Dan McLean, a politician?

[realcity]

A lawyer isn't in politics for the money can make $ more then politics

[SteelTown]

Dan McLean off and running for Liberals

News
Aug 21, 2009
http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/news/article/185726

Dan McLean was nominated last week in Dundas to carry the banner of the Ancaster- Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale Liberal riding. The former CHCH anchor said he would give the area what has been lacking since incumbent Conservative MP David Sweet was first elected in 2006.

“You have not had a strong voice in Ottawa,” said Mr. McLean.

Mr. McLean, after he met with most of the 75 people who turned out for the early evening event, said Mr. Sweet has been far too quiet over the years in his representation of the riding.

“Have you heard of him doing anything?” asks Mr. McLean in an interview. “The reality is I don’t hear from him at all. And I haven’t seen him in the riding.”

Mr. Sweet couldn’t be reached for comment.

[highwater]

Great news! This is my riding. Hopefully a 'name' politician can over ride the complacency that got Sweet re-elected.

[hamiltonguy]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Dan McLean off and running for Liberals

News
Aug 21, 2009
http://www.hamiltonmountainnews.com/news/article/185726

Dan McLean was nominated last week in Dundas to carry the banner of the Ancaster- Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale Liberal riding. The former CHCH anchor said he would give the area what has been lacking since incumbent Conservative MP David Sweet was first elected in 2006.

“You have not had a strong voice in Ottawa,” said Mr. McLean.

Mr. McLean, after he met with most of the 75 people who turned out for the early evening event, said Mr. Sweet has been far too quiet over the years in his representation of the riding.

“Have you heard of him doing anything?” asks Mr. McLean in an interview. “The reality is I don’t hear from him at all. And I haven’t seen him in the riding.”

Mr. Sweet couldn’t be reached for comment.

Ummm ok, really outstanding Mr. McLean. Rather than stating why you would make a good representative, you simply make a generalized accusation of ineffectiveness. At least you could come up with something like "He didn't succeed in bringing the Southern Ontario Development Agency here". Instead just a generalized, but personal attack.

News flash for you Mr. McLean: David Sweet is not a "nobody" he does not "do nothing". He is chairman of the Veterans Affairs. Last Parliament he was vice-chair (ranking government member) of the Public Accounts committee (the committee that has oversight over government spending) and still sits on that committee. He also also helped many constituents, as well as securing funding for many local projects. He has done quite well on this front, despite the fact that cities like K-W has elected all tories, and yet he is the only government member to be primarily an advocate for our city.

As an government MP who has endorsed Light Rail, he is also a valuable individual to have in Parliament as we seek funding for our LRT project.

So to Dan McLean I ask: "How would you be a better representative from that".

It's one thing to challenge someone on policy, but baseless character attacks are just wrong.

[Millstone]

Originally Posted by hamiltonguy

Ummm ok, really outstanding Mr. McLean. Rather than stating why you would make a good representative, you simply make a generalized accusation of ineffectiveness. At least you could come up with something like "He didn't succeed in bringing the Southern Ontario Development Agency here". Instead just a generalized, but personal attack.

News flash for you Mr. McLean: David Sweet is not a "nobody" he does not "do nothing". He is chairman of the Veterans Affairs. Last Parliament he was vice-chair (ranking government member) of the Public Accounts committee (the committee that has oversight over government spending) and still sits on that committee. He also also helped many constituents, as well as securing funding for many local projects. He has done quite well on this front, despite the fact that cities like K-W has elected all tories, and yet he is the only government member to be primarily an advocate for our city.

As an government MP who has endorsed Light Rail, he is also a valuable individual to have in Parliament as we seek funding for our LRT project.

So to Dan McLean I ask: "How would you be a better representative from that".

It's one thing to challenge someone on policy, but baseless character attacks are just wrong.

please send this to the spec

[highwater]

Originally Posted by hamiltonguy

He also also helped many constituents, as well as securing funding for many local projects. He has done quite well on this front...

Talk about vague generalities. Name one project, please. And no, not CANMET. That was a holdover from the Liberals. Do you live in his riding? I do, and I can tell you he has done SFA for our riding. He is also all but invisible, barely mustering the energy to show up to community events and gladhand people.

Originally Posted by hamiltonguy

It's one thing to challenge someone on policy, but baseless character attacks are just wrong.

Good Lord, it's going to be a long campaign. Accusing your opponent of ineffectiveness is hardly a "baseless character attack".

[hamiltonguy]

Originally Posted by highwater

Talk about vague generalities. Name one project, please. And no, not CANMET. That was a holdover from the Liberals. Do you live in his riding? I do, and I can tell you he has done SFA for our riding. He is also all but invisible, barely mustering the energy to show up to community events and gladhand people.

No I don't live in his riding (and I dislike that term anyways, just because he represents it doesn't mean he owns it). And FYI I do know people in ADFW, some of whom have been helped in the course of his constituency work, and also another individual whose own MP did sfa for her, yet Sweet helped.

As for projects, where have you been for the past 3 years? Is CANMET seriously the only federal project you can think of? For example, three construction ready affordable housing projects in Hamilton just got 7.1 million in funding, the 3 million dollar investment in Redeemer University College (which despite being a private university, still has a role to play in our post-secondary system), 22 million also at the same time for McMaster University and the Eastgate Transit terminal funding (1.6 million) just to mention a few recent items for the riding and the surrounding areas.

Dan McLean would be hard pressed to do better. As a white-male from Ontario, he would be hard pressed to find a cabinet post, especially as there are many more Liberal MPs ahead of him, especially those who haven't alienated their own party by calling themselves a "small-c conservative". He will also have to spend the next three years building a rapport with his fellow MPs, just like Sweet did. (Sweet being chair of a fairly important committee speaks to the respect he has earned from his fellow MPs). In other words, Mr. McLean's influence will likely be less than Sweet, especially if the Liberals do not form government. (Or form government in a coalition with the NDP in which case "small-c conservative" liberals will be even more alienated from the mainstream of the party).

Good Lord, it's going to be a long campaign. Accusing your opponent of ineffectiveness is hardly a "baseless character attack".

It is if you don't back it up with facts. For example: Tyler Banham accused Chris Charlton of being ineffective. He backed it up with her short office hours among other things. That had a base. Meanwhile Mr.McLean's attack (the way it was reported) had no base. It is the same as calling someone a liar, but not giving a single example of HOW he is a liar. I gave an example of something he could have used, but instead of bringing specific accusations and letting them stand or fall on their merit, Mr.McLean chose dirty politics. There's too much of that on every side this day, and I'm tired of it.

[SteelTown]

Originally Posted by hamiltonguy

As for projects, where have you been for the past 3 years? Is CANMET seriously the only federal project you can think of? For example, three construction ready affordable housing projects in Hamilton just got 7.1 million in funding, the 3 million dollar investment in Redeemer University College (which despite being a private university, still has a role to play in our post-secondary system), 22 million also at the same time for McMaster University and the Eastgate Transit terminal funding (1.6 million) just to mention a few recent items for the riding and the surrounding areas.

Even if we had no Conservative MP in Hamilton we would still get those money from the infrastructure stimulus money. Eastgate transit came from the Public Transit Capital Trust, which Hamilton got $1.6 million out of the $500 million pot, that's hardly a percent.

[SteelTown]

I do agree McLean won't likely become a cabinet minister if the Liberals form a government. That's why I'm kinda disappointed to hear Maria Pearson as a possible candidate for Hamilton East - Stoney Creek. I respect her as a councilor and I agree a lot with her stands.

But if we have a Liberal goverment it's likely Hamilton won't have any cabinet ministers from Hamilton. Should have a well known intellectual candidate for Hamilton East, it's the best chance for a cabinet minister.

[realcity]

Sweet was also at bat for Hamilton's quest for CBC Radio.

McLean just needs to keep talking like that and he'll lose.

[SteelTown]

Originally Posted by realcity

Sweet was also at bat for Hamilton's quest for CBC Radio.

Certainly didn't produce any result and he's on the side of the majority at the committee.

[hamiltonguy]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Certainly didn't produce any result and he's on the side of the majority at the committee.

It takes a lot to get results. Some cities have many more MPs with the right connections working for them. For example K-W has 4 CPC MPs, including a junior minister. Whether intentional or not, due to the number of MPs in the government lobbying for them, K-W will get attention whenever it comes time for the Finance Minister to make a decision because he has four MPs including a Minister begging him, rather than just one. That's not to say that opposition MPs do not count, but rather that their words don't carry nearly as much weight with ministers as that of government mps.

It was that way under the Liberals (anyone remember PET giving the west the finger after not winning many seats out there?) , and it will be that way under the Conservatives. If the NDP got elected it would be the same under them.

You can't win them all. But all I was saying is that Sweet has not been absent or particularly ineffective, and I fail to see how stating that he is, as a fact, without any particular example, constitutes legitimate debate. If this is Mr. McLean's idea of debate then I suspect he'll have a hard time building connections and making friends on the hill outside of his own party.

[markbarbera]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

I do agree McLean won't likely become a cabinet minister if the Liberals form a government. That's why I'm kinda disappointed to hear Maria Pearson as a possible candidate for Hamilton East - Stoney Creek. I respect her as a councilor and I agree a lot with her stands.

But if we have a Liberal goverment it's likely Hamilton won't have any cabinet ministers from Hamilton. Should have a well known intellectual candidate for Hamilton East, it's the best chance for a cabinet minister.

Ever since the 60's, whenever the Liberals were in power, there was always a Hamilton MP at the cabinet table. If there is an election resulting in the Liberals forming government, and if there is a Hamilton-area Liberal MP, then Hamilton will have representation in cabinet, guaranteed.

[markbarbera]

Originally Posted by hamiltonguy

(anyone remember PET giving the west the finger after not winning many seats out there?)

For the record, PET did not finger 'the west' after not winning many seats out there. His famous salute was given during a train trip with his sons when, during a stop at Salmon Arm, a small group of protestors were shouting anti-French slurs at him and his family. Political opportunists manipulated this event to fuel anti-Liberal sentiment in the west during the runup to the 1984 general election.

[SteelTown]

Originally Posted by markbarbera

Ever since the 60's, whenever the Liberals were in power, there was always a Hamilton MP at the cabinet table. If there is an election resulting in the Liberals forming government, and if there is a Hamilton-area Liberal MP, then Hamilton will have representation in cabinet, guaranteed.

Sorry I don't see Maria Pearson, Tyler Banham or Dan McLean cabinet minister material. Put a stronger candidate in the Hamilton East - Stoney Creek riding than perhaps.

[SteelTown]

Originally Posted by hamiltonguy

It takes a lot to get results. .......

......

You can't win them all. But all I was saying is that Sweet has not been absent or particularly ineffective, and I fail to see how stating that he is, as a fact, without any particular example, constitutes legitimate debate. If this is Mr. McLean's idea of debate then I suspect he'll have a hard time building connections and making friends on the hill outside of his own party.

Sweet's party has a majority at the Heritage Committee and it wasn't enough to get his own party members to support expanding CBC Radio speaks about his ineffectivness as MP.

[markbarbera]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Sorry I don't see Maria Pearson, Tyler Banham or Dan McLean cabinet minister material. Put a stronger candidate in the Hamilton East - Stoney Creek riding than perhaps.

Neither Pearson nor Banham have secured the Liberal nomination for any Hamilton ridings. I don't even think Pearson has indicated whether she is going to seek the nomination in Hamilton East-Stoney Creek.

[hamiltonguy]

Originally Posted by markbarbera

Ever since the 60's, whenever the Liberals were in power, there was always a Hamilton MP at the cabinet table. If there is an election resulting in the Liberals forming government, and if there is a Hamilton-area Liberal MP, then Hamilton will have representation in cabinet, guaranteed.

Doubt it. Hamilton got Liberal cabinet ministers because we delivered 5 MPs or more (when you count the area that falls in our media market) to the Liberals consistently. If there is a Liberal-NDP coalition we might stand a small chance of getting a Minister, but regional representation might mean that Christopherson would not get a post either. Right now Hamilton suffers from being ringed by Cabinet Ministers (Diane Finley, Gary Goodyear, Lisa Raitt, and Rob Nicholson), so that until one leaves, we do not stand a chance for one.

Oh and for the record. I was not JUST talking literally. Anyone recall the NEP? Among many other things the westerners had good reason to be pissed at PET and the Liberals for ignoring their interests.

[hamiltonguy]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Sweet's party has a majority at the Heritage Committee and it wasn't enough to get his own party members to support expanding CBC Radio speaks about his ineffectivness as MP.

First off: Sweet does not sit on that committee. That is a handicap to start with, when lobbying for it to expand the CBC to Hamilton.

Second: The CBC is currently under review on many fronts with respect to what it's future holds, likely we would not see any decision being made on a Hamilton station until after it is known what shape the CBC will take in the future.

Third: Your counting is wrong. The Committee is 6 Government and 6 Opposition MPs. The Chair of the committee is a government MP and therefore voting membership of the committee is 6-5 in favour of the opposition. None of the MPs on the committee are remotely close geographically to Hamilton either.

While for the above reasons I disagree with you assessment, I'm happy that at least your statement had some logic to it rather than Mr. McLean's.

[SteelTown]

Originally Posted by hamiltonguy

First off: Sweet does not sit on that committee. That is a handicap to start with, when lobbying for it to expand the CBC to Hamilton.

When the house is in session you have weekly meetings with the caucus, you have retreats, and of course parties. I'm sure he had plenty of time to meet and discuss with committee members about supporting CBC Radio, which they voted down. I've heard more from Christopherson on this front than I did with Sweet.

Originally Posted by hamiltonguy

Second: The CBC is currently under review on many fronts with respect to what it's future holds, likely we would not see any decision being made on a Hamilton station until after it is known what shape the CBC will take in the future.

Likely a much smaller CBC. http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=1426856

Originally Posted by hamiltonguy

Third: Your counting is wrong. The Committee is 6 Government and 6 Opposition MPs. The Chair of the committee is a government MP and therefore voting membership of the committee is 6-5 in favour of the opposition. None of the MPs on the committee are remotely close geographically to Hamilton either.

All the conervatives voted down expanding CBC Radio. A party Sweet is with. It's no secret the Conservatives, especially Harper, look down at the media, including CBC.