Inkless Wells

Paul Wells on all the latest out of Ottawa—along with the occasional post about jazz. Follow Paul on Twitter: @InklessPW
He also offers his thoughtful perspective of Stephen Harper’s last 10 years in his recent eBook, The Harper Decade.

Categories: Capital Read, Inkless Wells

Outremont: In the finest tradition of the Liberal Party

by Paul Wells on Monday, September 21, 2009 3:38pm - 77 Comments

It’s good to see Denis Coderre and Martin Cauchon getting along again in Outremont. I greatly fear I may have contributed, long ago, to all of this; right after the 2000 election I interviewed both men for the National Post on their thinly-veiled ambition to replace Jean Chrétien’s replacement and become the next-next Liberal leader. I forget which one bent my ear complaining that the other was in better focus in the photo we ran. They’ve long had a hate-hate relationship, those guys.

Anyway, Cauchon was invited to run in his old riding in the spring. He took a hell of a long time to make his decision. Finally a few weeks ago he decided to run. At this point, Coderre, who first ran as a Liberal candidate 19 years ago, decided it was time for fresh blood in the riding. Not his riding, silly. Cauchon’s. This led the riding executive to write to Ignatieff to ask that he let them have the candidate they wanted. Cauchon.

Nope. Speaking to reporters, including me, after a lunchtime Toronto speech, Ignatieff said he called Cauchon last night and said he’ll be appointing a female candidate in the riding. But wait, you’re saying. This story can’t be over yet, because you haven’t gotten to the part where Ignatieff says something disingenuous and contradictory. And right you are. He said Cauchon “has a tremendous future” in the Liberal party. Just not, it seems, as a candidate in the only riding he ever represented in the House of Commons.

Adam Radwanski offers the appropriate conclusions regarding Ignatieff’s choice of friend.

More by Paul Wells

Sigh

Is this part of a larger collection of polar bear porn?
http://intensedebate.com/people/Thwim Thwim

It goes with the latex wearing chickens quite well, don't you think?

anonymoose

gotta wonder about of of them city boys…….
http://intensedebate.com/people/VinceClortho VinceClortho

I thought the Latex Wearing Chicken (LWC) was quite an "arty" photo.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

If Ignatieff is forced to take sides in the Coderre/Cauchon spat, he should probably side with the guy who didn't ask this "serious question" in QP on June 16th:

I would, however, like to ask a serious question. The minister hesitated earlier. I am asking her to rise. Can she tell us why she cannot table her employment insurance plan immediately? People are going to starve this summer and they want to know what will be done about employment insurance. What is she waiting for?

The guy who said that is clearly afflicted with foot-in-mouth disease.
Blues Clair

Well, what was the minister waiting for?

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

Lunch with Pierre Poilievre, no doubt.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

One biiiiiiillllion dollars. hehehehe

http://intensedebate.com/people/zamprelli4731 Zamprelli

Having met both, I'm gonna go ahead and guess that it was Coderre who complained about the focus in the photo. For all his well-documented missteps, putting Coderre in charge of Quebec was, by leaps and bounds, Ignatieff's biggest mistake so far.

http://intensedebate.com/people/sourstud sourstud

Oh, but there are so many mistakes to choose from!
Anon Lib

Only one little problem with this criticism. None of the othjer Quebec MPs wanted the job and/or were qualified.

Who would you put in charge? Take a look at the list of Quebec Liberal MPs and let me know.

http://intensedebate.com/people/zamprelli4731 Zamprelli

Good point. Complaining about something without suggesting a solution – one of the worst sins of debate there is.

Honestly, I think that, were he really on the ball, Ignatieff should have recruited Martin Cauchon for Outremont immediately upon assuming the leadership and given him the Lieutenant position.

Failing that, given the nature of the job (leadership, motivating troops), he certainly should have gone with someone a little more affable, say Marlene Jennings or Pablo Rodriguez.

Anon Lib

Rodriguez didn't want it, and Jennings is an anglophone (not that we Quebecois don't love our anglophones but you know, wouldn't be too helpful in trying to make the inroads we need to make into francophone ridings).

Next? Garneau? Trudeau? Maybe in a couple of years time but too green for now.

All the others (Scarpallegia, Patry, Folco, Mendes, Pacetti, Proulx, Zarac) lack the necessary stature.

That leaves Dion and Cotler. And with all due respect to both men, no.

Starting to see why Coderre has the job? Also as one LPC organizer told me "I'd rather have Coderre pissing in the tent, than out." Crude maybe, but you get the point.

Now, all that being said, I also think Ignatieff should have overuled Coderre and let Cauchon compete for the nomination.

http://nottawa.blogspot.com mark

Problem solved – himself or no one. Why does Ignatieff need an MP "in charge" in Quebec? Who's "in charge" in BC? in Ontario? etc.?
Since when did Opposition parties need a "lieutenant" anywhere?

tobyornottoby

There was a behind the scenes campaign documentary made during the 1979 election with an interesting clip on the subject of Quebec lieutenants. Joe Clark was supposed to arrive in some Quebec venue by boat or some silly photo stunt (it was the era before Seadoos) and it got botched to everyone's embarassment.

After the event, when all the minstream reporters had left, the film maker had his camera running on an exchange between Roch LaSalle and Joe Clark, in which LaSalle shouted at Clark about how things were supposed to be handled in what he "explained" was his f'ing town. LaSalle was probably frustrated, not just at the PR mistake, but because the two front runners in the recent leadership campaign, Brian Mulroney and Claude Wagner, both from Quebec, were sitting on their hands. Result: Only two Quebec seats – Lasalle and Heward Graffety.

If you're not from there, you need a Quebec Lieutenenant, not just anyone, but someone who can pull out the vote, whether you are in Opposition or not. Just the reality.

By the way the parties have go to guys (and girls) in other provinces, too. Just not as critical as in Quebec.

Old School Liberal

So the guy – and don't get me wrong, I would love to see Cauchon get in – has been out of politics for many years, is offered the riding, says no, the party moves on and makes commitments to someone else, and then he changes his mind… and Ignatieff is the screw up because he is trying to stick to his commitment to women candidates generally and this woman candidate in particular? Just because we don't like Coderre? mmm'kay

http://intensedebate.com/people/Geiseric Geiseric

not enough body bags
Big Al

So the local riding associations choice of Cauchon means nothing?
wilson

On PowerPlay, Jon Bela?? stated that MI called Cauchon, asked him to run. (got that, MI asked Cauchon)
Cauchon asked for a bit of time to decide, 3 weeks later he said yes to MIs request….One week AFTER that, Coderre announces his pick of candidates. And apparently Chretien called MI to advise/request on Cauchon's behalf.

http://intensedebate.com/people/WDM WDM

Coderre usually reserves that type of disdain for hockey players falsely accused of uttering ethnic slurs.

DPT

I don't know where he finds the time given how busy he is marching in Hezbollah parades.

http://skinnydips.blogspot.com Skinny Dipper

I love the sleeping bear on top.

Gene Rayburn

…

You'll learn when you're older.
Dave

They're wrestling. He's just blinking.

Derek

Why can't the Liberal Party be like the NDP and simply have an open democratic nomination meeting in every single riding? Maybe part of the rason is that some of us remember the sleazy backroom deal whereby Ignatieff became the Liberal candidate in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. There was all kinds of weird stuff there with Iggy being the only candidate who was told what the deadline was to get in his nomination papers etc… the whole process was 100% corrupt. Obviously the Liberal Party has learned NOTHING. Tammany Hall is alive and well!

Harper speaks

No, the NDP is just better at fixing the process to get the result they want, usually by telling other contenders to get out of the way if they want any future in the party. If you truly believe the NDP nomination process is entirely sunshine and lollypops you're living in a dream world.

Dave

"NDP nomination"? Is that even grammatically correct?

Tammany Hall

I resent the implication.

http://nottawa.blogspot.com mark

Oh Derek, there's usually nobody more willing to pile on in a Coderre sh*t fest than me, but your assertion is ridiculous. The NDP hold about 10 contested nominations per decade. Honestly – it is statistically the least democratic of all the major parties.

Joffré

You failed to mention the very juicy tidbit (which I got from Chantal Hébert's french-language blog here: http://www2.lactualite.com/chantal-hebert/2009-09… ) that, apparently, even Jean Chrétien asked Ignatieff to let Cauchon run in Outremont.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Ed_Sweeney Ed_Sweeney

Ignatieff NOT listening to Chretien is about the most encouraging news you could get from all of this.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Dennis_F Dennis_F

Chantal Hebert has a blog? Some time back, didn't she describe bloggers as people who reveal their personal lives online? Hey, even journalists can flip-flop, eh?

Irritable Canadian

This stinks of Ian Davey's meddling. Surprise, surprise. Screwing Cauchon because the wannabe "rainmaker" thinks he has all the answers. Think again Ian… you ain't your father. Ignatieff, pull your head out of Ian's butt.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Inkless Inkless

I'm afraid I don't have a picture for that one.

Irritable Canadian

Aw, sure you do Paul — put up any old picture of Ian Davey looking self-satisfied and you've got at least the top visual of what that would look like. And with the wonder of photo-shop, Ignatieff's head can be in Ian's – er – rectum, in no time… not like that's much of a stretch… or well, perhaps it is… I'll stop now. But if Ignatieff removes his head from Ian's posterior, I'm fairly sure tumbling out right after will be the likes of Jill Fairbrother, Aggarwal, Kinsella and that motley crew of 20 somethings they have running that mess called OLO. Perhaps that's why he keeps it lodged in their so tightly — wouldn't want the stuffing to fall out of the bear.
http://intensedebate.com/people/madeyoulook madeyoulook

Y'know, I wouldn't have thought that should be something to be afraid of…

http://www.TennisVagabond.com Big Dave S

Does the baby bear have to stay there until his drunk daddy wakes up?
jarrid

Radwanski:
"You can learn quite a bit about politicians by the company they keep, which is why it's always bothered me a little that Michael Ignatieff has cast his lot in Quebec with Denis Coderre."

You wonder what Adam would say about Iggy's association with Kinsella. Here's Kinsella on his blog today, commenting on an anonymous" top" Liberal quoted as a source, a little critical of Iggy, by The Hill Times:

"She[Susan Delcaourt]'s nicer than me, so she'll never say this: "Hi, I'm Warren. I'm not nice. I intend to find out who you are, little Hill Times source weasel, and I intend to take a chainsaw to your political ambitions, however modest they may be."

Like I say: Susan's nice, I'm not. But I'm going to defend Iggy as vigorously as I defended JC. And, moreover, I'm pretty good at finding people, when I'm focussed."

Jeepers, what next, Iggy recruiting former KGB agents?

herringchoker

Warren's problem is that he likes to play the tough-guy online. He's Paul Lazzaro come to life ("You made the list buddy-boy"). If he really had any swag, he'd act on it, like the mob. Instead he's Walter Mitty with a modem.

Coat

Be careful. You're just asking for a lawsuit.

Canuckistanian

the point? conbots have hard-ons for kinsella???

Anon

Could this be an olive branch to one Thomas Mulcair, I wonder? Also, couldn't Cauchon win in pretty much any Montreal-area riding, including say St. Laurent – Cartierville?

http://intensedebate.com/people/WDM WDM

Definitely not. The Liberals will be going all out to take out Mulcair. Of course, it's not more important than Coderre's career ambition, but its important nonetheless.
http://intensedebate.com/people/BCerInToronto Jeff Jedras

Dion is running again.

http://intensedebate.com/people/VinceClortho VinceClortho

Clearly plotting for takeover of the leadership again……mutter to himself "I am SO a leader…and I'll show that Stephen Harper"
http://intensedebate.com/people/CanadianSense CanadianSense

How is that good news, he has been thrown under the bus from his own party. I did single out Dion as the 'scapegoat' in the loss in October 2008.

Several MP's have debts from 2006 and will be due Dec 31, 2008. This inside baseball stuff will be used by the opposition parties to attack the credibility of the Liberal party. Estimated just under $ 2 million.

$627,860 – Stéphane DION – December 31, 2009
$322,361 – Gerard KENNEDY – December 31, 2009
$269,378 – Maurizio BEVILACQUA – December 31, 2009
$184,460 – Martha HALL FINDLEY – December 31, 2009
$160,290 – Joe VOLPE – December 31, 2009
$150,095 – Scott BRISON – December 31, 2009
$104,000 – Hedy FRY – December 31, 2009

http://www.punditsguide.ca/2009/01/lookahead-to-2…
http://www.intensedebate.com/people/CanadianSense CanadianSense

How is that good news, he has been thrown under the bus from his own party. I did NOT single out Dion as the 'scapegoat' in the loss in October 2008.

Several MP's have debts from 2006 and will be due Dec 31, 2008. This inside baseball stuff will be used by the opposition parties to attack the credibility of the Liberal party. Estimated just under $ 2 million.

$627,860 – Stéphane DION – December 31, 2009
$322,361 – Gerard KENNEDY – December 31, 2009
$269,378 – Maurizio BEVILACQUA – December 31, 2009
$184,460 – Martha HALL FINDLEY – December 31, 2009
$160,290 – Joe VOLPE – December 31, 2009
$150,095 – Scott BRISON – December 31, 2009
$104,000 – Hedy FRY – December 31, 2009

” target=”_blank”>http://www.punditsguide.ca/2009/01/lookahead-to-2…

Dot

A good $100 of Dion's debt is for those green scarves Glen Pearson picked up for him at Honest Ed's.

Herb

Ignatieff should have a tremendous future in politics – just not Canadian politics.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Dennis_F Dennis_F

Just more evidence, if anyone really needed it, that Liberals criticizing the Harper government on democratic reform, or promising better, are full of it. I agree with Derek above. I don't see any indication that they've learned a thing since losing power.

Two leadership races now, and virtually nothing on mistakes of the past, or ways to fix things in the future.

So, as per usual, they'll yell and scream about what Harper's doing without having earned any credibility themselves, imo.
http://intensedebate.com/people/DeliciousLattes DeliciousLattes

While granting that Denis Coderre is in his default position of wrongness here, shouldn't Cauchon have tossed his hat in the ring for one of those leadership contests if he was so passionate about coming back to elected politics in the riding of his choosing? He would have been a valuable addition to either the real leadership in 2006 or the fake one this past winter.

Canuckistanian

biding his time. he's young after all.

http://www.TennisVagabond.com Big Dave S

Now comes out Coderre's pushing long time MPs to quit for "party renewal". This is breathtaking. Pretty soon Conservatives will be praying for some real Liberal opposition just so we can finally dump Harper. In the meantime, bring on Justin Trudeau!
http://intensedebate.com/people/Dennis_F Dennis_F

Another perhaps obvious question: Do Iggy's moves now jeopardize Outremont in the same way that Dion's interventions did in the by-election that originally handed the seat to Mulcair?

Why would any Liberal in any way take this riding for granted, which you would have to be doing to engage in this nonsense, no?

http://randboro.blogspot.com Scott in Montreal

As someone who lived in the riding when Cauchon and later Lapierre held it, I think Cauchon could whup Mulcair. Possibly somebody else could, but Mulcair won't be unseated easily.

Canuckistanian

which is why this defies logic. parachuting a virtual unknown is fine for a cakewalk; not a crucial riding like outremont with a credible candidate that must be unseated.

kevin

the main question is – who can bag more cash in envelopes – Cauchon, or the chick they nominated?

clearly it's the chick.
http://intensedebate.com/people/JeffJohnston JeffJohnston

I'm befuddled…Cauchon was a great MP and one of the most progressive justice ministers Canada has seen. What's up with Iggy?
This is clearly bad judgement……..
http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

Why not Cauchon in another riding?

The thought of Coderre being PM……shudder

http://intensedebate.com/people/madeyoulook madeyoulook

I would like to think that the riding in which Coderre would be a candidate would be smart enough to reject "Coderre for PM." I am almost certain Canadians are smarter than that.
http://intensedebate.com/people/zamprelli4731 Zamprelli

Cauchon held that riding for 11 years and actually lives there. It's a must win for them, and he'd be almost certain to win it. He should at least be allowed to run for the nomination.

The only person on the planet struck with the delusion that Denis Coderre has a hope in hell of becoming PM is Denis Coderre.

http://intensedebate.com/people/CanadianSense CanadianSense

Looks like a few Lib bloggers are unimpressed by the Quebec Czar. Do you think Iggy is too weak to challenge his Coderre?

Johnny

In the world of politics, there's slick, there's slimy and then there's Coderre.
http://intensedebate.com/people/CanadianSense CanadianSense

Why is anyone shocked about this recent tactical mistake?
http://intensedebate.com/people/BCVoiceOfReason BCVoiceOfReason

Watch Harper's polling numbers get a bump in Quebec as the ADD Quebec voters give their head a shake and say " Oh yeah that's why the Liberals just can't be the federalist alternative in Quebec".