I endorse Kevin Gaudet for PC Party President.
I worked on Kevin's campaign in Pickering Scarborough East, and got to know him very well. He is an utterly fearless individual. He is deeply committed to the cause. He is fiercely loyal to those who are loyal to him. He's a pleasure to be around.
But you could say that about all three people in the race. Where Kevin stands out is that he is the most willing to speak plainly about where we fell short during the election, and he is the most willing to re-examine the direction in which our party goes before the next go-round.
We can complain about the Working Families Coalition all we want. We can compare ourselves to Harper, Ford, and Harris all we want. Whether we win or lose the next election is up to us and us alone. Kevin exemplifies that mindset.
The Star featured an article today about the Liberal Wizard of Oz, Don Guy. Like everyone with even a passing familiarity with Queen's Park, I'd heard of Don Guy before. What I never understood was why everyone, PC's and Liberals alike, spoke of him in the most reverent of tones. Ironically enough, the only person who seems to want to criticize Don Guy in that article is Don Guy. Nobody else seems to want to question this man's apparent superpowers. He's a genius, they said.
Well, it seems to me that anyone can be a genius when the people you're competing against think that removing the P or C from PC Party of Ontario will catapult us into government and we need not go any further than that. That is the sort of solution I've been hearing from far too many people. It is the sort of solution the Liberals would come up with. A shift in thinking is what we need, and Kevin, a former president of the CTF and the king of the deficit hawks, represents that shift.
Kevin Gaudet does not feel that Don Guy, or any Liberal, is the wonderful Wizard of Oz because of the wonderful things he does and that we shouldn't look behind the curtain. Instead, Kevin Gaudet has the same unshakeable desire to win -despite everything- that Harper does. Kevin Gaudet is not going to flinch when the Liberal war room attacks him. There is not a single thought in Kevin Gaudet's head that resembles the tentative "what will the Liberals think" thinking that I hear from too many PC's, and which underlies campaigns where we try to tiptoe around Liberal attacks. That's running to avoid a loss. Kevin wants to run to win.
If you really want Change Ahead in the PC Party of Ontario, I suggest you vote for Kevin Gaudet for Party President.
In his op-ed, it sounds like Kevin is running for leader, not party president.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the op-ed suggests that to you?
ReplyDeleteActually no, anonymous above, it is Snobelen that sounds like he is running for leader.
ReplyDeleteThat said I have not heard any of the presidential candidates talking about removing the P from PC as the solution to our problems. Not sure who you're trying to suggest is doing so, Clown.
In any event this race looks like Snobelen, 30,000-foot Vision Thing (aka I Want To Be Leader) without a map to get there, vs. Ciano, we need to fix certain things in the party in order to be ready to win.
Gaudet sounds close to Ciano but without the detailed knowledge of what needs to be done. Nice guy, well meaning, but simply losing an election he ought to have won does not give him the tools to know what to do, or how to do it.
but Chad and Mark are supporting Snobelen, the PC's very own version of Sheila Copps (disgraced former cabinet minister from the 90's attempting a comeback via party president)
ReplyDeletego Sheila, go John!!
Very interesting commentary, folks. I'm not trying to suggest any of the candidates *themselves* for President want to remove the P from PC. All of them are good peoples.
ReplyDeleteThere is, however, a certain MPP who seems to feel removing the P will fix our troubles.
Kevin is only running because he needs a job. Wait to see Gaudet drop out and throw his support behind one of the other two. Wouldn't be surprised if he sells his support for the position of Executive Director. Ted Matthews will be out soon enough.
ReplyDeleteYou know what guys, (and keep this on the down low because we don't want the Liberals to hear about it or anything) but I heard that the Liberals are going to interfere in the race for President and do stuff like post comments on blogs! Isn't that wild? I mean, don't the Liberals have better stuff to do like try to govern?
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying any of the comments here are from LIBERALS or anything....just thought I'd warn you guys. ;)