Maurizio!
Big news for team Rae. Wish I could take credit for it, but I can't. I'm still happy, nonetheless.
I think this is fantastic for two reasons:
1) It gives Rae additional credibility on the economic front. Maurizio Bevilacqua has made a strong economy the central plank of his leadership bid. He wouldn't be with Rae today if he felt that Bob was overly vulnerable on this issue, or if he thought Bob would do a bad job on the economic front.
2) It gives Rae additional credibility in the Liberal Party. Many people have questioned Bob's loyalty to the Liberal cause, given his tenure as an NDP Premier and his recent arrival to our party. With the backing of a six-term MP who has served in the House for the past 18 years, Bob can now show that long-time, die-hard Liberals appreciate his leadership qualities.
Great news, all around. Welcome aboard, Maurizio.
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UPDATE: I think Jason Cherniak's comments on the Maurizio decision are complete junk. He calls it a "horrible decision" because Maurizio is from the 905 area (York region specifically), and according to Cherniak, this will be the toughest area to hold in the next election. Nonsense. First Sorbara supported Bob Rae. Now Bevilacqua does the same. I'd argue that both know a hell of a lot more about York region than Cherniak does. Why? Because they've actually been elected there before. Jason's never held any elected office. They have. They know what it takes to win. He doesn't. Maybe that's why he was so wrong in his analysis of the last federal election, when he actually called the Conservative strategy for the first half "a failure." And it's why he's so wrong once again about Bob Rae.
I think this is fantastic for two reasons:
1) It gives Rae additional credibility on the economic front. Maurizio Bevilacqua has made a strong economy the central plank of his leadership bid. He wouldn't be with Rae today if he felt that Bob was overly vulnerable on this issue, or if he thought Bob would do a bad job on the economic front.
2) It gives Rae additional credibility in the Liberal Party. Many people have questioned Bob's loyalty to the Liberal cause, given his tenure as an NDP Premier and his recent arrival to our party. With the backing of a six-term MP who has served in the House for the past 18 years, Bob can now show that long-time, die-hard Liberals appreciate his leadership qualities.
Great news, all around. Welcome aboard, Maurizio.
--------------------------------------
UPDATE: I think Jason Cherniak's comments on the Maurizio decision are complete junk. He calls it a "horrible decision" because Maurizio is from the 905 area (York region specifically), and according to Cherniak, this will be the toughest area to hold in the next election. Nonsense. First Sorbara supported Bob Rae. Now Bevilacqua does the same. I'd argue that both know a hell of a lot more about York region than Cherniak does. Why? Because they've actually been elected there before. Jason's never held any elected office. They have. They know what it takes to win. He doesn't. Maybe that's why he was so wrong in his analysis of the last federal election, when he actually called the Conservative strategy for the first half "a failure." And it's why he's so wrong once again about Bob Rae.
posted by John Lennard at 10:37 AM
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