Rae rallies Liberal caucus to rethink, rebuild

[CHIMO]

The federal Liberal caucus had nearly four months to lick its electoral wounds and come to terms with its new role as the third party in the House of Commons.

But as Liberals gathered on Parliament Hill for a summer caucus retreat to figure out what they need to change for the future, they fell back on a familiar mantra to focus their message for the fall Parliamentary session.

"The message is not cuts, cuts, cuts. It's jobs, jobs, jobs," Rae told the room full of MPs, Senators and past Liberal candidates, quoting a sound bite previously associated with former prime minister Jean Chrétien's strategy for slumping economic times.

"We have to have growth," Rae said, criticizing Prime Minister Stephen Harper's approach to managing budgetary deficits. "The Conservative mantra takes us on a forced march to austerity. Liberals are talking about something different."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/08/29/pol-liberal-caucus.html
Aug 29, 2011 4:04 PM ET