Peter Donolo has a heavy burden. The Liberal Party has focused all its hope on Donolo’s ability to stop the Iggy Circus wagon from sliding any further down the polling hill.
And who better to do that than a professional pollster?
However his task is extremely daunting considering the short time-line he has to turn things around. A minority Government means that each party needs to be election-ready at the drop of a hat. As David Akin noted yesterday, “…when Chretien became leader, he had the relative luxury of facing Brian Mulroney’s majority government. As a result, there were no constant pressures to force confidence votes to bring the government down.”
Liberals still haven’t had an opportunity to clearly reassess their direction after the sponsorship scandal.
Not only that, but Donolo also has to deal with loose cannons like Grit MP Carolyn Bennett and Liberal Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette.
[Update - and Hedy Fry:]
But Donolo’s greatest challenge is going to be how to sell Iffy himself. Even the Star is less than enthusiastic about the Liberal Leader:
“His vision is unfocused, his policies are nebulous, his public image is ambivalent at best, and his fitness for the role of prime minister is still in question.”
If Donolo fails, then Michael Ignatieff risks becoming the “first Liberal leader in history to never hold a cabinet position”, as the National Post noted this morning.
Or else Iffy will just find a new Chief of Staff.
Wikipedia defines The Peter Principle as follows:
“In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence.” It was formulated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull in their 1969 book The Peter Principle, a humorous treatise which also introduced the “salutary science of Hierarchiology”, “inadvertently founded” by Peter. It holds that in a hierarchy, members are promoted so long as they work competently. Sooner or later they are promoted to a position at which they are no longer competent (their “level of incompetence”), and there they remain, being unable to earn further promotions. This principle can be modeled and has theoretical validity. Peter’s Corollary states that “in time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out his duties” and adds that “work is accomplished by those employees who have not yet reached their level of incompetence”.
Peter Donolo surely is that employee in the latter part of the corollary.
* * * *
Update: I swear I had this post completed before reading Chucker’s latest!
Great Expectations – Jane Taber
It was all his fault? – Rob Silver
Donolo can’t improve Liberal “brand” alone - Sandy
I actually agreed with something that a Dipper said, yesterday. On the PP panel, NDP Chief of Staff, Anne McGrath commented that rarely does a new Chief of Staff garner this much attention. That was at about the 1/2 hour mark so indeed Clark was making a day of it on behalf of his idols, it would seem.
Have we even seen the Conservative, Ndp, Bloc for anywhere near this amount of space?
Perhaps they should focus on MP Bennett’s outrageous insult or the Senators stupidity? Both Liberal too!
I believe you Joanne because I commented before seeing Chuckers!! ha ha!
It’s okay, you are both loved!
Having watched, or read about the antics of these two liberal women, I cringe at the thought that liberals want more women in their caucus. And Hedy is not mentioned.
It is ironic yet insulting of Tom Clark and his three hench men: fife, oliver travis and some times Taber, bellow their concern for this nation and military sfter years of their silence. Man, what a slap!
They are so worried that the prime minister is spending on areas where the LPOC should have spent on throughout their years in government. Yet none of those empty heads ever once asked the liberals for the millions of dollars which they still owe us nor demanded explaination from the liberals either, about their neglect.
Just a thought, if the liberals lose all 4 by-elections, will Peter be considered a failure.
If we see iffy speaking without his lizard tongue, looking down his nose at all of us, plucking his eyebrows, there might be some hope for him. But, changing iffy’s body language and facial expression will be a life time job.
No matter what he does, he can’t change all the goofs iffy has made. And, we will remember them.
What is hiding in the scandal plagued lib closet, that all the adscam people are coming back. Are they hiding something big, or planning something bigger than the sponsorship scandal.
It’s all about Donolo and that equals Chretien=adscam. Another stupid move by the liberal elite. Throw in Dalton’s e-health scam that is still being dealt with, and you got a constant reminder of the corruption in the liberal party. Donolo could pull a rabbit out of Iggy’s ass, and still he won’t be considered a leader by the Canadian people.
Bec @ 8:16 – We both have to be more careful about camouflaging the Tory Talking Points.
Another CBC poll goes horribly wrong.
http://www.thestar.com/national
All this proves is that great minds think alike re the posts.
How often has a post been put up on whatever topic, or something is said on tv news, and within minutes almost identical comments appear, with no chance one has seen the other. And these are coming from all corners of Canada. To me that shows that the majority of Canadians are on the same page.
As far as hopes that Donalo will turn things around, it is far too late for that. Anything he does to change iffy will be considered an attempt to scam us all.
He could start by toning down Bennett, Holland, and Goodale during question period.
The influence of Lizzie May on the Liberals is becoming obvious. It is recycle, recycle, recycle. Policy or personnel, the old is new again. Even their great hope for the future is just Pierre II.
Norman Spector has good post on the Caroline Bennett latest stupidity..honest to God folks,this woman is worse than Fried Hedy..and that’s saying something!
The first thought that came to mind with the Liberal announcement was simply this:
If Mr. Donolo interrupts Iffy, in caucus meetings, half as much as he interrupted every other panelist (and the hosts) on Mike Duffy “Live”, and now Power Play, then the Libs will be looking at ‘chief of staff’ #4 before the next budget comes down.
That man sure does love to hear himself talk. The usual suspects on CTV, and Donolo’s old buddy on PP yesterday, are of course heaping so much praise on this guy, that they sound like giddy schoolgirls.
I’m sure they think this profound appointment within the Liberal inner circle will somehow take away from the very competent job PM Harper and the Conservative Party are doing on behalf of Canada during these difficult times. Earth to Tom Clark and his usual panel of Lib talking heads … it won’t work. Canadians are smarter than you believe they are.
If Peter Donolo is as terrific as the Grits say, I suggest they have Donolo switch jobs with Ignatieff. Could get them 5 or 6 points in the polls
Iggy on cpac now..in HofC speaking on a private members bill..you guessed it..a ‘wimmins’ issue on equality,and some blather about human rights.
Note to Liberals: REAL women stand up for themselves..we are more than capable of fighting for our own issues,we are competent,and we don’t need your fake ‘pink’ book policies that have never accomplished anything other than waste paper and air-time.As for the fine example that female lib mp’s are..take a look around your own caucus..Hedy Fry? a loon of the highest order..they should create the Hedy Fry award for sheer stupidity. Caroline Bennett???? Hysteria personified. Ruby Dhalla? Nannygate..Judy Sgro?..remember ’strippergate?’ and the list goes on..including your whackjob Sen.Celine!
I TAKE NO LESSONS FROM LIB WIMMIN.
I am disgusted by the actions of Caroline Bennett and the MSM looking the other way. There is no balance in reporting in Canada. The MSM look just as bad as Caroline Bennett in all this.
Donolo turning Lib fortunes around, I don’t think he’s going to be the miracle worker that Libs and their MSM believe. Goes much deeper. The Liberals still haven’t learned from losing the election in 2006. They still have that sense of entitlement and arrogance. They still don’t get it! They haven’t really come to grips why voters turned away from them.
Until they wake up and realize this things aren’t going to change much for them. Their MSM cheerleaders don’t get it either for that matter.
One wonders how come Katsmeat was not considered for the position of Chief of Staff instead of Donolo…..hmmmm..Does this mean that Donolo will be calling the shots?….Where does that leave the punk star?
The Libs fail to see the biggest plus in dumping Iggy: We will have wasted millions of dollars on the ‘just visiting’ ads, with nothing to show for them !
So, as much as I hate to help the enemy, they should install Rae, let us spend more millions in trashing him for about a year, and then put in another baggage-laden leader, and so on.
If the Libs are really lucky, Harper will force an election when they are leaderless (as that is when they poll the highest). And the Libs will also get a sympathy vote from those who think Harper is being extra nasty, kicking them when they are down.
“I TAKE NO LESSONS FROM LIB WIMMIN.”
I second that! Amen! Their women’s caucus is an embarrassment to the gender!
Wasn’t Bill Murray, aka Warren Kinsella, supposed to be Iggy’s savior too? Peter Donollo is good and maybe he can succeed where others have failed but the country has changed a lot since 1993.
O/T but Dave Rutherford is talking about this article right now.
What is it with the TD Bank bankrolling these studies????
More here.
‘If we see iffy speaking without his lizard tongue’
A tongue piercing would cure that!
Bonus…a real winner with the under 25 crowd!
And what did the new Lib messiah say about PMSHs handling of the Coalition of Losers:
”…Mr. Donolo acknowledged that by taking this strategy Mr. Harper has most likely done irreversible damage to his party’s electoral prospects in Quebec,
however he added that the Liberals and NDP have been hurt in the rest of Canada…”
Irreversible damage to the CPC in Quebec, says Donolo , 10 months ago.
hmmm
CROP (translation)Oct 28/09
‘…Stephen Harper makes on-site – from 23 to 25% in one month, its highest score since his reelection, however, minority last year. ..’
Well Donolo was right about damage in the ROC to Libs!
Maybe that’s the irreversible damage that was done Peter..
I keep getting off-track here, but this Rutherford segment is really good. S/B in the archives later (first half-hour).
Dave and others are questioning TD’s motives. One caller says that TD probably wants to get into the new carbon market. Now that does seem plausible.
“The Toronto-Dominion Bank provided funding to the David Suzuki Foundation and environmental research group the Pembina Institute, which in turn brought in the respected economic modelling firm of M.K. Jaccard and Associates, to create a rigorous and unbiased assessment of what Canada will look like in 2020 if (a) it adopts the Harper government’s plan to reduce emissions 3 per cent below 1990 levels or (b) adopts the much more ambitious goal of 25 per cent below 1990 levels, which environmentalists and many scientists say is essential to prevent the worst impacts of rising temperatures.”
I love that, “to create a rigorous and UNBIASED assessment…” Because the Liberal led TD bank, David Suziki Foundation, and Pembina Institute are not all left-wing, big government, tax and spend leftists.
TD may end up alienating a lot of investors.
I saw the TD/Suzuki report early this am.
Have felt sick ever since, because I am really really not sure my federal government, Jim Prentice and Stephen Harper, will stop this insanity.
Look at the charts, winners are Quebec, Ontario and Man.
70% of the seats in parliament.
This is the NEP via the Green Shift,
it’s forever, and worse, would be brought in by a Conservative government.
” By 2020, Ottawa would be raking in between $46-billion and $72-billion annually, a staggering sum, from the carbon credits that industry would be paying.”
Alberta and Sask the big losers….the Atlantic provinces will get their costs covered off, as usual.
We are sitting ducks out here.
Maybe the Wild Rose party sprung to life, just in time….
Is anyone else curious why Eddie Goldenberg is all over the airwaves commenting on what a tremendous human being Donolo is? This guy was one of Rae’s main backers for Leader,
Now watch for Apps and Brock to be replaced. The cop is almost over.
oops should be “coup”
Well, Wilson, let’s hope Jim Prentice and Stephen Harper grab a brain before this stuff gets implemented….or I’ll be looking for a new Western Separation Party to vote for.
Big Environment is much more dangerous than Big Oil, because they want to regulate every part of your life. Very dangerous and people better wake up.
In all the hoopla over Donolo’s appointment, there is one issue that seems to be ignored – he is currently one of 5 partners in The Strategic Council.
Now a partnership implies a legal relationship with requirements on each partner to generate business, and the ability of each partner to take a certain amount of revenue out of the partnership as his share. So in the rush to annoint Donolo as the party’s latest saviour, what exactly is the arrangement going forward ? Is he going to step back (temporarily) from the partnership and not participate in either generating or obtaining revenue ? Had he taken the $1/year, so-called “wise sage” option, this might be possible. But he will be drawing a salary from the LPC, so should he not pull out completely from any partnership arrangements ?
And remember, The Strategic Counsel does not exactly produce widgets. It is a polling company, and polls are the lifeblood of any political party. So just how ethical is it for the Chief of Staff of the Leader of the Opposition to be intimately involved in a polling company ?
IMHO,even stepping back from the partnership is inadequate, because he would still be able to use the polling information generated by The Strategic Counsel for the benefit of the LPC. Not to mention the fact that he would be able to influence those additional questions that are always asked.
So a number of questions here for the Ethics Commissioner and Elections Canada regarding benefit to the LPC which should probably have been considered before this deal was made.
Donolo…to me it looks like the LPC is one again relying on a savior instead of engaging in the hard work of good policy and credible leadership. This path hasn’t worked yet but continuing and expanding failed programs in a trademark of progressive thinking.
The TD, Suzuki, Pembina study…hmmmm, central Canada based bank commissions radical environmental lefties to produce an ‘unbiased’ report on climate change solutions. The green researchers then produce a report that advocates for a wealth transfer from the West to Central Canada and a plan to build a mass network of renewable energy. I’m shocked, I tell you, shocked (NOT). No one with a shred of common sense will take this “expert” report seriously. Only hacks like Jeffery Simpson and The Toronto Star will be impressed by such an obviously biased paper.
Frankly, I doubt that Ontario can be bought off with promises of green jobs and ‘necessary’ taxes. First, the health premiums and ehealth scandal is a perfect example of what happens when government fixes a problem – corruption and waste. Second, Ontario is reliant on growth from the West to provide both equalization payment and stable contracts for its manufacturing industries. Orders from the oil companies provide billions of dollars to Ontario’s economy. Quebec, OTOH, likes nothing better than receiving Other Peoples Money but after the next seat redistribution their power in the federal government starts to dramatically wane.
Money talks.
I just got off the phone from the TD Bank,
all my investments move into the Alberta Treasury Bank, as of midnight.
I urge all Western Canadians to move their investments into their home province.
Money talks.
Be sure to tell TD head office and your local branch, why you are moving your investments.
p.s.
You don’t have to cash in RRSP and pay tax,
you can move YOUR money to any financial institution, left in tact.
Soccermom,
having watched silently, swallowed and defended many of my PMs stands,
in the name of what’s good for the country
(like being a gawd damn shareholder in Government Motors),
this is where I drawn the line.
Global Warming bullsh88 to the detriment of the West.
We work in the oil patch, haven’t drawn a paycheque since April, run our own business so can’t get EI, live on dividends so can’t voluntarily pay into CPP.
I don’t want safety nets, I want to work.
Never again, no NEP.
Money talks.
I just got off the phone from the TD Bank,
all my investments move into the Alberta Treasury Bank, as of midnight.
Wow. You didn’t waste any time, Wilson!
It’s no secret that Don Drummond has been in favour of putting a price on carbon for some time now.
Yes, Wilson! I have relatives in the oilpatch in Alberta. They have been having a hard time for about a year. One of them almost lost his house, but for some family help.
So I’m with you. This is one line PM Harper dare not cross.
” having watched silently, swallowed and defended many of my PMs stands,
in the name of what’s good for the country
(like being a gawd damn shareholder in Government Motors),
this is where I drawn the line.”
I agree 100%. He dares not alienate his base anymore. That will be the final straw.
P.S. I was and am still against spending all that stimulus money. If we can put a stop to it now, we’d be all be better off.
But this climate change bullsh** is something I am truly repulsed by.
Read this about the up and coming climate change conference in Copenhagen and the so called Treaty. It’s not really about “climate change.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703574604574500580285679074.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
“(The carbon tax plan) is like the national energy program in the sense that the national energy program was designed to screw the West and really damage the energy sector — and this will do those things,” the Conservative leader (Harper) said in Saskatoon, standing next to Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall.”
And this cap and trade is different? How?
It’s NOT.
Wrap it up in blue, it’s still another NEP.
Getting back to Donolo, take a load of this from a Liberal, Robert Silvers. OUCH!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/silver-powers/
Oh btw, I forgot. Lord Monckton will be on Genn Beck tommorrow I believe to talk about the Copenhagen Climate Change Treaty. I will be tuning in. Should be interesting more interesting than PP with Tommy Clark that’s for sure.
[...] I hijacked my own thread on the previous post, I thought I’d better start up a new one [...]
Frmgrl @ 1:17 – Thanks for that link. Great stuff!!
BTW, I started a new thread for the climate change story.
I can not agree more about climate change. About a month ago I was watching a lot of discovery programs and came to the following conclusion. Scientists are just guessing like the rest of us. They even admitted so in some of the programs. The only difference They form a hypothesis, set up an experiment to prove that hypothesis (usually in a controlled environment) and if it works they have proved their theory.
My questions are: Have you accounted for everything? How can you apply something on such a small scale to a global scale.
My problem: There are way too many moving parts/external forces to account for to prove their theory 100%.
The first thing our prof stated in my stats class in university: stats/data can be manipulated to prove any conclusion.
This has be proven to be the case on multiple occassions by 2 good CDN green mythbusters. Well, when they can get their hands on the data these so called green “experts” have used to draw their conclusions.
The world is a big, dynamic, ever changing place.
I want a nation wide referendum before the federal government foists plans to embark on a large scale green plans and I want it explained in great detail. I don’t want the fluff (save that for the greenies, liberals), I want the cold, hard facts.
Maybe we need to start having referendums in the hope of people getting people engaged in the decisions rather than having them forced upon us without consultation.
F the whole Nanny state ideal! This has been created as make work project to employ lefties. Enough already! The left create chaos because it opens up an opportunity to control us. Independant, free thinking, with big voices scares those buggers because they are not in control and that is what they are all about.
To all the regulars and of course yourself Joanne: keep those free, independant loud voices alive and well!
O/T: Who is or planning to get their H1N1 flu shot, the article I have linked puts this whole thing into perspective for me. I have a 10 and 4 year old and I really do not know what to do. My daughter does not usually get sick but my son is a bit different story, constantly with the sniffles.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/10/swine_flu_panic_in_perspective.html
Shane in the ‘wack,
I just returned from getting it. One of my girls has a 6 week old and as an occasional caregiver of bother babies (22 months), it was essential for me to be vaccinated. Another daughter, with children 10 and under, went yesterday as her town is FULL of H1N1 and they had a child fatality this past weekend and so panic is starting to kick in with these young parents.
Those are our circumstances and we as a family are encouraging our loved ones to go as well.
Good luck with your decision.
I just put up a post related to this topic (Donolo) after having done an analysis of who are in the Liberal 77 member caucus.
It’s a bit long but I think BLY regulars will find it interesting.
http://crux-of-the-matter.com/2009/10/29/donolo-cant-improve-liberal-brand-by-himself/
Job sharing with Bob Rae.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/bureau-blog/job-sharing-with-bob-rae/article1344260/
Job sharing with bob. Bob made a very ignorant stmt in the HofC, blaming the govt for flu deaths. Does that mean that the Ont premier and TO mayor are responsible for all the shooting deaths in Ont as they refuse to crack down on the bad guys.
At Issue discussed this tonight. It was brought up that he would not have taken the job without some conditions, and they listed what some of them might be. Complete control of who works in the office. No job is safe.
These conditions had to have been discussed over a period of time. I doubt if it was a phone call, will you come work for me as chief of staff, ok, hang up.
So, when did the discussions start, who was behind it. Was iffy involved in the decision. Most of the panel didn’t think he would be able to make iffy saleable to the public.
They also discussed the WRA in Alberta, and had a clip on of Danielle Smith. Peter M asked her about the federal deficit, and she replied that (paraphrased) PMSH was forced by the liberals and ndp to do it. Coyne tried to turn that around to something else, forgetting the threat of a coalition was the reason.
So, Peter asks, you are giving SH a pass on it.
[...] indeed. Alarm bells went off in my head when I first heard that those three were in bed [...]
[...] indeed. Alarm bells went off in my head when I first heard that those three were in bed [...]
[...] Peter Donolo has his work cut out for him as Ekos reports that the Tories are enjoying a double-digit lead. [...]
Sammy: “honest to God folks,this woman [Carolyn Bennett] is worse than Fried Hedy..and that’s saying something!”
Yeah, agreed!
Carolyn Around the Bend is a total nutbar. I’ve never been able to understand how she got elected given her performances in the media: arms flying all over the place, tongue flapping overtime saying really ditzy stuff and making it clear that there’s a short circuit (I hope so, for her sake) between her brain and her mouth.
She’s a total Librano disciple with passionate foot in mouth disease and she’s one scary harridan.
[...] course the Liberals don’t need to worry because they have Peter Donolo now. He’ll make it all go away. Filed under H1N1, Health care, Liberal Party of [...]
[...] Here is my first set of questions: Wasn’t Peter Donolo sent in there to fix all that was wrong with the Liberal Party? If so, does that mean sending Iffy [...]
[...] Here is my first set of questions: Wasn’t Peter Donolo sent in there to fix all that was wrong with the Liberal Party? If so, does that include sending [...]