All Concerned Liberals and Liberal MP's:



The Liberal Party has a serious problem. It needs an immediate fix or we'll never win the next election with a majority government. Please read all of this and you'll likely agree with me as to what the cure is. Then all you need to do is take some small actions to make it happen. We'll all appreciate your input and your efforts in this regard.

As we are all aware, the last election was a disaster. What it wasn't, was a wake up call to the party. It should have been, but it wasn't. It seems we are stuck in a 'same old, same old' routine and nothing can shake us out of it. Well, almost nothing.

Everyone seems to be agreed that our biggest detrimental factor is the lack of a charismatic, exciting leader who can take this party and forge ahead to an election win. There is another factor. We don't have any platforms that the people like and will vote for.

Let's deal with the first issue. During the last leadership campaign everyone was hoping for a new Pierre Elliot Trudeau to arise and lead us to a new majority government. But we did everything we could to make sure that couldn't happen. We auctioned off the leadership. Whoever got the most people to sign up or rejoin the party got to be the leader. Only those who had been in the party a long time and had a large group of friends built up could possibly hope to accomplish that. Unfortunately, the winner in that category turned out to be a less than dynamic leader who couldn't take us to a win. Even more unfortunately, there wasn't anyone better who might have won. I don't mean to knock some very good Liberals. Stephane Dion is a good man, just not the kind of man we needed, not for a leader.

Today, we have a 'same old, same old' situation yet again. We have made it virtually impossible for our 'hero' to come forth. By charging the phenomenal fee of $90,000. to run for the leadership, we have effectively blocked anyone except the 'old guard' from running. We only get to vote for those that a lot of us didn't want to vote for the last time around. How are we ever going to get our new P.E.T. if we won't let him/her in?

Because of the issue with a coalition government the Liberal Executive took some pretty extreme steps in panic mode, appointing a new leader. But this is not the way democracy works. Most Canadians polled dislike our method of choosing a leader. The good news is that our new leader isn't our new leader unless no one challenges him before Feb. 23. So he can still be unseated in an election. Remember, this is a man that we DIDN'T choose during the last leadership race. This is a man that didn't excite the party, the media or the public. He might be a better choice than Stephane Dion but he isn't the right choice for our party leader. Here are some more reasons why.

Let's discuss platforms. Some Liberal MP's have said, "We learned that you don't go into an election promising a new tax." Well, we didn't learn it when we got trounced by, of all people, Joe Clark. We went into that election promising a new tax and he simply said, "I won't tax you, yet." and he won the election.

There comes a point when we actually have to learn a few things. I think we've reached it. First, we need to get some real platforms that will excite the population. We can't grab just one and hang our hats on it. We need a whole spectrum of them, something for everyone. There isn't anyone in the party offering anything like this, well, almost no one. We need someone who can take on the Conservatives and beat them at their own game. We need someone who can take on the NDP and beat them at their own game and we need someone who can take on the Greens and the Block and beat them at their own games.

So what we need is a charismatic, dynamic, intelligent leader who has lots of great platforms and can trump all of the other party's plans. If this all sounds impossible, take heart, there is someone out there who is offering all these things.

Attached to this email you will find a partial list of new platforms that are all designed to excite Canadians to come out and vote for us. All of these platforms are achievable and, while some sound pretty simple, in reality, they are massive programs encompassing major changes to the way Canada does things. Every one of them is carefully studied and planned in great detail to fit exactly what Canadians have been asking and hoping for, for many years. There is truly something for everyone in them. As we get closer to the election we will expound on what we are actually offering Canadians, in full, both amazing and exciting all Canadians. It's a great election ploy.

The problem is, the person who developed these platforms, the person with the charisma who is a dynamic, intelligent and very capable leader, isn't in a position to pay $90,000. to run for the leadership and doesn't have a long list of highly placed and influential friends to turn to.

What seems like a great idea to raise funds for the party is yet another way to ensure we don't get this new leader that we so desperately need. We need to all be aware of one thing especially. The one sure way to raise a LOT of money is to get a LOT of the Canadian people on our side. If we offer Canadians what they want and need, they will send us exponentially more money than we can ever hope to raise by charging exorbitant fees for leadership entrants. With the right charismatic leader and lots of great platforms, we'll have more money in our coffers than anyone can imagine. People will support us if we offer them what they want and need. They will send their money to us in order to get what we offer. With nothing to offer, why would they send us money, which is our situation now and this will continue if we elect a new leader from the ranks of those who have already proven that they have nothing new to offer and can't excite the public into a fervor to vote for us.

Such a potential new leader does exist. All you need to do to find out who it is and what you can do to have such a leader is to read the attached list of platforms and decide if you'd like to be Canada's governing party for the next thirty and more years. If you do, first, demand that the fee for people to run for the leadership be either dropped entirely or reduced to a tiny fraction of what it is now. Second, do whatever you can to assure that he has a riding to run in. Third, gather some signatures for him from within the party to ensure his ability to run for the leadership position. Fourth, donate some of your money towards paying the entrance fee and for the election campaign. That's all it takes to turn this party into an unbeatable, unstoppable, election winner. With this leader and these platforms, you'll not only help to change Canada into a much better place, you'll help to change the world into a much better place.

If everyone who reads this gets their riding association to agree to put up money for this new leader, we can easily raise enough money for him to run.

There is another factor here that you must consider. If this new leader excites the people, your job of getting your MP elected will become much easier. When the Canadian people get all excited about him and want him for a Prime Minister, they have to vote for their local Liberal as MP and they will, in great numbers. So electing this person as leader of the Liberal Party doesn't just assure that he will be the next PM, it also assures that your MP choice will be the next MP in your area. If you had a tougher campaign or you received less voter support this time around, you will know exactly what I am talking about.

It's time for change, time for someone new to lead the party, time for some great new platforms to excite the public, time for us to take our place as the rightful leaders of this nation. We can't do it with the 'old guard'. They have failed to excite the public or come up with anything new to excite the public. Sticking with any one of them because we've blocked out anyone new is political suicide. We must decide what we want, to govern the country or to keep fighting on with little to offer and hope for the best. Please help make some changes that will get us back to where we should be. Read the attachments and decide for yourself if they will excite the public and get us elected with a majority. Be sure to send them to all your members so they can make their own decisions about who to support. Thank you.



Sincerely,

Richard Dubeau
newprimeminister@gmail.com

Address witheld by TWDIKG


Anyone wishing a copy of Richard's platform and educational platform, please leave a comment and I'll forward them to you.

17 comments:

Sinestra said...

Just to clarify: is Richard Dubeau the candidate or the 'agent'? Please send me the details.

Anonymous said...

Who is Richard Dubeau?

James Curran said...

That's a really good question.

Aurelia said...

Yeah, and I think he has the rules incorrect. Didn't they close nominations already, so that right now Iggy is interim leader, and he is the only nominated candidate currently allowed to run?

I know that someone on LPC has to approve anyone running for leader, and there is a set of criteria that can exclude someone with say, for example, a criminal record, or what have you.

This could be interesting though....another twist in the story.

James Curran said...

Nominations are still open. Membership cutoff is approaching quickly however.

Anonymous said...

My attempts to Google this dude were inconclusive...

Oemissions said...

I don't think Leadership is the issue.

Robert G. Harvie, Q.C. said...

As a Conservative, I would welcome a different leader.. I know you're a little sour on Ignatieff, but I believe that he is truly making some Conservatives take notice - current commentary and thoughts being expressed that acknoweldge the contribution of Alberta to the Canadian economic engine, acknoweldgement of Israel's right to self-defence - and a writing background that paints him as a pragmatist, as compared to the last liberal leader who one might fairly describe as more of a Walter Mitty.

It appears that Mr. Dubeau doesn't even have a blog - let alone a webpage to give anyone any idea of who he is or what his background is.. not much of a start for a proposed "leader" of the Liberal party..

If you're willing, James, I'd be happy to look at his info..

Sunita said...

I am interested in getting the attachments. How can I get it without leaving my email publicly in your comments?

James Curran said...

Anyone wanting the info can email me at ducky7777@yahoo.com

penlan said...

Hi James,

I'd like the info.

farwestie said...

Hi James,
Intriguing"! One thing I suspect that's going on right now is that the left of the LPC is getting squeezed. And we know that the people who don't vote Conservative are to the left of the new leader and the old guard. Put those two things together and you've got an argument for a different kind of leader. The problem then might be making sure the selection rules and process are absolutely fair. O boy!

Anyway, please put me down for more information. We have a lot of voters in my area who loved Dion's commitment to green policies and may leave the party and vote Green or NDP if Ignatieff is the leader. There'd be a lot of interest in a challenger, IMHO.
cheers!

Sean Williamson said...

That was pretty sophomoric stuff. All we need is a charismatic leader and good "platforms"!? Who is this saviour? Reveal yourself! On second thought, with insight like that, who needs to know his name? Elect this man leader now, irrespective of identity!

How can anyone take seriously the idea that this mystery man couldn't raise $90,000 to get in the race in the first place, but he does have a surefire way to raise millions of dollars, give something to every Canadian, and ensure Liberal government for 30 years? Get real.

Ignatieff is making this party credible and relevant, finally. He is the most compelling figure in politics, and has been since the moment he ran for office. He's attracting bright people to take on important jobs in the party and his office. We've got the right leader, plain and simple.

penlan said...

Mr. Dubeau's "platform" is interesting. The plans have vision but no details on how any of these would be implemented. And the education statement would be almost impossible to implement as well. Nations can't agree on a myriad of things, just look at the I/P conflict at the moment & how the world's nations are supporting the Israeli bombardment, war.

I would need a lot more details on this before I could apply any support. And to know who the "candidate" is as it may not be Mr. Dubeau.

James Curran said...

If I haven't sent Mr. Dubeau's stuff out to any of you, pleasse email me at ducky7777@yahoo.com

JSiegel said...

I like his pitch:

"The Liberal Party needs a real leader, not someone who has been through the mill and come out a loser. The Liberal Party needs some new blood, a new Pierre Elliot Trudeau, someone with charisma, enthusiasm, dedication, vision, a will to make changes and an ability to make changes. Someone who can excite the population, not just with great platforms but with his enthusiasm and charisma.
I am that person. I can lead the Liberal Party into and through the next election. I am no wimp who Harper and Layton can brush aside. I have real ground to stand on and I always stand my ground. I am ready, willing and able to put my platforms head to head with any that the other parties or other prospective leaders might have. I am ready to go into an election tomorrow and win. What I offer the Liberal Party is not just a new leader, but a majority government, a landslide majority government. Please get on board and help me create the new ‘Dubeaumania’ which will drive us forward to a permanent, landslide, majority government."

That's it! Dubeaumania! Who needs to see a resumé, or any indication whatsoever of community involvement, substance or achievement? Policies that explain the "how" of the Mom and apple pie platitudes? Nah - the other guys will just steal them. Let's just go for it!

Beam me up, Scotty.

James Curran said...

Transporter's ready Jack. Beam me up too!