Congratulations from the Liberals

by Aaron Wherry
Twitter
Facebook
Google+ Share
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Twitter
Facebook
Google+ Share
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

66

A statement from interim Liberal leader Bob Rae.

“I want to offer my warm congratulations to Thomas Mulcair on winning the leadership contest in the New Democratic Party.  I know Mr. Mulcair well and look forward to working with him to ensure Parliament acts on behalf of all Canadians.

“I also want to congratulate the NDP for a successful leadership convention, particularly in opening up the selection process to Canadians across the country.

“I also want to salute Mme Nycole Turmel for the integrity she showed as Interim Leader of the NDP. Her grace was apparent as she courageously carried out her duties admirably in the wake of the tragic passing of Jack Layton.”

Twitter
Facebook
Google+ Share
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Posted on:
Saturday, March 24, 2012




Browse
Advertisement

About this author

Aaron Wherry
Macleans.ca administrator
Aaron Wherry covers the House of Commons and its 308 residents for Maclean’s.

Other articles

+ 9 more posts this week
Advertisement

Congratulations from the Liberals

  1. Now THIS is class

    • I am astonished — this tepid little form letter with congratulations passes for “class” — puleeze.  They all do that. AND — most don’t feel it necessary to wave their congratulations in front of McLean’s journo’s.

      • I’m not surprised in the least that Cons don’t recognize or understand civilized behavior.

        Yahoos all the way.

        • Of course it is civilized,  Emily.  But it is also pretty standard fare — your exuberance over how “classy” this is makes you sound like a gushing sycophant.

          • Standard fare for who?

            Only the Libs responded in a civilized fashion….Cons attacked.

          •  Pay attention.  The Conservatives issued talking points.  I have heard some nasty “talking points” coming from Liberals as well, so it is not “Libs” but Bob Rae in particular issuing a note of congratulations and a similar note will I am sure be coming from Harper — leader to leader thing, but Harper is away right now and his note of congratulations would be understandably delayed.

          • Notes of congratulations are never delayed….we have email nowadays.

          • Perhaps it was not delayed.  Perhaps it just was not publicized by MacLeans. 

          • @twitter-16386532:disqus 

            That’s it!  Harp’s rudeness is all Macleans fault!

          • So you are a gushing Liberal sycophant !

  2. It’s funny that Bob Rae can release a courteous congratulations, while the Conservatives are already on election attack.

    It must be tough defending the tiny corner of the country the Cons can hold, they have to work 10x as hard to protect what they have. They know 60%+ of Canadians want them out…it’s a struggle being greedy oil supporters.

    •  ”It’s funny that Bob Rae can release a courteous congratulations, while the Conservatives are already on election attack.” — In what respect? I have not seen any attacks. 

      • I guess you haven’t seen this yet  http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/03/24/congratulations-from-the-conservatives/

        Ads coming Sunday.

  3. Wow. I really can’t imagine Mr Rae cleared this with Steve first…naughty of him.

  4. Agree or disagree with his politics, you have to give Bob Rae full marks as a gentleman in the best sense.

      •  Yes, it used to be standard stuff.. Now ordinary manners and civil behaviour stands out.

      • I missed Harper’s congratulations.  Could you link to it, please?  I’d like to compare Rae’s to his, just to see how standard it is.

        • I don’t have a link — and indeed, since Harper is not even in the country it may not have been sent yet.  I have no doubt, however, that a congratulatory note will be send (if it has not been already) — but getting a link will depend upon the note being sent, media alerted and media publicizing the item. That seems to be what happened with Rae’s note of congratulations.  Rae made sure we all knew about it.

          • Hey, is this how you guys come up with the Liberal bias in the media?  How DARE they publish remarks made by Rae instead of sitting on them and waiting until they could also publish remarks made by Harper. . . if he ever makes some, except not including the remarks made by the Conservative Party even though we know nothing goes out the door without Harper’s express approval but they weren’t in Harper’s words so it doesn’t count and he’s out of the country with only an entourage of twenty or so so how could he possibly approve another talking–I mean, congratulatory message?  If it isn’t the Liberals’ fault, it must be the media’s.

          •  I never uttered the words “Liberal bias in the media”. but we do seem to have Conservative “talking points” being compared to Bob Rae’s personal congratulations — and we seem to be ignoring any negative comments coming from the Liberal camp.  What is biased here is the assumption that because Aaron has not posted any congratulatory note from Harper, the assumption is that he has not sent one.  Primarily I am criticizing the gushing over Bob Rae’s perfectly ordinary note of congratulations, and I do dislike the way Aaron has chosen to compare two press releases in a somewhat unbalanced way. 

          • No, you didn’t.  And it’s true that Wherry posted with an unflattering headline, although apparently a truthful one. 

            But I looked for the negative comments coming from the Liberal camp and I can’t find them.  Oh sure, I found a blog by a Liberal who was unflattering of Mulcair (but also fair), and my friend and I exchanged a few emails on our disappointment with the NDP for their choice, so I guess as I’m a Liberal those could be negative comments from the “Liberal camp” but have there really been negative comments coming from The Liberal Party of Canada?

            The thing I can’t get over with you is the “perfectly ordinary” note of congratulations, not that the note is overly gushing or fawning or filled with excitement, but the fact that as we haven’t seen a word from Harper beyond the talking points, it proves the point that it is no longer “perfectly ordinary” to congratulate a political opponent.  Blaming Wherry for a lack of Harper’s personal congratulations is ridiculous, and I’m trying to point that out to you. 

          • Next up… “Harper’s dog ate it.”

            And yes, I know he has a cat. ;-)

          • Yeah – it’s not like he’s got 1500 people available to handle it.

        • Here is the Conservative response:  http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/03/24/congratulations-from-the-conservatives/

        • He’s probably ordered up the Welcome Wagon gift basket for Monday, that’s got to be it.

      • I clicked on your name and got your twitter – sorry, got Con operative written all over it. You guys need to go to some sort of  workshop – you’re all like Russian Cold War propogandists.  Ironic, non?

  5. The conservatives are honest and straightforward regarding their intentions towards the NDP.

    The Liberals on the other hand, think that Canadians actually believe their tongue-biting, faux happiness towards the party the seeks to make the Liberal party extinct.

    Yes, yes, nothing could make the Liberals happier than a successful NDP.  That they tell Canadians that with a straight face says everything you need to know about how much the Liberals have changed since Adscam.

    Oh, wait, the Liberals are the party of revitalisation and change.  Their chosen leader?  A lefty warhorse from decades gone by.  So sincere.  So genuine today’s Liberal party is.

    •  Hey, if we really are enemies, why bother with all this talking point stuff? Assassinations of opponents is the way really strong leaders deal with things.

  6.  Have any of the Harper-haters taken note of the fact that this “classy” statement from Rae is being compared to “party talking points” from Conservatives. Both are being called notes of congratulations which the Conservative one clearly is not.   Harper himself is out of the country, in a different time zone. He probably does not yet even know that Mulcair won. 

    • It is about 11 am in Thailand….Harp knows very well who won.

      • Well, he may know now, but remarks were probably not available when Aaron decided to dupe everyone by comparing Rae’s personal note with Conservative “talking points” from several hours ago.  I have no doubt that Harper will be congratulating Mulcair at some point, but perhaps not until he is back in Canada.

        • I’m sure Harp followed the entire convention.

          We have these modern things like the internet and all

          •  I think he may have been rather too busy to follow the convention.

          • Harp is never to busy to keep tabs on the politics at home.

            It’s his life.

          •  Of course he “keeps tabs” on politics at home, but he would not be following the NDP convention 24/7 when he is also meeting with a range of world leaders elsewhere.  He is a politician, but he is also the Prime Minister and that would necessarily impinge somewhat on his time.

          • @twitter-16386532:disqus 

            Harp travels with a huge entourage….he knows exactly what’s going on at home.

        • Maybe a hand written note – is that what you’re thinking?  Or a card with the two dozen long stemmed roses?  Or how about lunch at 24 Susex – just the two of them?  That’s probably it…

      • Hey look, its Emily with the parasitic one-liners, feeding off other commenters intellectual energy.  Like looking at the bloody mark left behind when you tear the leech off the skin, one can’t help shake the queezy feeling of trying to leave behind Emily’s uninvited, crude, latching on to the comment thread. 

        • Gracious!  Too much Saturday night for you?

          • The ever crude, ever taunting, ever disprespectful emily, speaks of being “gracious”?
             
            Why if I didn’t know any better, I would think Emily was an enlightened “progressive”.  Emily, why don’t you regale us all with your sage words on what it is to be “graceful”.  
             
            If you can, try to work in the part where you name call or baselessly accuse people of “lying.”  We all await, with bated breath.

          • Well I’m all for progress…if you’re against it I assume you’re calling yourself a regressive.

            Common courtesy isn’t common in your party though, but I’ll leave it up to your mothers to explain it….something you should have learned long ago.

        • Funny how she is almost always first with the comments, then.

          • Poor, poor Jenn, always a step or two behind.  Never really understanding the nub of the issue or the point being made.  Oh, sure she trys.  And, in the instant case, in some pathetic way, one can almost give her credit in the sence of her  trying to come to the aid of the lowly emily. 

            “She’s first”.  Yes, yes.  The fact that she quickly latches on to the subject thread, just as much as other commenters, makes her somehow more worthy, more enlightened.  

            And what were those deep words offered at the very top of the thread?  “now this is class”.  I’m sure the blog author appreciated that subtle and intelligent addition to the point he was making. 

          •  You’re calling out Emily for being crude, taunting and disrespectful?

          • OK – obviously you have no idea who you are talking about. hope they’re paying you well for these robo messages. 

          • Brilliant analysis by Jake.
            Drivel from Em, Jenn, and Jan.

      • Probably killed a few Thai chairs by now.

    • So you’re suggestion is that the CPC is so incompetent they didn’t have press releases already prepared for whichever person became leader? I mean, it’s not like the NDP was hiding which day their shindig was happening.. nor the candidates.

    • Don’t be ridiculous, of course he knows.  He knows about the talking points, it’s his show.

    • Simple manners would have ensured these “talking points” wer kept in abeyance until the PM had at least has a chance to publicly congratulate Mulcair on his win. It’s a little thing known as manners and civility.

      We all know all the parties will be back at one another’s throats soon enough, but there are certain civil conventions that, apparently, the CPC has decided are old-fashioned and a waste of time. They’d prefer to be the first to attack.

      At the rate the Cons are regressing, they may want to issue kevlar vests – &/or chain mail – next time they have a leadership convention.

  7. Rae has always been head and shoulders above 2006 + Harper ( as weird as that sounds). 

    • That does sound weird.  What does “above 2006″ refer to?

      • You’ve scanned it wrong.  ”2006 + Harper” is the part that’s meant to be a single phrase, not “above 2006″  Meaning “Harper since 2006″ (which, in my view, gives the man too much credit, but I’ll admit it’s probably the point where his behavior patterns became noticeable to the bulk of Canada)

        •  I could see 2006 Harper making some perfunctory remarks, maybe with a little jab thrown in near the end.

    • Rae is a gentleman.   Remember when everyone was?

  8. Finally, Harper issued his congratulations, while letting CPC spokespeople issue the attacks:

    “Leadership processes are long and difficult – as was the case for this one,” Harper said. “Obviously, I want to congratulate Mr. Mulcair on his victory and look forward to interacting with him in the years to come.”

    Seems rather curt, with the “obviously”.  No warm touches there.

    • That is a journo’s selected quote — we have not seen the complete comment. But, why not dig even deeper to find something wrong with the congratulations issued by Harper.  Did he have a snear on his face or otherwise look disrespectul in contrast to the “classy” Bob Rae? You people just do not give up. What is the intention behind that “Finally?”  The convention only ended late last night.  Harper’s statement occurred this a.m.  Lots of people were sleeping in the mean time. Nothing Harper does is acceptable to you.

      • The conservative party’s attacking statement was mean, unkind, and downright douchey. Get your head out of your ass and actually look at this particular situation impartially. The reason it seems rather curt with the obviously is when you take it in context with the statement Harper’s political machine put out. 

        It’s not that we’re looking for every fault possible, its that he permitted douchey statement to go out and it spills over and tarnishes whatever congratulations he gives. 

        I remember when I was five and had no conception of the way in which my actions were interconnected. What kind of idiots are the Conbots hiring these days?