Liberal Leadership Race

Rather than reporting the results of the first ballot, I thought it would be best to create a thread on the whole race. This way we can continue to discuss the events as they play out, without having to rush to a new thread.

So after the first ballot we have Ignatieff in the lead while Volpe & Findlay have been dropped off the second ballot. CBC is reporting:

Federal Liberal leadership front-runner Michael Ignatieff held an initial lead early Saturday in the first ballot, but nowhere near the 50 per cent plus one majority needed to claim the job outright, forcing at least a second ballot to determine the winner.

Wheeling and dealing for delegate support heading into Saturday morning's second-round vote in Montreal is expected to run well through the night as delegates are now free to vote for the candidate of their choice.

www.cbc.ca...

So we have Dion & Kennedy openly supporting one another, Volpe has announced his support for Rae, and well, Harper is taking some punishment. All in all, seems to have got off on the right foot. I would of been shocked if this were decided on one ballot. The numbers are right around where I expected, Ignatieff in the lead with some work to do.

Will Volpe's & Findlay's backing impact the race?

With Joe publicly stating that he fully supports Bob Rae, and Findlay about to announce who she supports, will this benefit anyone? Will Rae's numbers take a jump? In the past, how much has this support impacted the race?

Well this little statement may indicate that Volpe's support may be a little light.

But Volpe's move may be prove less swaying than it first appeared. His campaign chair, Nick Discepola, said he was going to Ignatieff's camp and was taking up to 40 of Volpe's estimated 140 delegates with him.

So only time will tell where the Race takes us from here.

The results of the second ballots are in, and little has changed.

Ignatieff maintains lead after second ballot

Michael Ignatieff has maintained his lead after a second round of voting at the Liberal leadership convention in Montreal, while his closest rival, Bob Rae, remains in second place.

Ignatieff earned 31.6 per cent of the vote Saturday morning, up from 29.3 per cent in the first ballot. Rae was next at 24.1 per cent, up from 20.3 per cent on Friday. Shortly after the latest results were announced, Ken Dryden, who was fifth with 4.7 per cent of the vote, threw his support to Rae, adding momentum to the former Ontario premier's bid.

Gerard Kennedy, who finished fourth with 18.8 per cent, said he will support third-place finisher Stéphane Dion — who had won support earlier from Martha Hall Findlay, who placed last on the first ballot.

www.cbc.ca...

While Dion is still in the mix, it seems like Bob Rae is the only one likely to over take Ignatieff. Ignatieff is receiving no support from his fellow Liberals as they drop out, but is this an indication of his political point of view or the fact he is the favorite? I'm thinking the latter, but I'm all ears to hear another point of view.

At this pace, it seems like were looking at two more ballots.

The Liberals were boasting over their 8 impressive candidates and how solid they were. But I have a problem with a party bragging over the fact none of the members, who are looking to run the party on a federal level, absolutely bombed their speeches. It's kind of like, bragging that you never went to jail. You should do a good job on your speech, just like you should not go to jail. You can't brag about something your supposed to do.

While the numbers have been mixed, nobody has been overly impressive.

I would be surprised if anything in the Liberals future were to have a drastic change. I like to see someone run their own race. Too much PC bashing and too little Liberal agenda.

Back to the waiting game.

[edit on 2-12-2006 by chissler]

Watch out for Dion. If Gerard can bring 2/3 of his delegates with him, it could be over as Rae would go out and there is too much animocity between Iggy and Rae camps to bolster Iggy.

30 minutes to the results.

Stephane, Stephane, rah, rah, rah.

3rd ballot results:

Dion- 37%

Ignatieff- 34.5%

Rae- 28.5%

Dion and Iggy, head to head. Whoop, whoop!!!!

Yeah I'm just getting in and I heard the results.

* chissler chews his own words

Bobby, where are you going?

I think it has to be said, big snaps to intrepid for his call on this.



[edit on 2-12-2006 by chissler]

Reported on CBC:

Rae said he's releasing all of his delegates to vote as they wish. "I will not tell them how to vote and I will keep my own counsel on how I plan to vote."

www.cbc.ca...

This is going to come down to the last minute.

Dion or Ignatieff

Originally posted by chissler


Dion or Ignatieff

Pfft. DION!!!

Iggy's gone from 29% to 34% in 3 ballots. Stephane's gone from 20% to 37%. He's definately the #2 choice of most people.

The Liberals are getting the point. The Conservatives didn't get voted in, the Liberals got voted out. We sent a message, "Get your # together." Today they are doing just that. Dion is squeaky clean and the best chance to beat Harper.

How does a 4th place candidate get to 1st place after 3 ballots? The liberals are voting with their minds.

Let the Dion dynasty begin.

Please be Dion, please.. *crosses fingers*

I don't see Iggy picking up to much support from the Rae camp.

A question chissler. What do you think of Dion?

Well said intrepid. But on a more important note, Did you just pfft me?



I do agree though, it does seem that the Dion regime is about to begin.

Originally posted by intrepid
The Conservatives didn't get voted in, the Liberals got voted out.

I like that.

Originally posted by chissler
Well said intrepid. But on a more important note, Did you just pfft me?

Sorry, I'm just pumped. Can you tell that I'm into politics?

It's looking like support for Dion is coming from across the country. We haven't seen that in a Liberal candidate since Trudeau.

Originally posted by intrepid
A question chissler. What do you think of Dion?

I have not been a supporter of him, but to be honest, I have not supported anyone. I've followed the race, but have not been in anyone's corner. Just more of a spectator watching how everything plays out.

But what do I personally think of Dion?

Well, we were both born on September 28th. He's halfway to having my vote already. I've always been a fan of Chretien, so his ties to him are also a positive. His work with Quebec after the 1995 referendum shows his efforts to unify our country, and I am all about the unity Canada.

I did not read into too much depth of each candidate, which is mainly why I have not openly supported anyone, but I can say I do not anything negative to say of him. I would be satisfied with Dion.

However, my opinions are held until they are at the reigns.



[edit on 2-12-2006 by chissler]

VICTORY!

I'll post later. I want to here the speeches.

Just listening to Dion's speech now.

Thought I would check in to see intrepid's end zone celebration dance.

Guess I'll have to wait.



Politicians are a lot of things, not all of them good. But Stephane Dion really comes off as a good man. Not many do. I hope our Liberals turn this ship around, with Dion at the helm, I see good things.

I just strongly wish that they spend most of their time working on Liberal agendas. Not Harper & PC bashing.

Congratulations to Stephane Dion.

I only hope he can help them regain some credibility in time for the next election.

Dion was the best man for the job.

Duzey, Are you a Liberal?

I'm unaffiliated.

I used to be a Progressive Conservative before the merger. They call us Red Tories. After the merger, I couldn't support the new party. I was very against the merger and that's why I hate Peter MacKay so much. He sold my party down the river, after promising he wouldn't in the leadership race.

I voted NDP in the last election.

[edit on 2-12-2006 by Duzey]

Thank you, I appreciate the response.

I wouldn't consider myself a bonafide Liberal, but I've voted Liberal in every election. Grant it I've only voted for a few years, but Liberal nonetheless. I've always been confused with my intentions though. Was I voting locally or federally?

Honestly, I think I voted for the best man locally. After Martin took over the reigns, I did not want to see the Liberals retain power. But I was in a pickle because our Liberal incumbent was the best man for the job. He is a friend of the family and a good man, so he has had my vote in the past and will continue to have it in the future.

No problem.

It is hard to choose how to cast your vote at times. It nearly killed me to vote NDP, but in the end I went with who I felt was the best local candidate. If I thought they had a shot at forming a government, I probably wouldn't have voted for them. Confusing, aren't I?

With Stephane Dion at the helm of the Liberals, they will probably get my vote in the future. When torn between the choice of my conservative fiscal beliefs and my liberal social beliefs, the social beliefs wins every time.

In the last election, I got what I wanted. The Liberals got kicked out, but the Conservatives didn't get a majority. While I may not have gotten over the scandals, the Conservatives have proven to me that they shouldn't be running this country.

Originally posted by Duzey


In the last election, I got what I wanted. The Liberals got kicked out, but the Conservatives didn't get a majority. While I may not have gotten over the scandals, the Conservatives have proven to me that they shouldn't be running this country.

Exactly Duzey. I also voted NDP last election for the same reasons you mentioned. The Liberals needed to clean up their act and I feel they went a long way towards that yesterday, not only by electing Dion but they also slapped the old school Liberals HARD. Now, Harper's next.