Rae prorogues his leadership bid

As you've undoubtedly heard, Bob Rae has withdrawn from the Liberal Party of Canada leadership race and thrown his full support behind Michael Ignatieff. So I guess that settles that, at least for now. While there was still reason to believe that Rae would carry on in his bid for a one member, one vote leadership election, my ally and friend John Deverell sent this letter him. I have reproduced it with John's permission.

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December 8, 2008

Hello Bob and Rae Campaigners

I am not a member of any party. As a former journalist and current Treasurer of Fair Vote Canada I campaign for equal votes and proportional representation.

I understand the impetus for the coalition but doubt its stability and worry about what happens when it comes unstuck.

I agree with Bob that the Liberal Party needs to consult its members on the leadership and add many more members in short order if it is to prevent a long period of Harper Conservative hegemony.

The logic which leads Bob to consult all Liberals and give them an effective voice applies also to the country. The coalition, led by Liberals, must somehow convince the country that, unlike Mr. Harper, it intends to change the election law to respect every voter equally and create the conditions for legitimate government representing a clear majority of Canadians.

Possibly the only way for the coalition to neutralize the Conservative electoral and financial advantage is to promise an equal franchise for all Canadians. That means no more phony majorities, no more brinksmanship and bullying by any minority party, and no more phony national unity crises manufactured by regionally overrepresented parties.

Canadians need a PR democracy and only the Liberal Party can credibly promise to deliver it. When the time for another election finally comes, a Liberal/NDP coalition government could do much worse than to be brought down by an alliance of Conservatives and Bloquistes opposed to democratic voting.

Bob Rae could credibly make the democratic voting promise. "Shouldn't You Get to Choose?" he could say. The advertising money to popularize the slogan is already being spent.

Were Bob to take this stance unequivocally I am prepared to join the Liberal Party immediately and to promote his leadership campaign as widely as I am able.

I believe many other well-networked Canadians would respond with similar enthusiasm to pursue a democratic breakthrough hitherto deemed impossible.

I look forward to your reply

John Deverell

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Since hearing the news about Rae's withdrawal from the race, John Deverell sent another letter today which I will also reproduce.
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December 9, 2008

Bob Rae, MP

Toronto Centre

Dear Bob

Your withdrawal from the Liberal leadership contest today was understandable and necessary in the circumstances but gave me, and many others I suspect, a queasy sinking feeling.

Thank you for your courageous and imaginative efforts to elicit democratic behavior from the Liberal Party of Canada.

It's hard, as I learned over nearly three decades at the Toronto Star, to teach the old dog democratic ways -- but for the country's sake it now needs to learn them.

Given the present registered party lineup, and Canada's pre-democratic first-past-the-post voting rules, the Conservative Party is now the natural governing party of Canada for the forseeable future.

Only a switch to proportional representation voting will allow Canadians a reliable and viable alternative to what otherwise promises to be an unending run of Conservative government resting on a relatively narrow base of popular support.

On reflection most Canadians -- even those who do not hold democratic social values -- will agree that the country needs a reliable and responsive mechanism to allow for peaceful changes of government, if only to preserve standards of fiscal probity.

We don't have such a mechanism at this point. Our Parliament, elected by a voting system which regularly ignores half the voters, is distorted and dysfunctional. It does not accurately represent the Canadian people and cannot effectively hold the government of the day to account.

A Parliament elected by all Canadians, and representing them in fair proportion to the votes they cast, would not be totally dominated by the government and leader of the day, nor would it be always on the verge of an election. A PR Parliament would have the political diversity and flexibility to generate, as and when necessary, more than one stable governing coalition.

Canadians would be proud of a modern democracy in this style and well-served by it. I hope that in your distinguished and continuing public service you will help us all get there.

Yours for a democratic Canada

John Deverell

Treasurer, Fair Vote Canada