Dion should go before the cameras and say he is stepping down IMMEDIATELY.

[glarius]

I was originally all for him. He is an intelligent, sincere man with impeccable integrity.....BUT....He has proven over and over and over again that he is NOT A LEADER!
There is no shame in his admitting that leadership is not his strong point. If he goes before the cameras and just acknowledges that, I believe the public would admire him for his honesty and he could continue on as an M.P. Perhaps later, if there is a Liberal government, he could even serve in a minister's portfolio again.
A new leader is needed for the Liberals...NOW.

[HeresyLives]

1. There is a call out for Harper to be turfed.

Now we find out if the Conservatives are a real party.

Replacing leaders is not a decision to be taken lightly. But if Conservatives are not at least seriously discussing the replacement of Stephen Harper before Parliament returns on Jan. 26, he truly has succeeded in creating a cult of personality.

Conservatives assuredly owe Harper a debt of gratitude for turning them from a messy coalition of old Reformers and Progressive Conservatives into a credible national government. But looking at his performance over the past few months, he's performed so badly that it's verged on the self-destructive.

This is a Prime Minister who called an early election to win a majority government, and failed utterly to make a case for what he would do with it. One who ran against one of the weakest Liberal leaders in history, while the Liberals were bleeding votes to the NDP, and had his campaign more or less match Stephane Dion's blunder for blunder. One who returned to Parliament with the consolation prize of a minority, and managed to almost immediately lose it based on a blunder that made Joe Clark look like a strategic genius by comparison.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081204.WBwbradwanski20081204121135/WBStory/WBwbradwanski

[glarius]

2. I agree that Harper is an arrogant egomaniac and needs to go.

But I'm talking about Dion. There is absolutely no chance that the Liberals can win with Dion as the leader. He has now become a joke. When that happens...it's over. IMO

[Creationismsucks]

7. Why, exactly?

You say that Dion is now a "joke" and that Canadians will not elect him as a leader. Why?

He strikes me as a reasonable, intelligent man. But I'd like to know why you say these things. I'm not arguing with you; just looking for information.

[glarius]

8. I'm talking about the way he presents himself on TV .

That is the main way the public has to judge him. Last night's farcical taped reply which looked like it was done on someone's hand held device and arrived an hour or so late was just the latest of many incidents. All of the media, plus many politicians of all parties were laughing at him. I agree he is reasonable and intelligent, but he is just not a leader.

[Oregone]

3. That would give the impression that the Liberals are running around like rats on a sinking boat...

Perception is everything. They need to be calm and collected right now to play this right.

[HeresyLives]

4. I agree.

If they mean anything they've said, now would be the time to come on strong, not fall apart.

[glarius]

5. If Dion came forward on his own and with dignity stepped down

I believe it would be well received by the public. Surely he must realize himself, that he has become a detriment to the cause.
The Canadian public is not stupid. They can see he is not leader material and would welcome the gesture.

[Lucy Goosey]

13. I would agree if he hadn't already resigned.

But his days are already numbered, and much of the country strongly dislikes him. (I happen to like him quite a lot, but it seems I'm not exactly mainstream on most things these days.)

[Anarcho-Socialist]

6. If Dion stepped down now

is there a deputy leader of the LPC to take charge now until the leadership election?

[Mother Jones]

9. Good question

Who would replace him? It has been written the leadership hopefuls don't want to touch this political hot potato.


I think we have bigger worries right now though, and that is, can this coalition remain in tact for 6 weeks? (and possibly even gain momentum?)

Will be a hard sell if Harper comes back with an appeasing budget -something for everyone - to say we need to oust him now. I'm with all who say too little too late, but I wonder if the majority of Canadians would agree.

[Sandrine for you]

10. Ignatieff should replace him right now...

He is the only one that have a good reputation in Quebec. He is now the favorite. Only the ego of Dion and Rae stop his nomination by the Board.

[Lucy Goosey]

11. It should probably be someone who's not running for the leadership.

I agree with you about Ignatieff, but the other contenders would have legitimate cause to freak out over the unfair advantage this would give him in May.

[Sandrine for you]

14. You"r right but the liberal are simply too poor to make a real

convention in may. The board have to choose him right now.

[CHIMO]

12. Your Suggestion

Would probably kill the coalition!

[Spazito]

15. I disagree

Canadians, by and large, know Dion would be a temporary leader/PM if the current coalition were successful in assuming governing power. The coverage re Dion after the election was extensive and went on for days. Dion leaving now would only give harper and his cabal a hammer they shouldn't have which would be to portray the coalition as fractured and inept.

[daleo]

16. You have an excellent point

Dion will step down soon enough. The corporate media will quickly turn on any Liberal leader, regardless of who it is. The point of all this leader talk from the corporate media is to sew confusion and dissension.

[glarius]

17. Sorry, I wish I believed that Canadians are aware of Dion's status.

But from what I am hearing and reading, I believe that the stumbling block in any victory for the coalition is Dion....although I believe he is an honourable man who was vilified from the beginning by Harper's people, in an unprecidentant media blitz portraying Dion as an incompetent.

[Spazito]

18. The "victory" is not dependent on the people/polls...

and the media will portray the coalition in an unfavourable light regardless of who leads it. A vote of non-confidence is not done via polls, much as harper and his cabal would wish it at this point, it is procedural. Changing the "leader" of the coalition at this point is handing the cabal an even greater tool than the media is already giving him, imo.

A better focus, imo, would be for the coalition parties to work on educating the public as to the negative consequences inherent in the agenda put forward by the cabal ie banning strikes, privatizing elections to the highest bidder, etc.