CBC News: Murphy declares for Brison

Murphy declares for Brison

Last Updated: Wednesday, September 6, 2006 | 7:47 AM AT

CBC News

Charlottetown MP Shawn Murphy says he's supporting Scott Brison's campaign for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada, adding it's time for a Prime Minister from Atlantic Canada.

Murphy said he's always been impressed with Brison as an MP and as a minister, and that Brison's policies are aligned with his own. Brison served as public works minister from 2004 to 2006.

Murphy notes the last Atlantic Canadian prime minister was Sir Robert Borden, a Conservative who held the job from 1917 to 1920. He says people should consider that perhaps it is the region's turn.

The leadership convention will be held in December in Montreal.

PersonallyPenny: Labour Day Weekend Tubing

Labour Day Weekend Tubing

Haven't had the energy to do write my own material lately... One of these days I'll write something about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Anyhoo, here's someone else's material.... my fave leadership candidate speaking around the country.

If you want to hear politics done the way the best of them have always done it, and have a few laughs, too, check out these links!! [Hope you have high speed!!]

Scott Brison speaks in Vancouver

Scott Brison Speaks to Alberta Liberals

Scott Brison speaks in RNP

Scott Brison's Opening Statement, Surrey Debate

Scott Brison at Women's Caucus Debate

Ramblings of a Northern Ontario Liberal: My Leadership top 10

My Leadership Top 10


Since it is September 1st, three months before leadership, I thought that I would start doing a monthly ranking of the leadership contenders. So here is my top 10, as it stands right now.

1. Michael Ignatieff- I don't really need to go into it again. Look here for some reasons.

2. Scott Brison- Despite his recent attacks on Iggy, I still like him. I've talked with Scott quite a bit this summer. I think he's probably got the most charisma in the race. I like his views on Afghanistan and regional development/sustainability, among other things. He was tainted a bit by the Income Trust thing, but it seems like that is in the past. He's young. He's principled, as evidenced by his decision to cross the floor. He does have some drawbacks, his French is not the greatest, he doesn't really have ties to the West, but I think his pluses outweigh his minuses.

3. Gerard Kennedy- As I've mentioned previously, I've got Gerard at number 3. He's got a lot of the same things going for him that Ignatieff does. He's a fresh face and not tied to Chretien/Martin or sponsorship. I think he did a great job with education in Ontario. He's got ties to the West and I think that he can help rebuild the party out there. I disagree with him pretty strongly on Afghanistan, but I generally like his views on a lot of things. I just wish he had more concrete proposals, but I'm sure that will come in time. He's got a lot of hype around him and maybe not so much substance, which is not neccessarily a bad thing. Trudeau did too and that won him the PM job in 1968. But I'm not comparing Kennedy to Trudeau as politicians.

4. Stephane Dion- I've written about Dion before. I've said that I didn't like his stance on regional sustainability, as I understood it at the Bedford Academy. Jason Cherniak has offered to get a clarification for me, so until then, Dion sits at number 4. I like that he is passionate about the environment and federalism. I'm not sure if he can help rebuild the party in Quebec and not sure how Westerners view him.

5. Martha Hall Findlay- I know that this seems high, but I really admire her determination. She came in as someone that no one knew. I know I laughed at her and said "Who the hell is this that is entering the race?" But no one is laughing now. I'll admit that she is a little higher in part because there are specific things that I really don't like about some candidates below her. She's got the fresh face thing going. She's a woman, which is not a plus or minus, but I think think would show the party is serious about renewal.

6. Bob Rae- Bob Rae is so low in part because I haven't really heard him much. I wanted to, but it seemed like things always came up. I disagree with him on Afghanistan and I don't think he can get elected in Ontario, rightly or wrongly based on his record. He may have done a better job than people think, but in the end, people will remember the Bob Rae years as bad ones and not vote for him I think. I do think the fact that he has the most governing experience of any candidate is a plus though.

7. Ken Dryden- It's not that I don't like Dryden or think he's a bad guy. I just don't see him as the leader. He doesn't inspire me. He did a great job with the Child Care file, but other than that, he's too new. At least with Ignatieff, he was a political scientist, he was dealing with human rights and got practical experience that applies to being a politician. Dryden was a hockey player, lawyer, and ran the Toronto Maple Leafs. I think he's a great cabinet minister, but I don't think he can be leader of the party.

8. Carolyn Bennett- I like Carolyn too. I go on her youth MSN chats every Sunday. She has great intentions. She is probably the candidate who is pushing the renewal agenda the hardest and I hope she sticks around to the convention so that we can hear her speech. I think she would be a great Minister of Health.

9. Hedy Fry- I guess she's got the fact that she beat the last Conservative Prime Minister going for her.

10. Joe Volpe- I've met Volpe numerous times too, leading back to a visit he made to Sault Ste. Marie. I just think he represents everything that we need to run away from as a party.

Clear Grit: Brison tells his familiar story

Brison tells his familiar story

Despite being Canada's first openly gay cabinet minister, leadership candidate, Progressive Conservative, and Liberal MP, Scott Brison has been mum about his sexual orientation, especially when compared with, say, Svend Robinson. It's refreshing that he's so non-challant about it, but it's also good to hear him talk about his experiences as a gay man in Linda Diebel's profile of him.

I don't want to say he (and other gay MPs and public figures) have an obligation to talk about these things, but certainly it falls to them first and foremost to act as representatives of their particular constituency. Just like it falls to Muslim figures first and foremost to denounce extremism in the name of Islam, so too does it fall to gay MPs and public figures to speak about their experiences, fight for gay rights, and try to make the world a better place for people like themselves.

Identity politics may be unwholesome, unproductive and unfair, but in a world where not everything is fair, they are sometimes necessary. Barack Obama is the only black member of the US Senate. By no means should that be what defines him, but he most certainly is the leading voice for the concerns of black people in that body, and it's just naive to say otherwise.

So it's good to hear Brison talking about these issues. Incidentally, despite the fact that I will no longer be voting for him next month, I still wish him well in this race. If he wins, I won't be disappointed.

Wolfville Watch: A Plug for Brison

A Plug for Brison

by wolfvillewatch on Fri 01 Sep 2006 12:00 AM ADT Permanent Link Cosmos

There's one born every minute, or is it every second?

2006-08-24 The Scott Brison Liberal Leadership campaign received another endorsement Wednesday, welcoming Senator Joe Day – Saint John – Kennebecasis to his campaign for the leadership of the federal Liberal Party.

“I am very proud to have the support of Senator Day. He brings a wealth of experience to our campaign and will be advising us on a number of key issues including organization, fundraising and policy issues,” said Brison....

Senator Day, who was called to the Senate by Prime Minister Chretien in 2001, is well known and well respected for his countless years of support of the Liberal Party both federally and provincially in New Brunswick. A candidate for the leadership of the provincial Liberal Party in 1982 and past candidate for both provincial and federal parties, Senator Day brings with him an established network of support and resources....

“As a Martimer[Sic], as a Liberal, I feel that it is time we elected someone who will establish an open line of communication with the grassroots supporters of the Liberal Party and will engage and energize the membership of our party. That person is Scott Brison.”

Other endorsements listed here Print Article

from skdadl @ Peace, order and good government, eh?: And the gloves are off

And the gloves are off

Brison compared Ignatieff to Stockwell Day, who jumped from provincial politics to become leader of the now-defunct Canadian Alliance without any experience at the federal level.

Sorry, but I just had to share. That sudden vision of Ignatieff in a wetsuit gave me such a jolt.
We do have some solid archives and wonderfully serious and profound reflections on the candidacy of Michael Ignatieff for the Liberal leadership, most recently here.

But the leadership race is politics, after all, and Scott Brison (a flagging contender) is not so wrong to be worrying, as he was today, that Ignatieff's way of, ah, interfacing with the Canadian public is not going all that smoothly:

In the most pointed broadside yet against the acclaimed academic, Scott Brison said Ignatieff's repeated miscues suggest the rookie MP has poor political judgment and insufficient experience to lead a national party.

"These gaffes are damaging to a leadership campaign but they will be terminal to a national general election campaign," Brison said in an interview.

Brison's attack was prompted by what he called Ignatieff's "gaffe of the week" -- a refusal to commit to running in the next election if he doesn't win the party's leadership.

"Depends who's leader," Ignatieff told the Toronto Star's editorial board, adding that there are "all kinds of ways you can stay committed and involved and active in the Liberal Party of Canada, believe me, without being an MP."

Ignatieff clarified his intentions in an interview Wednesday with The Canadian Press.
"Let's be clear. I am planning to run in the next election in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. I love being an MP and I've enjoyed it enormously and I'm looking forward to doing it again," said Ignatieff, who first won election last January.
...
Asked why he didn't say that when the Star first asked, Ignatieff said he considered hypothetical questions about his political future should he lose the leadership contest to be moot.
So the gloves are off. Brison was not alone in prickling at Ignatieff's musings in the Star interview over his own level of commitment.

Gerard Kennedy's generous interpretation of Ignatieff's latest retraction concealed a stiletto:
"I don't think Mr. Ignatieff pretends to have a lot of experience, per se. I think that's one of the things he would argue is offset by other attributes."

And Ken Dryden -- that nice Ken Dryden -- just plain lost his temper:

"This is pitch-in time, get-mad time, do whatever needs to be done time," Dryden said. "Some things are more important than who is party leader ... this isn't a time to pick up your marbles and go home."

Meanwhile, Scott Brison has clearly been keeping a lot of notes:

Brison took Ignatieff to task for other recent so-called gaffes, including telling the Star that Canadians "live and operate in a heartless world and you need leadership that understands that."

"When you see the world as being heartless, that helps someone justify ruthless acts," such as Qana, Brison said.

He also chided Ignatieff for saying that Canada's peacekeeping tradition "died" with the genocide in Rwanda.

Brison said that remark could only come from someone who's spent 30 years outside the country and fails to appreciate how important peacekeeping is to Canadians and to Liberals in particular, who view party icon Lester Pearson as the father of peacekeeping.

He also scoffed at Ignatieff's recent admission that he's not sure he's "up to the price you have to pay" to succeed in politics.

"If you go in to have heart surgery and the surgeon says, `I think I'm ready to do this but I've never done it before,' you're probably going to look for a surgeon who's done it before," Brison said.

Speaking as a Canadian who just goes up in flames whenever a Michael Ignatieff suggests that she needs a leader to condescend to help her to understand just how heartless the world is (and he does seem to do that with alarming frequency), I am ever so pleased to see Mr Brison already hitting the books, whatever his own missteps thus far may have been (one very large).
After all, it's the season. Back to school, kids. We have a heavy fall term ahead of us.
And thanks to sparqui at Bread and Roses.

The Dan Report: Brison, Kennedy to Debate on Question Period

Brison, Kennedy to Debate on Question Period

Michael Ignatieff was also approached to discuss Afghanistan on the show - among a number of other leadership campaign issues. However, in an interview with Public Eye, Ignatieff campaign assistant communications director Alicia Johnston said her candidate declined the invite because "he's got meetings." Ms. Johnston also clarified that the appearance "wasn't actually pitched to us as a debate (with Mr. Kennedy) per se." Instead, the appearance would have been to "just to talk to (hosts) RogerSmith) and Jane (Taber)" one-on-one. Fellow leadership contender Scott Brison ( will be appearing on the show to debate Mr. Kennedy. Full Story.

Should be fun to watch a little debate between two candidates even if it's for only a few minutes. Brison is a veteran spinmaster so Kennedy will be in for a good challenge.

Jane Taber, Globe and Mail: Ignatieff changes tune on seeking re-election

Ignatieff changes tune on seeking re-election

JANE TABER
From Thursday's Globe and Mail

OTTAWA — Michael Ignatieff said yesterday he is running in the next election whether he wins the Liberal leadership race or not. But that's not what he said the day before.

The rookie Toronto MP, who is the perceived front-runner in the race to replace Paul Martin, was forced yesterday to backtrack -- his campaign prefers to use the word "clarify" -- on his suggestion to a newspaper that he would leave the federal scene if he didn't succeed on the leadership ballot in December in Montreal.

Asked by the Toronto Star's editorial board if he would run again if he loses the party leadership, Mr. Ignatieff said: "Depends who's leader."

Yesterday, however, the former Harvard University professor, who lived outside of Canada for about 30 years, released a statement saying he loves being an MP and of course he'll run again in the next federal election.

"Let's be clear: I am planning to run in the next election in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. I love being an MP and I've enjoyed it enormously and I'm looking forward to doing it again," Mr. Ignatieff said.
He added that, whoever wins the leadership race, he will do whatever he can to help him or her defeat Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the next election.

Asked why he didn't say that when the Star first asked, Mr. Ignatieff said he considered hypothetical questions about his political future should he lose the leadership contest to be moot.
"I feel I have good reason to believe I'm ahead in the race and I plan to win. So the hypothetical is not going to arise."

It was the second time in as many weeks that Mr. Ignatieff has had to clarify controversial remarks.

Earlier this month, he acknowledged he made a "mistake" when he told a newspaper he wasn't "losing sleep" over deaths in Lebanon.

Not surprisingly, his remarks yesterday set off a storm among Liberals, with some of his leadership opponents questioning his commitment to party renewal, and other Liberals thinking what he said was just plain stupid.

Leadership candidate Scott Brison said Mr. Ignatieff's repeated miscues suggest the rookie MP has poor political judgment and insufficient experience to lead a national party.

"These gaffes are damaging to a leadership campaign but they will be terminal to a national general-election campaign," Mr. Brison said.

Meanwhile, the phone lines were buzzing at Ignatieff headquarters in Toronto yesterday morning.

Campaign director Ian Davey said he personally received about 50 e-mails and calls from Liberals, some friendly and not some not so friendly, regarding Mr. Ignatieff's comments.

He said that half of them said, "I love the fact that this guy shoots straight," and the other half said it was a "dumb" thing to say.

Privately, an Ignatieff strategist said the candidate shouldn't have made the comments but that's what Mr. Ignatieff is like when faced with a question: "He thinks them right through and he answers them honestly," said the strategist. He added, however, that Mr. Ignatieff had to clarify his remarks because it was "a hypothetical."

". . . You say something stupid, you better either retract it or clarify it right away," the strategist said.

Some of Mr. Ignatieff's opponents, all of whom say they are running in the next election, were miffed by his remarks.

Former Ontario cabinet minister Gerard Kennedy, who gave up his cabinet post and his provincial seat to run for the leadership, was charitable: "None of us are perfect," he said.
Stéphane Dion, former senior Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin cabinet minister, said he would support whoever the new leader is and show the same loyalty he showed to both those Liberal prime ministers.

However, he added he expects to be "loyal to myself."
Mr. Dion is considered one of the top four contenders along with Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Ignatieff and Bob Rae.

Mr. Rae, the former Ontario NDP premier, was not available for comment. However, Mr. Rae does not have a federal seat. He was asked to run in the last election by Mr. Martin but declined.
His spokesman, Alexander Swann, said Mr. Rae does intend to run but no decision has been made as to what seat he would seek.

Candidate Ken Dryden, who first ran in 2004 and served as a senior Martin minister, criticized Mr. Ignatieff for his suggestion: "This is pitch-in time, get-mad time, do-whatever-needs-to-be-done time," he said. "Some things are more important than who is party leader. This government's clear: it's Kyoto or it's not, it's Kelowna or it's not, it's childcare or it's not. That's what's at stake. . . . This isn't a time to pick up your marbles and go home."

With a report from Canadian Press

Joan Bryden, Canadian Press: Brison: Ignatieff’s gaffes bad for party

Ignatieff’s gaffes bad for party

OTTAWA — Michael Ignatieff was portrayed Wednesday as a gaffe-prone amateur by at least one Liberal leadership rival after the presumed front-runner was forced to clarify his latest controversial comment.

In the most pointed broadside yet against the acclaimed academic, Scott Brison said Ignatieff’s repeated miscues suggest the rookie MP has poor political judgment and insufficient experience to lead a national party.

"These gaffes are damaging to a leadership campaign but they will be terminal to a national general election campaign," Brison said in an interview.

Brison’s attack was prompted by what he called Ignatieff’s "gaffe of the week" — a refusal to commit to running in the next election if he doesn’t win the party’s leadership.

"Depends who’s leader," Ignatieff told the Toronto Star’s editorial board, adding that there are "all kinds of ways you can stay committed and involved and active in the Liberal Party of Canada, believe me, without being an MP."

He clarified his intentions in an interview Wednesday with The Canadian Press.

"Let’s be clear. I am planning to run in the next election in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. I love being an MP and I’ve enjoyed it enormously and I’m looking forward to doing it again," said Ignatieff.
He added that, whoever wins the leadership race, he will do whatever he can to help him or her defeat Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Asked why he didn’t say that when the Star first asked, Ignatieff said he considered hypothetical questions about his political future should he lose the leadership contest to be moot.
Only three weeks ago, Ignatieff had to douse another controversy, after saying he was "not losing sleep" over civilian deaths during the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese village of Qana. He admitted that remark was a mistake.

The Liberal Leadership Campaign: Er, What Ignatieff Meant to Say

Er, What Ignatieff Meant to Say

Brison called it.

Ignatieff is an "error prone amateur".

While Ignatieff may feel, or may actually be, two-feet smarter than everyone else in the campaign (except for Dion), he's learning that book-smarts only take you so far in the bizzaro world of party politics. Time and time again, Ignatieff creates problems for himself by wandering off message with throw away comments that land him in trouble.

In a campaign team as slick and experienced as the one Iggy has assembled, this must be a grave cause for concern as the campaign reaches its final act.

And of course, when Ignatieff send "it depends on who's the leader" if he'll run again, he meant that "Let's be clear: I am planning to run in the next election in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. I love being an MP and I've enjoyed it enormously and I'm looking forward to doing it again.

"Anyone else having disturbing Paul Martin flashbacks with Iggy's campaign? Is the Board on board?

Beatles Blog For Stephane Dion: The Gaff-inator

The Gaff-inator

Scott Brison has a new nickname for Iggy:

Michael Ignatieff was portrayed Wednesday as a gaffe-prone amateur by at least one Liberal leadership rival after the presumed front-runner was forced to clarify his latest controversial comment. “These gaffes are damaging to a leadership campaign but they will be terminal to a national general election campaign,” Brison said in an interview.

It's a little funny coming from Brison but you could say it's the voice of experience talking.

Jason Cherniak: Brison 1, Ignatieff 0

Brison 1, Ignatieff 0

Sheesh! Last night, I wrote what I thought was a nice post about Michael Ignatieff. I supported his honest comment that he might not run in the next election, depending on the leader. I even argued that it was not a "gaffe". Apparently, though, Michael Ignatieff disagrees with me. He actually "clarified" his clear statement by essentially backtracking and changing his answer.

It is hard to help a guy who has so much trouble helping himself. If I could give one message to Michael Ignatieff, it would be this:

No matter how great your ideas may be, you are saying nothing if you cannot communicate your thoughts clearly to the Canadian public. There is nothing wrong with picking a message and sticking to it so long as the message helps people understand what you are proposing.

I'm sorry, but Brison is right about this. Just note how his exaggerated hyperbole of "gaffe of the week" carries a substantial message to all who read it. We all know that this is not a once a week phenomenon, yet the message works.

CTV News: Ignatieff gaffe-prone: Liberal leadership rival

Ignatieff gaffe-prone: Liberal leadership rival

Video: Brison on Ignatieff

Updated Wed. Aug. 30 2006 11:28 PM ET

Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- Michael Ignatieff was portrayed Wednesday as a gaffe-prone amateur by at least one Liberal leadership rival after the presumed front-runner was forced to clarify his latest controversial comment.

In the most pointed broadside yet against the acclaimed academic, Scott Brison said Ignatieff's repeated miscues suggest the rookie MP has poor political judgment and insufficient experience to lead a national party.

"These gaffes are damaging to a leadership campaign but they will be terminal to a national general election campaign," Brison said in an interview.

Brison's attack was prompted by what he called Ignatieff's "gaffe of the week" -- a refusal to commit to running in the next election if he doesn't win the party's leadership.

"Depends who's leader," Ignatieff told the Toronto Star's editorial board, adding that there are "all kinds of ways you can stay committed and involved and active in the Liberal Party of Canada, believe me, without being an MP."

Ignatieff clarified his intentions in an interview Wednesday with The Canadian Press.

"Let's be clear. I am planning to run in the next election in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. I love being an MP and I've enjoyed it enormously and I'm looking forward to doing it again," said Ignatieff, who first won election last January.

He added that, whoever wins the leadership race, he will do whatever he can to help him or her defeat Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the next election.

Asked why he didn't say that when the Star first asked, Ignatieff said he considered hypothetical questions about his political future should he lose the leadership contest to be moot.

"I feel I have good reason to believe I'm ahead in the race and I plan to win. So the hypothetical is not going to arise."

Only three weeks ago, Ignatieff had to douse another controversy, after saying he was "not losing sleep" over civilian deaths during the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese village of Qana. He admitted that remark was a mistake.

Still, Ignatieff dismissed suggestions that he's prone to making rookie mistakes.

"I'm running ahead. It doesn't feel like this is a rookie campaign to me."

Brison has made his share of mistakes, the biggest being sending an e-mail to a banker friend about pending changes in income-trust rules, which he admitted was a mistake.

However, Brison said that in nine years in politics he hasn't made as many "retractions and clarifications" as Ignatieff has made in just nine months.

Brison compared Ignatieff to Stockwell Day, who jumped from provincial politics to become leader of the now-defunct Canadian Alliance without any experience at the federal level.

Day's tenure at the helm of the Alliance, which eventually merged with the Progressive Conservatives to form the Conservative party, was short-lived and disastrous.

Brison said Ignatieff is "smarter than Stockwell," now Harper's minister of public safety. But he added Ignatieff faces an even steeper learning curve, having spent almost 30 years out of the country as an academic and journalist.

Brison took Ignatieff to task for other recent so-called gaffes, including telling the Star that Canadians "live and operate in a heartless world and you need leadership that understands that."

"When you see the world as being heartless, that helps someone justify ruthless acts," such as Qana, Brison said.

He also chided Ignatieff for saying that Canada's peacekeeping tradition "died" with the genocide in Rwanda.

Brison said that remark could only come from someone who's spent 30 years outside the country and fails to appreciate how important peacekeeping is to Canadians and to Liberals in particular, who view party icon Lester Pearson as the father of peacekeeping.

He also scoffed at Ignatieff's recent admission that he's not sure he's "up to the price you have to pay" to succeed in politics.

"If you go in to have heart surgery and the surgeon says, `I think I'm ready to do this but I've never done it before,' you're probably going to look for a surgeon who's done it before," Brison said.

Gerard Kennedy, another leadership rival, said he's glad Ignatieff has clarified his intention to run for re-election, win or lose the leadership contest.

"You can only do this with a commitment to renewing the party," said Kennedy, who gave up an Ontario cabinet post to jump into the federal leadership race and has vowed to seek a seat in Parliament.

"First and foremost, before asking other people for their commitment, you've got to have your own clearly established."

Kennedy was more charitable than Brison about Ignatieff's lack of experience.

"I don't think Mr. Ignatieff pretends to have a lot of experience, per se. I think that's one of the things he would argue is offset by other attributes."

Another contender for the leadership, Ken Dryden, issued a statement critical of his rival before Ignatieff clarified his remarks.

"This is pitch-in time, get-mad time, do whatever needs to be done time," Dryden said. "Some things are more important than who is party leader ... this isn't a time to pick up your marbles and go home."

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