entitled to our entitlements, Liberal leadership

Who can possibly replace Belinda?

Towards the end of the last federal election campaign, Paul Martin panicked over the loss of the position that he felt was owed to him by virtue of his birth. And when people panic like Martin did, it becomes difficult if not impossible to stay on message. During the last few days of the campaign the spin and lies were replaced by a politicians worst nightmare--the truth. The truth emerged when Paul Martin urged all of Canadas "progressives to join together to support his Liberal Party and stop Scary Stephen and his right wing hordes from gaining power and destroying the country. Martin, as he was with almost everything he did since becoming Prime Minister in December 2003, failed, and the rest as they say is history.

Paul Martin admitted what many of us already know; that there is essentially no difference in ideology between the Liberals and the NDP, at least when the Liberals take their collective hands out of the cookie jar long enough to contemplate ideology. Its time for the NDP to replace the Liberals as the main party on the left and banish the party whose motto has become "were entitled to our entitlements" to third party status or worse.

A permanent banishment of the Liberals was dealt a blow when Belinda Stronach bowed out of the race to succeed Martin. Apparently, Belinda didnt like the way the Liberal Party is run (that is, it is impossible for her and daddy to buy the leadership) and so has opted not to run. Instead, Belinda is going to concentrate on "ideas".

For those of us who were waiting with baited breath to watch Belinda go head to head with Iggy in a debate on Iraq and Afghanistan, Belindas dropping out of the race was a major disappointment. While we anxiously await for Belinda to come up with an idea, who can possibly replace Stronach as the leader who can best drive the Liberals into the oblivion that they so richly deserve?

The first person that comes to mind is Ashley McIsaac. Not a good choice--too easy. Besides McIsaac is not a nice person, has a bad temper and spends much of his time fiddling around. That makes him a perfect clone of Paul Martin Jr. As Yogi would say, McIsaac seems like déjà vu all over again and thats one thing that the country doesnt need.

The only present prospective candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party that can get the job done is Bob Rae. If Bob can do for the federal Liberals what he did for the Ontario New Democrats in the early 1990s, then there is a chance that the once mighty Liberals might be relegated to the opposition benches for the foreseeable future.

Although parts of Eastern Canada love their Liberals, Ontario is about the only strong Liberal Party bastion left. While many thought that Liberal support in Quebec would rebound after the impact of the sponsorship scandal receded, the only real surprise that came out of the last election was that the Tories picked up 10 seats in La Belle Province. The Conservatives have shown that they can be a real federalist alternative in Quebec, and if they continue on the path that they are on now, there is no guarantee that the Liberals can go back to their pre-Martin days in Quebec.

A federal Liberal Party under Bob Raes leadership can break the hold that the Liberals have in Ontario and shift more power to the Conservatives in the same way Ontarians did provincially in 1995. Rae not only angered non-socialists with his mounting deficits and socialist programs, but he angered his base with his infamous "Rae Days", forcing government workers to take days off without pay in order to reduce spending. Although it has been 11 years since Rae has been out of office, the Bob Rae government has not been forgotten by Ontarians who usually have short memories. A Rae-led Liberal Party of Canada might just be what it takes to bounce the Liberals from their vaulted position as Canadas Natural Governing party.

But it wouldnt be as much fun as watching Opposition Leader Belinda. Then again, you cant have everything.

Arthur Weinreb is an author, columnist and Associate Editor of Toronto Free Press. His work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Men's News Daily, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck and The Rant. Arthur can be reached at: Columns 2006 '05 '04 '03 '02 '01 '00 1999 Media 2006 '05 '04 '03 '02 Toronto 2006 '05 '04