Without a doubt, this is the most interesting, entertaining and revealing thing to come out of the Conservative leadership campaign. This could probably use a bit of writing and editing to tighten it up, but fundamentally, it’s the kind of thing that distinguishes John Ottenheimer in a positive way in
Continue readingTag: Conservative leadership 2014
The Sir Robert Bond Papers: They’ve got a little list #nlpoli
Justice minister Terry French announced on Thursday that he’d be resigning in a couple of weeks time to take up a job in the private sector. French’s announcement looked like an effort to get in front of rumours that have been circulating for a while in some circles and that
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Truth and Consequences #nlpoli
Wednesday morning started with an intriguing but hardly surprising story. CBC’s David Cochrane tweeted that sources in the John Ottenheimer camp believed that Conservative leadership candidates Steve Kent and Paul Davis were working together to thwart Ottenheimer’s bid. Kent quickly replied via Twitter, writing that “I am not teamed up
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Slates #nlpoli
In any delegated political convention, you need to elect delegates in each of the districts who will vote for your candidate at the leadership convention. CBC’s On Point featured three individuals last weekend who were touted as being key players in each of the camps. David Brazil was from the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Conservative race picks up speed #nlpoli
One of the great things about political campaigns is that the players have a chance to surprise observers. We saw that in the Liberal leadership as Cathy Bennett went from being a complete political novice to coming in third against two experienced competitors. In the Conservative leadership race, we have
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Convergence #nlpoli
A couple of years ago, Liberal leader Dwight Ball said the Liberals would use earnings from Muskrat Falls to lower electricity prices for consumers in this province. The Conservatives dismissed the idea at the time. Then a couple of weeks ago, with news the cost of Muskrat Falls continues to
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The World According to Kent #nlpoli
If you are one of the political savants who thinks that dominating Twitter makes for a modern, inspired, and successful political leadership campaign, then say hello to Premier Steve Kent, right. The guy and his Twitter army, some of them undoubtedly utter fakes, managed to spam the living hell out
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Avoiding a cabinet shuffle #nlpoli
By the end of the week, Premier Tom Marshall will be short at least two cabinet ministers. Paul Davis quit as health minister on Wednesday and Steve Kent is expected to follow on Thursday as both vie for the party leadership. On top of that he’s missing Joan Shea who
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Mulligan Race begins #nlpoli
By the end of the week, the provincial Conservatives will have the leadership race they deliberately avoided the last time out. That’s the one that ended with the Coleman fiasco. It will be different in at least two ways: first, there will actually be a race, in the sense that
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Grassroots #nlpoli
You’ll likely hear a lot of talk from Conservatives over the next few weeks about their “grassroots.” Trevor Taylor, for one mentioned them twice last week when talking about the aftermath of the Coleman fiasco. The Conservatives need a contest that will “mobilize” the grassroots, according to Taylor. They need
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Premier Mulligan #nlpoli
The news on Monday was not Frank Coleman’s announcement. The news was in the reaction of provincial Conservatives to word that Coleman wouldn’t be Premier after all. They skipped past the obligatory expressions of concern over Coleman’s unspecified family problem and quickly went on to talk up the chances the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: White Knight #nlpoli
The Alberta Conservatives are looking for a new leader. The old one quit last month amid a caucus revolt and a loss of popularity in polls. Former federal cabinet minister Jim Prentice is interested in the job, as are a few provincial cabinet ministers. A source close to the campaign
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Fix Was In #nlpoli
Bill Barry, in the Western Star, on the Conservative leadership show he quit on Thursday: “I just chose to recognize that the leader has been selected by the party insiders.” … “But if they’re going to do that, why have a convention?” he asked. “If the determination is going be
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Outsider #nlpoli
Frank Coleman told an audience of reporters and supporters in Corner Brook on Wednesday that he was in the Conservative Party leadership race to win it. That’s novel, given that most people run in an election with the intention of losing. There’s very short clip on the Western Star website
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Insiders #nlpoli
The story of the 2014 provincial Conservative Party leadership contest is a study in politics on its most basic level. It is a story of those with influence and of those who have less of it or none at all. It is a story of how politics actually works inside
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Throne Game, updated #nlpoli
“On the outside, Shawn Skinner and John Ottenheimer are still mulling it over, “wrote Des Sullivan last Thursday. “The price tag of running a credible campaign still daunts them; if Frank Coleman confirms his candidacy, both will fold.” VOCM reported on Monday afternoon that Frank Coleman would make his final
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Conservatives struggling for candidates #nlpoli
[Includes Hamlet update] If David Cochrane’s sources are right, Danny Breen won’t be running for the Conservatives in Virginia Waters after all. That means that unless the Conservatives come up with an amazing and currently unknown candidate, they will likely not only lose the upcoming by-election but run the risk
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Shawn: Prince of Denmark #nlpoli
The provincial New Democrats have dropped to single digits among respondents to the latest Corporate Research Associates quarterly omnibus poll. [See note below] Other than that everything in the party choice results is the same as it was before Christmas. For the Conservatives – up by three points, but well
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Unconscious Press Humour #nlpoli
Digging through a set of files in the provincial archives once upon a time, your humble e-scribbler came across a particular file in a set bequeathed to the archives decades ago by the fellow who wrote the original legislation that helped create the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in the Great War.
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Game of Throne #nlpoli
In 1979 and 1989, using pretty much the same party constitution as they have now, the provincial Conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador managed to find a new party leader before the end of March after the leader quit in January. In 1979, the Conservatives picked a new leader, went to
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