The Louis Riel Trail (political blogger)
The blogs have played a rather important role in this leadership campaign. Especially early on, the bloggers covered this campaign in much greater depth than the mainstream media and sometimes pointed the traditional press in interesting directions. Therefore I think its important that I join Head Tales, and Accidental Deliberations in providing an endorsement for one of the leadership candidates.
The author of this blog will provide first ballot support to Ryan Meili in the Saskatchewan NDP Leadership Race, and recommends that his readers do the same for the reasons outlined below.
Coming into 2009, Ryan Meili was a Saskatoon-based activist with little profile outside of his community, and no funding. As the campaign has progressed, Meili has managed to surround himself with smart, committed people who have moved him from relative obscurity to a serious challenger for the leadership of the Saskatchewan NDP while taking on one of the best-funded and most famous politicians in Saskatchewan public life. A good part of leadership, is the ability to surround oneself with talented, dedicated, and honourable people -- something Meili has excelled at. By contrast, the campaign of Dwain Lingenfelter missed the activity of a renegade volunteer and supplied the NDP with a scandal which may have legal implications that could play out over the next several years. The Hale Report may clear Lingenfelter's senior campaign members of any formal wrongdoing in the membership fiasco, but it does not clear the political veteran of sloppy campaign management. The Higgins and Pedersen campaigns have fought the good fight, but have not made the same impact.
Change and Renewal have been major themes in both the Saskatchewan NDP Leadership race, and world politics for the last few years. Ryan Meili is best equipped to supply change and renewal. Looking at the donor lists for each candidate, the vast majority of Meili's major donors are named individuals representative of Saskatchewan's social fabric rather than organizations, party barons or special interests - a Ryan Meili led NDP party will owe few favours to anyone; and be able to make decisions based on the best of interests of his party as a whole rather than his major donors.
The most optimistic NDP supporters claim that a shift in 5000 well-placed votes could supply the NDP with government; a position which glosses over the fact that the Saskatchewan Party made significant inroads into urban Saskatchewan in the last election, has a high appproval rating, and an experienced, young, leader. Everyone wants to sell new memberships, Meili's plan to empower activists and rebuild rural constituencies through local organizations seems much more effective than parachuting in candidates from other parts of Saskatchewan to rural areas where they have no ties or long-term organization. Eventually these new organizations could put the Saskatchewan Party on the defensive and lead to a new NDP government. Going into 2011 it is going to be difficult for any politician to get voter attention: we are still sufferring a global recession, and Canada's political parties seem to be gearing up for a national election in 2009. The hearts and minds of Saskatchewan voters are likely to be pre-occupied, and putting the NDP in a position to be government will be a long-term project.
At a time when what could be a long-term renewal process is an issue, age is a relevant discussion and while I could not locate Deb Higgins' age, Dwain Lingenfelter has not served even one day in a top political office and is older than Brad Wall, Stephen Harper, Jack Layton, Elizabeth May, Barack Obama, Jean Charest, Dalton McGuinty, and Bill Gates. Few organziations in business or politics would hand a new, long-term renewal project to a man of Lingenfelter's age.
Climate change is likely to be the biggest issue of the 21st century, this topic will dominate any discussion of any commercial, industrial, or development project. Ryan Meili does not have long term ties or interests in the energy industry, and is best positioned to help move Saskatchewan in environmentally stable and sustainable ways - perhaps away from coal and gas, and towards wind and solar.
Meili's resume is thin in the areas of debate, and electoral politics, but by most accounts he held his own during campaign forums and has out-organized and out-campaigned the other leadership contenders, even though he started with a small number of supporters and no funds. Given that Meili will gain political seasoning by fighting a by-election and spend at least a year in the house before Saskatchewan's next fixed election date, he is in a very good position to be a strong candidate for premier going into the 2011 election and beyond. I believe he should be given the chance.
