I wrote a piece after the election that got some circulation in Liberal circles.
It argued that the Liberals were in a death spiral, the same one that captured the Progressive Conservatives for most of the 20th century.
The Tory Syndrome states that poor election results lead to internal dissention, which lead to a loss of focus in the party leadership, which lead to lack of attention to party building, fundraising and policy development, which lead to yet another poor election showing, and so on.
Today's example of internal sniping, anonymous sources and whinging is a classic example of the shenanigans that keep the syndrome alive.
I'm no apologist for Team Iggy, but the claims made are so outlandish they simply have to be rebutted.
For starters, the people named in to some of the senior roles are hardly a "Rosedale gang."
For example, Don Guy is from Thunder Bay. Warren Kinsella is from Calgary. Paul Zed is a proud New Brunswicker.
Next is the concern that Bob Rae and Dominic LeBlanc are being ignored because they haven't been given prominent shadow cabinet roles.
We are mere days away from a critical Throne Speech, budget and vote -- and someone is demanding a shadow cabinet shuffle? If that anonymous source got any more wrapped up in himself, he could inspect his own colon with a flashlight.
I publicly supported Dominic LeBlanc because he's the kind of guy who is more focused on results than titles. I'm sure Bob Rae is the same.
Liberals should be focused on the country, not caucus portfolios.
But what really made me spit out my cereal this morning was the grumbling about how Team Iggy doesn't have "national election experience."
What?
Warren Kinsella may be a lot of things, but inexperienced at the national level is not one of them.
Don Guy was one of the top people in Chrétien's 2000 election victory, and has advised or run elections in Ontario, British Columbia, the Yukon and Alberta.
Paul Zed is a long-time MP who has worked in Ottawa since I was 8 years old.
But in case no one noticed, massive experience at the national level has not exactly been the prime indicator of success in the past few elections.