A day full of speeches, sound and fury at the NDP Convention to pick the next party leader. It’s an airless cavern here at the Metro Convention Center, and the trajectory of all this is not at all evident.
There were no big surprises at the hyper-excited happening — candidates gave raps similar to what they delivered in campaign stumping, honing their brand and emphasizing their prowess in battling Tories. The astonishing thing is that despite the general agreement in policy, candidates were still able to carve out distinct positioning for themselves, a real miracle in a party where core values are the major glue.
The real black sheep is Nathan Cullen while he’s done terrifically well in the fundraising area, it’s hard to assess his actual support.
Certainly one learns very little from weighing the various cheering sections here.
Cullen always spoke well, he always does, though I find a certain weird speciousness in some of his arguments. Today his contribution was laced with defensiveness. He’s obviously feeling deep heat from the grave alteration in party culture he’s advocating, forming alliances with enemy forces the Liberals.
This kind of electoral fraternizing has never been a point of discussion in the party before and I’m still stunned that the party is tolerating a consideration of the matter. Or are they?
“There are some folks who believe that there are good New Democrats and that there are bad New Democrats,” he said. “I fundamentally disagree with that.”
He reminded the gathering they were all part of a family and that “the real battle is not in the room. The real battle is not between us.” And he promised a conversation on cooperation, if he is elected, would be “open, respectful and democratic.”
Paul Dewar opened his showcase with a hip hop message via musician/MP Charlie Angus and stayed on message according to the themes he’s been consistently stressing during the race – his passion, commitment to social justice and his ability to energize the party base.
“It feels so good to be here with our NDP family in the house that Jack built,” he said, one of several, obviously requisite references to the deeply-missed leader.
Dewar, whose record in international affairs is superb, from Afghanistan, to the Arab spring, to his call for a foreign policy peace and reconciliation initiative, signaled his support for grass-roots issues. It’s not about left or right in the party, he said, because none of that matters to the Caterpiller workers and the homeless people of Attawapiskat. This race, he said, is about these people.
But, in the midst of talking up party momentum, “we’ll get more seats in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, we’ll take back Ontario and give Linda Duncan some company in Alberta,” etc., he hit a less than melodious note. La Belle Province, he said, shouldn’t have to carry the load all by itself. And all of a sudden, one was left to contemplate his problems with French and his lack of a base in Quebec.
Brian Topp generated a lot of lumps in a lot of throats by bringing out actor Shirley Douglas, daughter of T.C., in a wheelchair to help nominate him. And got sufficient attention from Ed Broadbent’s videotaped message: “He’s ready to lead,” the party elder said of Topp.
(Speaking of Broadbent. He was interview by the media here and answered charges he had unfairly meddled by tearing into Thomas Mulcair. What he said was: “Tommy Douglas didn’t hesitate to go into the fray.” It’s easy to duck stuff here by referring to the ancestors.)
Topp, a guy with huge backroom smarts (both lauded and cursed here), and considerable intelligence, pressed the fact he represents NDP traditional values. “I’m an unapologetic social democrat. I think you are too,” he said in a speaking style improving by the week.
He also approached boldness highlighting a policy, generally not in keeping with the party’s recent nervousness about the tax issue. He referred to inequality and the unfair tax system – usually NDP leaders start that way and head to corporate taxes and how low they are. Topp has been consistently talking up increasing personal taxes at the high end. And I know voters who will cast a ballot for him strictly on the basis that he’s addressing tax reform. He also offered a clear crowd pleaser – “Lets get cars out of our biggest cities just like Jack proposed.”
The real shake-up of the afternoon occurred when Mulcair’s folks paraded in led by a samba band and masses of delegates. His entourage looked huge, huge, while they trooped in, but later it was clear the majority of the crowd wasn’t his. And that’s the major mystery of this event: the masses are divided in at least five different ways. How will they re-figure themselves after the first ballot?
Mulcair’s video was a work of art, showcasing him tearing at the Tories in parliament and quietly discussing policy. It hit every note – referred to Tommy Douglas on medicare, talked about how sustainability had to be the basis of every government decision and how he could conserve the winnings in Quebec.
But his speech was hurried, as if there were too many points he was obligated to score, and his delivery the worst I’ve seen.
“My only adversary,” he said emphasizing the theme of party unity necessary for a frontrunner, “sits across from me in the House of Commons.” And he quickly touched on youth alienation, repeating his mantra, “when young people vote, the right loses”, Tory back to work legislation and making peace a priority.
The impressive Mulcair wouldn’t have lost any loyal supporters this afternoon, but let’s just say his natural charisma was taking a break.
Peggy Nash, on the other hand, was at her kick-ass best, though she ran out of time and gracefully had to wing it. Her parade almost equaled Mulcairs – but again, who knows what’s in the stored ballots, the ones rolling in here, and in the hearts of those still voting at home. The ebullient Gord Perks introduced her, along with Sarah Doucette. Perks declared her an “organizing legend” and Doucette praised her “passion and power.”
Former leader Alexis McDonough said Nash was “tireless, smart as a whip, and fearless,” and said that “if we are going to deliver Jack’s dream, Peggy is the ultimate team builder.” Nash, herself talked about how Layton had made her finance critic and how she dreamed of being the first federal NDP finance minister. People, she said, thought “a woman could never lead major collective bargaining in the auto industry and I did that. We went to the bargaining table and we won,” she said pitching her own toughness and resourcefulness.
The afternoon has now faded the speeches are done the die has been cast. Who knows what the evening of strong-arming and persuasion will bring as candidates host their parties. We await events of the morn.
