And Speaking of...

...communism.

Saskatchewan's communist lite party is apparently having a hard time maintaining any relevance:

With two debates left, NDP leadership race set to intensify

"Since November, the rooms have been packed across the province when the NDP leadership debates come to town. So far about 3,000 people have attended the debates."

And Saskatchewan's population is.....1,086,600. It doesn't say how many of those 3,000 are of voting age, but you can bet that some of them were just minors tagging along with their parents.

"Regina Leader-Post political columnist Murray Mandryk suggests the debates alone have shown no front runner. Instead, he sees the candidates setting themselves apart on the campaign trail, for example, Ryan Meili’s use of social media and fundraising abilities and Cam Broten’s support from established NDP-ers.

But, Mandryk says there is something missing from the debates.

“There’s nothing new and innovative,” he said. “I don't think they're moving far enough towards the centre-middle in terms of this process to really help them recapture, and I think that's going to be problematic.”

It is because the topics that have mostly dominated the debates include housing, health care, public ownership of resources, Crown corporations, resource royalty rates and agricultural policies. Those are traditional topics for the NDP, but for an enterprising province, Mandryk says there are some that have not come up nearly as much, including spending and creating business opportunities.

While the long list of themes might appeal to the 11,000 people with NDP memberships in the province, the other voters may not be so sure.

“The more and more they hear these messages specifically tailored to the NDP cliental, the more and more the public at large sits back and says, ‘Well, what do I share with this party?’” Mandryk explained.

The candidates might have to find ways to broaden their support."

Still, they can put on a brave face, if not new policies. Notice the "packed house" of 100 people in Swift Current. Yup. Rent a small room and you can claim to have a "packed house".

And it looks like the fresh blood isn't helping much.

New poll on Sask. NDP leadership race

"The survey shows Cam Broten, Ryan Meili and Trent Wotherspoon are preferred almost equally among the general public. Erin Weir is a distant fourth.

For many respondents, those wanna-be leaders might be known only as good ol' what's-his-name. The poll, by Regina-based Praxis Analytics, found nearly two-thirds of those surveyed - some 63 per cent - couldn't name any of the candidates."

[---]

"The poll, which gathered responses from 1,254 randomly-selected people, was conducted between Jan. 31 and Feb. 5.

It is considered generally accurate plus or minus 2.8 per cent at a 95-per-cent confidence level.

Only 55 per cent of respondents were even aware a leadership race was underway. "I would have thought it would be more like 75 per cent, because the race has been going on for a while," Cooper said."

NDP unknowns signify a problem

"New Democrats may try to take solace in the fact that a vast swath of Saskatchewan didn't know who Brad Wall was nine years ago, either.

But this is cold comfort to Saskatchewan's former natural-governing party, which appears to be quickly becoming a political afterthought - a party in which most Saskatchewan people seem to have limited interest, according to this week's Praxis Analytics poll.

Today, Premier Wall is the most recognized Saskatchewan personality short of Gainer the Gopher and Oscar Leroy from Corner Gas. Given that these characters - along with Senator Pamela Wallin - are all fictitious Saskatchewan residents, it's fair to say that Wall is the most recognizable person in the province.

And to do battle with popular and charismatic Wall, the NDP will choose in three weeks a virtual political unknown.

Sixty-three per cent of respondents could not name a single Saskatchewan NDP leadership candidate and 45 per cent didn't even know there was an NDP leadership race going on, according to the 1,235-person survey conducted between Jan. 31 and Feb. 5."

NDP. You are history.