Leadership candidates botch visit to Alberta
My always friendly door was wide open, but they never arrived. All four veered into town one day last week, and apparently left within 24 hours.
In and out, just like that.
I’m talking of Liberal leadership contenders Michael Ignatieff, Scott Brison, Gerard Kennedy and Carolyn Bennett.
All want to take over where Jean Chretien and Paul Martin left off, which really doesn’t say too much for them.
Now, can’t say I have much time for Scott Brison, who for some time posed as a Progressive Conservative only to cross the political floor and join Martin’s Liberals.
For his move, he was hoisted into Martin’s cabinet and given the scandal-plagued public works portfolio, but now, like that woman with a soul to sell, Belinda Stronach, he sits on the opposition benches. Stronach too, you may recall, was given a nice cabinet position, but now all the prestige and perks of that have gone.
Ah, ah—sweet justice for both of them.
Anyway, while in Calgary, Brison was harking on about imposing a “broad-based” energy tax on Canadians to cut consumption. One has to guess that here his advisers fouled up, because talking about an energy tax in Alberta hardly endears one to voters in our province.
One also wonders whether this ambitious boy from Nova Scotia realizes all 28 MPs from our province are Conservative and has ever pondered just why that might be.
Ignatieff, whom I rate as the best candidate amongst the 11 individuals yearning to be our next prime minister, actually went one better—or one worse—than Brison as the self-claimed scholar and academic came out for a “carbon” tax.
Yes, even though Chretien and Martin edged nervously away—perhaps even shuddered—when anyone suggested a carbon tax to them.
But Ignatieff boldly went where angels fear to tread and espoused how a carbon tax would help Canada meet its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.
I recall when the Grit leadership hopefuls all showed up together in Edmonton a month or so ago.
Ignatieff was bleating on as to how the Liberals had to rebuild their party, and Alberta was the place to start. Perhaps this world-travelling intellectual, like Brison, hasn’t really studied the political landscape here.
Keep dreamin’, Mike.
Kennedy has a reputation as a leftwing activist—a man who would likely be happy polishing New Democrat leader Jack Layton’s shoes, but who somehow finds himself under a Liberal banner—and he was on about new “environmental strategies,” but not something as “crude” as a carbon tax.
He also had a few nasty words to say about Stephen Harper which, when you are in the prime minister’s home town, is hardly diplomatic, to say the least.
Maybe back in Ontario the likes of Kennedy haven’t heard Alberta Conservative MPs racked up majorities over their Liberal opponents often as high as tens of thousands of votes.
Another zany aspect of Kennedy’s musings is he is reportedly considering running in Lethbridge come the next federal election. This delusional individual maybe figures he’s the breakthrough kid.
Truth to tell, one of Kennedy’s supporters in Calgary, acting as his front man, did ask if I’d like to meet with the candidate.
With that, said front man immediately disappeared on a jaunt to the Philippines, which hardly suggests all-out commitment.
My betting is we can pretty much write off the Liberals making any gains in Alberta whatsoever if any of the above three win the leadership—which, again, Mr. Carbon Tax himself, Michael Ignatieff may well do.
Carolyn Bennett reminds me of the type of wife who one day haughtily proclaims to her husband: “Sex isn’t all there is to a marriage, you know.”
Having been through that little charade myself, I know most husbands on hearing those words immediately go looking for greener pastures.
Politically, it would be the same. Carolyn’s the type of politician who slams the door in her own face.
Anyway, as noted above, my door is always open to the Liberal leadership contenders, my pen always ready. And I’ll treat them with the same decency their party showed to Reform party founder Preston Manning, Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day, and Conservative leader Stephen Harper.
What could be fairer than that?
- Suzuki playing gutter politics - Sunday March 4, 2007 at 10:41 am
- Grit record terror-ible - Tuesday February 27, 2007 at 9:51 am
- Britain’s Blair takes tumble - Sunday February 18, 2007 at 10:53 am
