delusional grits

The Tories after the crushing electoral defeat of 1993 had to completely revamp the party. That tool ten years. The grist keep blaming their losses on single issues and pretend they have no work to do. dion is not the only reason for the grit loss. The grits are now saying all they need is a new leader and everything will be ok. The Post has a good analysis of the grits' myriad problems. Don Macpherson also notes that the $1,7 million less a year the grits will receive in electoral welfare. The Post article again notes the Tory Fundraising Juggernaut. The situation for the grits is even worse thaan I thought. Apparently their expenses for fundraising are 50 cents on the dollar.

Desperate for Cash

Modern, successful campaigns - Barack Obama in 2008, Mr. Harper's Conservative party in 2008 - rely on the Internet as a pivotal fundraising tool that yields a ready-made, centralized membership list. To their detriment, the Liberals have all but ignored the social-media trend, and as a result, they have suffered financially, missing a critical opportunity to raise money, especially since last year, when corporate donations were eradicated and personal contributions were capped. As it stands, only 3% of its members, or 23,000 people, donate. (The tech-friendly Tories have 140,000 donors.) What's worse, 50¢ for every dollar raised is spent on further canvassing.

Rent-a-Delegate Democracy

This problem bedevils many political parties: Various leadership factions shell out wads of bills for new members who will cast ballots for their candidate and then who evaporate from the membership. But after Mr. Dion's ascension in November, 2006, the process drew a lot of heat internally from activists, who complained that with this kind of funding, special interests such as the Sikh community or David Orchard's farmers could enjoy a sudden, disproportionate sway in the nomination process.

Some insiders say a more transparent process will attract better candidates with more solid party bases and also improve the party's brand overall. Also suggested is a minimum time before a member is permitted to vote for the party leader.

Withered Grassroots

In the Liberals' top-down structure, party executives do not consult riding presidents on a regular basis, and despite the lack of consultation, ridings still have to pay tithes to the federal party. It's a form of taxation without representation, a relationship that alienates activists, who are not easy to come by, and makes it hard to attract volunteers.