Unlike his two immediate predecessors who unwisely allowed themselves to be negatively defined by relentless campaigns of character assassination from the Conservatives, Bob Rae is making it clear that he’s not going to sit idle and simply allow attack ads by Harper’s mufti-million dollar smear machine to go unanswered. Instead, he’s determined to set the record straight (as he sees it), hit back and fight fire with fire…
As with the video noted in a previous post, this seems to be indicative of a more confident and aggressive communications strategy emanating from the LPC – one that has been sorely lacking for many years now.
Red Tory v.3.0.3 
haha, with responses like that Rae will have the SH Gov. going through their attack ad budget in no time. They’ll have to send out begging emails to help save “the world” from Mr. Rae.
Sassy, get a real life and quit that garbage talk.BTW, is that what Harper does to his parrots, begging for more money all the while his little puppets trolls keep swinging on his strings? Makes perfect sense to me Sassy.
Bugzy, not sure what you are getting at?
A more robust response from the Liberals would be nice, but isn’t it too little too late? By not attacking fast before they’ve allowed themselves to be decimated into the third party with only 35 seats in the HOC.
With that in mind a simple question springs forth; why waste what precious monetary resources you have left to defend an interim-leader with 3+ years to go before an election?
I think they should just let the Reformartories keep running these ads unchallenged; while the vote suppression charges, a hatchet-job budget, warrantless internet spying, and the spectre of recriminalizing abortion all swirl about. It will just remind Canadians of the level of douchebaggery that Harper and his fratboys specialize in.
TofKW: For starters, rather than “too little, too late,” I’d say “better late than never”… Obviously, the past can’t be changed so there’s not much point bothering about missed opportunities in that regard.
As for sitting back and allowing the “Reformatories” to destroy Rae, I guess that brings us to the inevitable question of whether he should or will be the next leader of the LPC to do battle with Harper. It seems pretty clear from all the present manoeuvrings that it’s his ultimate intent to be that person. But even if that’s not to be the case, I think that not taking any shit and fighting back is important for the morale of the party.
Well good luck to the Liberals if their grassroots “renewal” comes about under the leadership of their 63 year old establishment-backed candidate who carries more baggage than a 747. Now believe it or not I do actually like Bob Rae, he is an excellent speaker and parliamentarian. But honestly, he can’t be the permanent leader in 2015 if they’re serious about rebuilding the party.
That said, I will admit that it would be nice to see the opposition (be it NDP or Grit) finally begin to challenge the CPC’s verbal diarrhea for a change. I did appreciate Rae’s collage of clips hi-lighting the Harperbot’s lies regarding the F-35 fiasco. Frankly I think that should be their attack, and not some feeble attempt to defend Rae.
TofKW: The leadership issue can wait for another day — plenty of time to deal with that in due course. As for the matter of “renewal” that can begin in many ways but I’m seeing a vigour and determination that’s long been missing from the LPC emerging and am quite happy to embrace it. That it happens to be fronted by Bob Rae doesn’t concern me in the least.
If the Centre-Left merged, they could displace the CRAP (Canadian Republican American Pretenders) ….
Several Liberal bloggers (Jeff Jedras, Dan Arnold, Warren Kinsella) have been pointing out that the whole motivation behind this attack on Rae may well be to bring the whole issue of the permanent leadership to the fore, causing rifts within the Liberal party, and (if Rae is indeed determined to run despite past assurances) to demonstrate that a Liberal’s promise cannot be trusted.
So I think the issue of Liberal leadership cannot be ignored in this equation. Why else did the Tories bother with this ad in the first place?
Vancouverois: Makes perfect sense to me, but then why play their game and allow pointless “rifts” to develop? Rae is doing an excellent job at the moment and I for one am quite happy with the change in tone and attitude that’s being projected.
If Rae wants to put this to rest, all he has to do is reiterate that he is not going to run for permanent party leadership.
If he isn’t willing to do that because he actually *is* going to go back on his promise and run for permanent party leadership, then a rift is inevitable.
Unfortunately, you’re probably correct.
Personally, I don’t think too much stock should be put in that expedient “promise” made at a time when the party had essentially collapsed and everything was in complete disarray. Things change and, as the saying goes, “promises are made to be broken”… It is, after all, politics.
“Several Liberal bloggers have been pointing out that the whole motivation behind this attack on Rae may well be to bring the whole issue of the permanent leadership to the fore, causing rifts within the Liberal party…”
Meh. Maybe they’re wanting to elevate Rae’s profile as part of that. Perhaps. But that strategy isn’t without its risks, if you accept their preferred end-game to be the folding of the LPC into the NDP and a more or less two party political system in Canada. Engaging in war comes with unpredictable outcomes.
Glad to see Rae push back, and the attacks on him are not entirely bad, elevating him and the party.
I was kind of surprised to read a recent column by Warren Kinsella called “Stick a Fork in the Grits” (or something like that) slagging Rae, blasting the “Raelians” as he contemptuously refers to his boosters, and claiming that if Rae reneges on his “promise” not to become leader, the LPC will wiped out in the next election and effectively be finished as a party altogether.
(Don’t think so!)
No, I don’t think so either. Not that I’m representative of anything, but this is the first time that I’ve actually felt motivated to renew my Liberal membership — something I haven’t done since John Turner was the leader!
As a long-time party operative and “insider” Kinsella obviously has his own personal axes to grind which are of absolutely no concern to me or the vast majority of people not involved with internecine squabbles that have bedeviled the LPC to its great detriment for the past decade or so.
I tend to look at the party in a broader sense as the only sensible and moderately progressive alternative to the reactionary, perpetually fact-challenged, right-wing corporatist nobs that are the CPC and the feckless, dithering quasi-socialists that are the NDP.
Personally, I don’t think too much stock should be put in that expedient “promise” made at a time when the party had essentially collapsed and everything was in complete disarray. Things change and, as the saying goes, “promises are made to be broken”… It is, after all, politics.
…and that is exactly the point. As you yourself are demonstrating
If Rae runs for permanent leader – and wins – he simply demonstrates that the Liberal party cannot be trusted: the Liberal party believes that a promise can be tossed aside the moment it become inconvenient, as long as you think you can get away with it.
That attitude isn’t going to win back votes.