…I’d have stayed with Bob Rae. Now Thomas Mulcair, a former Liberal with skin-deep ties to the NDP, is one of the front-runners in our leadership race.
I don’t like this. Not one bit.
There have always been Third-Way-Blair-Witch-Project types in the party, and sometimes they have won leadership—Alexa McDonough comes immediately to mind. She damned near killed us. Why would anyone vote for another Liberal party when there is (or was) the real thing running credible candidates?
But the sheep in wolves’ clothing are trying to stick it to us again. They’re telling us that Mulcair is necessary to shore up our historic triumph in Quebec. That he has the professional touch. That we can’t live without him. This despite the fact that—declaration of interest here—the candidate I support, Paul Dewar, has won Quebec MPs’ support—and he’s not the only one.
It’s plain insulting to Quebeckers to assume that they are some homogeneous force needing a winner-take-all wooing strategy. They have a variety of opinions, hopes and dreams like anyone else.
So what does Mulcair offer? He has no problem selling our water off to the Americans. He’s an uncritical supporter of Israel: in fact he attacked a respected veteran of his party for daring to be critical of Israel, called other critics “anti-Semitic,” and on the campaign trail has refused to support Palestinian statehood.
Well, the Bay Street boys know which side Mulcair is on, if gullible members of my party do not. They’ve been sending plenty of good money and support his way. There’s Anthony Munk, of Barrick Gold. And Gerald Schwartz:
“Gerry” Schwartz was a co-founder of CanWest Global Communications and is the current CEO of Onex Corporation, where Munk serves as a managing director. Schwartz has an estimated net worth of $1 billion, and has been called “the face of Canadian capitalism” and “Canada’s most influential person.”
Money has been flooding in from other Onex executives as well, all on the same date, oddly enough, as well as from investment bankers like John Sherrington ( Vice-Chairman of Scotia Capital) and various hawkish supporters of Israel, not excluding Schwartz’s spouse Heather Reisman, who embraced Harper’s rah-rah stance on Israel in 2006.
Since when has our party been the party of Anthony Munk and Barrick Gold? Of Onex Corp and Gerry Schwartz?
We used to stand for something. In fact, I believe we still do. But no longer, if the political opportunists pull off this coup on March 24.
Lessee. A party leader supported by large corporations. Keeping his distance from labour. A two-dimensional Middle East policy. Arrogant and combative.
Sounds familiar. In fact, someone like that is running the country at the moment. Another one is heading up the third party in the House. Can we not dare to be different?
