On backup plans

As part of rabble's discussion of what the NDP can do to increase its membership in Quebec during the course of the leadership campaign, one commenter has suggested a targeted donation system to reward candidates who sign up new members. And the idea may well serve as a useful means to ensure that candidates who do the party-building work we're hoping to see done are duly rewarded.

In the interest of ensuring that the NDP's leadership race reflects what its members hope to see, though, I'll suggest that another of the problems that's been noted by some potential candidates can be addressed with an even easier grassroots campaign.

To the extent some potential candidates are hinting that they might away from the race based on the danger of being stuck with debts afterward at a point when interested members have already made their permitted donations, wouldn't it provide some reassurance if a reasonably-sized group of members declares its intention not to donate during the course of the leadership race, but instead to cover candidate debts after the campaign is done?

Of course, it would take a fair number of members making that commitment to reach the level of being able to cover the costs of a modest leadership campaign. And I'm sure any given candidate would prefer to receive donations immediately than to wait until after the campaign is over.

But a commitment by enough members to donate only when it's needed after the March vote could go a long way toward ensuring that candidates have a plan B ready if fund-raising doesn't work out as planned during the leadership campaign. And that could make a world of difference if the danger of a post-race debt might otherwise exclude viable candidates from the leadership campaign.