Keith Martin, a valuable member Liberal caucus is leaving politics due to the low morale within Liberal ranks. Martin was arguably the best MP that Iggy had, and when he's gone, the Liberals don't have the talent in their caucus to replace him. It shows the frustration in Liberal ranks, as Iggy loses someone that he can't possibly replace. This permanently damages the Liberal Party. They will be less effective without Keith Martin, and this resignation reflects poorly on the Liberal leader.
By the way, what I did here was take Chantal Hebert's assessment of the Prentice retirement and apply it to Keith Martin and the Liberals. If Prentice is irreplaceable to the Tories, Martin is irreplaceable to the Liberals.
Talk to Liberals – office holders, party organizers, fundraisers – around the country and you will tap into a malaise that a good pollster could rout out with a single question: “What's happening?” “Nothin',” the vast majority would respond, with a margin of error of plus or minus very little.
ReplyDelete“There is no Liberal Party,” says one lifelong card carrier who has sat at cabinet tables.
“It died a long time ago. It's not completely extinct yet, but there's no there there.” In this lifelong Liberal's eyes, the party has been stalled for years. No new energy, no new ideas, no vision of what it might like to do. The singular advantage of proroguing, this Liberal would say, is that it has put an end to the squirming every time the opposition pounces.
“The ‘gotcha' stuff is out of control,” says the Liberal. “They bring in all these nerdy keener kids from campus and it's some kind of game to them. They're turning politics into pro wrestling.” The media concentrates on the top, Ignatieff, and on the Hill, but disenchanted Liberals say there is a story to be told far from the now-silenced sound bites of the Centre Block.
I posted about this for months as more Liberals are opting for retirement or other careers.
http://canadiansense.blogspot.com/2010/03/liberal-party-of-canada-political-games.html
Martin has always been somewhat of a puzzle for me. Why would someone who was first elected as a Reformer than turn around and become a "Liberal"? Martin complaining about the partisan nature of parliament these days is also quite puzzling considering he is one of the most partisan "Liberal" mouthpieces on the hill. Strange dude. Great comment CanadianSense.
ReplyDeleteDo not weep for Keith Martin - he will land on his feet. He is after all a doctor and will be able to go back to his profession. Regarding the Liberals, well what's bad is good - they are adrift and without leadership. The captain of the ship abandoned his crew long ago. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteIffy can't have an 'ideas guy' that Jack Layton doesn't approve of.
ReplyDeleteThe LibDip coalition has to speak with one voice, and Martin was off side.
No one is irreplaceable.
Prentice competently ran every portfolio he was handed.
As will his replacement.
PMSH was cautious about his Cabinet being too Western based, so a number of very capable MPs had to take a back seat.
5 years in government, PMSH has a very seasoned, strong and capable caucus to choose from.
Sean M..
ReplyDeleteMartin is an opportunist plain and simple. He has got a pension out of it that will make a nice supplement to his medical practice he will likely resurrect so he really doesn't give a darn. He is going to look after him.
Rob C
Interestingly, the National Firearms Association is saying he's leaving because gun activists in his riding made it clear to him his betrayal over C-391 (the bill to kill the long gun registry) would cost him his seat. This is entirely possible, given his razor-thin margin of victory last time out.
ReplyDeleteI tend to believe this, as well as NFA's prediction that other Opposition members who voted to kill it will lose their seats too. Think Larry Bagnell, for starters. Follow up with Peter Stoffer, then...
Here's a POV you might want to consider.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a far-left liberal party member how would I feel about an ex-reform turned lib leaving the party?
My point?
Its this, there are fewer and fewer prominent blu-libs in the LPC every year, soon the only prominent ones will be those that are philosophically aligned with the far-left.
A take over by the NDP would only be a matter of time.
A take over by the NDP???!! Yeah right! get your head out of the sand gimbol! If the LPC win a spring election it will be the third shortest time we will be the opposition. And no where in that Globe and Mail article does it say that Martin is leaving "due to low moral within the Liberal ranks." It actually says that he is leaving because of the hostile and ineffective environment in Parliament since the introduction of this supposed "conservative" government.
ReplyDeleteTypical brainless conservatives... Trying to spin everything as LPC falling apart or disorganized.