Today I received two pieces of correspondence related to the David Emerson scandal. One from the protagonist of this drama, and one from the tony west-side of Vancouver.
Mr. Emerson, using the privileges afforded to a member of parliament, has sent a communique to his constituents which attempts to explain and defuse the issue at hand – a first personal step at attempting to rebuild his credibility in front of his constituents.
I wonder how many will buy it, and how many will accept his apology? I wonder how many are waiting for an apology from Stephen Harper? I am.
I also received a letter from a west side resident – one of those so moved by the issue that she came out to attend our protest over the weekend. Its contents, unlike Mr. Emerson’s missive, were honestly expressed:
Dear Mr. Emerson:
I am not one of the âpartisan zealotsâ from the Vancouver Kingsway Riding. I am an elderly woman approaching my seventy-fifth birthday, who hails from Vancouverâs affluent west side. In fact, I might be described by some as part of Vancouverâs âcreme de la creme.â I have never voted for an NDP government and probably never will. During the past week I have made my way across town with my cataract-impaired eyes, through bitterly cold weather, to attend rallies in support of the citizens of Vancouver Kingsway Riding whose democratic rights have been denied to them.
Mr. Emerson, how dare you deprive these citizens of their franchise and of their right to have their voice heard at the ballot box?
Mr. Emerson, you just donât get it! This is not a partisan issue, but a basic tenet of democracy.—Donna Hossack, February 19, 2006
Hossack gets it, Emerson doesn’t.
Media Highlights for Tuesday Feb 28 2006 â David Emerson
Updated throughout the day
We can see some attempts over the last 48 hours to start the process of rebuilding the reputations of David Emerson and Stephen Harper. Sorry gentlemen, it won’t be that easy. Spin doesn’t always make the unsaleable, sellable. Spin won’t correct what were wrong decisions. Spin won’t turn a wrong into a right, however hard its pitched.
Feb 28 (Lorrie Goldstein, Toronto Sun) Polls don’t excuse Harper’s gaffes
Never let it be said that rabid Conservatives can’t be as dumb as rabid Liberals, because it’s already happening.
You can tell by the way some of them have seized on two recent polls—which suggest Prime Minister Stephen Harper would come close to winning a majority government if an election was held today—as evidence voters don’t care about his controversial appointments of David Emerson and Michael Fortier to cabinet.
Uh… no. First, it depends on which poll you believe.
For example, SES Research—the most accurate pollster in the last election—showed the Conservatives had fallen one point behind the Liberals in a survey of 1,000 Canadians taken Feb. 4–9, right in the middle of the Emerson/Fortier controversy. (Harper was sworn in, and made his cabinet appointments public, on Feb. 6.)
See a previous article, Conservatives: Honeymoon Over, for details on the early February SES poll.
Feb 28 (Chris Litt, MyKawartha.com) Conservatives off to ‘shaky start’
This is an open letter to MP Barry Devolin [who voted in favour of anti floor-crossing legislation]. I hope that you will be able to make the government more democratic and accountable, as has been your professed aim for some time. Unfortunately, the weeks since the transition have been disappointing in this regard. Stephen Harper has made two appointments [David Emerson, Michael Fortier], which appears to be inconsistent with the reforms he has promised.
Andrew Coyne of the National Post has written in his blog that “it is a fine thing for a Prime Minister elected on a platform of democratic accountability, who promised he would not appoint anyone who was not elected, either to cabinet or to the senate, to then turn around and do both at one go.” Mr. Coyne, a conservative columnist, is not speaking lightly; there appears to be a real split between words and actions by the Conservative leadership.
Mr. Devolin, how do you account for these sudden and sharp shifts in policy by your party’s leadership? Do you agree with these decisions? If not, will you resist the party line and voice opposition to the questionable cabinet appointments?
Feb 28 (24 Hours, Vancouver) Harpin’ on the issues
The PM also vigorously defended his controversial decision to appoint MP David Emerson to his cabinet, saying he was fully aware of what the criticism would be and where it would come from.
Harper says most of the anger that surfaced didn’t come from within his own party, although backbench Ontario MP Garth Turner was taken to the PM’s woodshed for publicly suggesting Emerson, who was elected a Liberal, should consider resigning his seat and running for re-election as a Tory MP.
Harper is trying to suggest that criticism of his decision to appoint Emerson to cabinet, less than 24 hours after Emerson was elected by his constituents because of Emerson and his party’s opposition to my party – the Conservatives, is coming only from opposition parties and partisans. That is clearly not true, and if Mr. Harper were to join one of our protests he would learn that anger over this issue crosses all party lines, all social and economic strata, and all cultures. Criticism within the Conservative party continues at a robust pace, but is largely being conducted out of sight of the media.
Feb 27 (Globe and Mail) Can win despite backlash, Emerson says
Controversial International Trade Minister David Emerson said Monday he thinks he could still win an election as a Conservative despite the continuing furor over his decision to switch teams just weeks after January’s election.
âI actually do think I could probably win an election as a Conservative,â Mr. Emerson said, appearing on CTV Newsnet. âThe whole issue of whether a by-election or part of the next general election, of course, is a point of some debate.â
Entirely unlikely, and we shall explore the political battlefield here in some detail in an upcoming article. Our patent-pending “Honk Poll” indicates that Emerson would lose by a margin of at least 70%.
Feb 27 (CTV) Emerson confident he would win again as a Tory
“The whole issue of whether a by-election or part of the next general election, of course, is a point of some debate,” said Emerson, who also serves as minister responsible for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Emerson added that he has no problem with rules being applied to politicians crossing the floor, but that those rules currently “are not well spelled out.”
“The idea that somehow there should be a specific provision to the David Emerson crossing I find a little strange, and what I’m saying is I will abide by the rules that all parliamentarians agree to abide by.”
“And I have to say that there are so many people in Vancouver, there are so many issues that people feel could be stranded if they don’t have someone inside the government that they can talk to, and so that has reconfirmed for me the importance of having someone inside the Government of Canada to deal with Vancouver-related issues.”
Vancouver area voters feel even more stranded, thanks to what David Emerson did and what Stephen Harper made possible. And if Emerson were indeed to “abide by the rules that all parliamentarians agree to abide by”, he would resign immediately for breaking the trust of his constituents.