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OP-ED: Why I’m running to lead the NDP (rabble.ca)
submitted 10 months ago by to c/canada@lemmy.ca
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[–] 14 points 10 months ago (12 children)

The NDP embodies a lot of what I like in politicians. But they need to get back to their Jack Layton roots.

It’s still a crying shame that Layton passed away when he did. He would’ve been an awesome PM.

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  • [–] 8 points 10 months ago* (11 children)

    What exactly defines their Jack Layton roots for you, and which of the current prospective leaders do you think embodies Layton's approach the best? Not trying to put you on the spot here, it's just I hear this sentiment a lot and very rarely does anyone actually expand on what, specifically, they think the NDP needs to be doing differently. For those of us voting in the leadership election it would be really helpful to have a clear sense of what everyone is actually asking for.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (10 children)

    Honesty, humility, compassion and a track record a few decades along to confirm it. Charisma and intelligence too

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  • [–] 8 points 10 months ago (8 children)

    See, here's where I'm lost. None of that describes policy, which is what I had assumed you were looking for. Those are just personality traits. I mean, back when he first got elected leader, that's how most people described Jagmeet Singh. He basically won on liability, mostly thanks to that one viral video, and it turned out he wasn't a particularly good leader at all.

    And I'm not sure how any new leader is supposed to bring a "track record a few decades long". That just feels like a catch-22. Especially if you're looking for new blood to shake up a party that's been suffering from serious political stagnation for the past decade (or more). How are we supposed to bring in bold new leadership if we can only consider well established options?

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  • [–] 0 points 10 months ago (7 children)

    Policy doesn’t matter at all when you don’t have leaders with integrity. Policies are “campaign promises” that mean nothing.

    Elect a leader with compassion and integrity and everything else will flow from there.

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    But how does someone prove integrity to you? You see the bind here, right?

    You're putting everything on these vague handwavey qualities like "integrity" as if you, like Anubis, can put their souls on the scale and measure their exact weight. What you're describing, ultimately, is just vibes, and voting on vibes has never gotten us anywhere good.

    Policies can be lied about, sure, but integrity, compassion and humility can be faked. That's literally the essence of being a con artist. The CPC loved to talk about how Harper was a salt of the earth guy who rolled up his sleeves and drank Timmy's instead of Starbucks. It didn't mean shit. At least policies are an objective standard you can hold someone to; a yardstick to measure their integrity against. And all the integrity in the world is worthless if its being devoted to policies that will do no good.

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  • [–] -1 points 10 months ago* (2 children)

    Do you really tie yourself into knots writing this stuff? I don’t. Bye.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago (1 child)

    Thinking about stuff at this level scares you, doesn't it? Actually having to interrogate your own opinions, ask yourself why you believe the things you believe, instead of just trusting your gut. It takes practice.

    I'm sorry that you obviously never had the kind of upbringing or background that would give you that practice. That's exactly the kind of problem we need a real left socialist party to solve. Freeing people from the constant pressure cooker of capitalism so that we can actually flex our minds.

    Genuinely, I hope that with time this stuff gets easier for you. That you can learn to look inside your own thoughts without being intimidated by the process. It starts out scary for everyone, but I promise it does get easier.

    I know you'll just dismiss this as snark or elitist bullshit or whatever. I get that. It's another product of the same environment that makes these kinds of conversations so difficult for you. There's nothing I can do about that, unfortunately.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    While Jack Layton was a good man, he was the leader who moved the NDP from left to centrist. To be relevant again the NDP must move back to its left roots.

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