Zealots - Yes. Partisans? Mostly No.

On Friday we held another public awareness protest, holding fort just outside of the Olympic Village Ground Breaking Ceremony. Invitation only. Apparently only people that matter to David Emerson were invited – somehow none of our group received an invite.

Let me make this clear – we were not present at the foot of Ontario street to protest the Olympics.

Our band of Vancouver-Kingsway citizens are all over the map when it comes to political views, which should surprise no one, because we do not represent any political party. Within our group there were folks who aren’t supportive of the Olympics, and also those who are tremendous games boosters. We’re just regular folks – your neighbours – who have put aside any political differences they might have in order to focus on bringing justice to all voters in Vancouver-Kingsway.

Out of respect for the unfolding Olympic ceremony, Emerson’s constituents kept outside the cordoned off area. Apparently the event organizers or Emerson’s security detail believed we would do otherwise, for there was a surprisingly large police presence.

I counted at least 8 officers from the Vancouver Police Department and several plain-clothed officers who were identified as an RCMP security detail. VPD also contributed two mounted squad members whose beautiful yet intimidating horses are often used in a proactive and preventative manner for crowd control.

Its doubtful the police seriously thought any harm would result because a bunch of nice Vancouver-Kingsway residents wanted to see their peek-a-boo MP.

Not only does Emerson not have the support of the people, its proving to be awfully expensive in real dollars just to keep him in office. Is Stephen Harper picking up the increased policing costs for the illegitimate Emerson? Memo to Sam Sullivan: Emerson is going to cost you, in real dollars and political support. Stay tuned. cc Gordon Campbell (ditto)

The police of course were just doing their job, and were very helpful to us. We made sure they understood we were there only to remind David Emerson that his constituents want to talk to him, not to create a confrontation with Olympic organizers.

Our cause again received plenty of media attention.

In between invited guests arriving and departing, we had a lot of time to kill. While we patiently waited outside the cordoned off area for a chance to see our hide-and-seek member of parliament, inside the fence those invited were presented with drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

Inside the fence, for the benefit of the media, Emerson was running through his practiced lines again. Predictably overworking the phrase, David Emerson likes to call us ”partisan zealots”. From Webster:

Zealot: One who is zealous; one who engages warmly in any cause, and pursues his object with earnestness and ardor; especially, one who is overzealous, or carried away by his zeal; one absorbed in devotion to anything; an enthusiast; a fanatical partisan.

Yes Mr. Emerson, its true: we are zealots. But few of us are partisan zealots, although in the interest of full disclosure, there is one such person we must note.

Mar 10 (Steve Merti, Canadian Press) Emerson heckled, protesters demand meeting

VANCOUVER—Embattled Tory cabinet minister David Emerson was heckled Friday as his presence overshadowed a ceremony kicking off construction of Vancouver’s Olympic village.

Kevin Chalmers demanded Emerson meet protesters who were kept well away from the event. Chalmers heads a campaign to force the Vancouver MP’s resignation for joining the Conservative government just days after being elected as a Liberal.

Chalmers, who said he was a senior Liberal campaign activist in Emerson’s two successful runs for the Vancouver-Kingsway seat, managed to sneak into the invitation-only ceremony.

“If Mr. Emerson isn’t willing to come to his constituents at his office to set a single meeting up with them, I think it’s fair that they come and try and have a civil, respectful conversation and discourse with him wherever it’s possible and permissible,’’ he said.

Afterward, Emerson called Chalmers a “partisan zealot’’ and said he’s getting support from individual residents of his constituency.

“We disagree,’’ he said of Chalmers. “He believes that political parties should be more important to a member of Parliament than the people that you represent.’’

Emerson is partly right here. Kevin Chalmers is most certainly a Liberal partisan, by his own admission, and Chalmers ought not to be the focal point of the story. He walked squarely into that one, allowing Emerson the opportunity to change the channel away from his own disgraceful conduct.

Emerson certainly knows Chalmers, who once described himself to the media as ‘the guy that taught David Emerson how to door knock during a campaign’. What’s more, Chalmers doesn’t even live in the riding. Frankly, I’m uncomfortable when a Liberal party insider, who has had a direct relationship with Emerson, brings voice to my concerns – not because Chalmers isn’t a legitimate stakeholder in all this, but because when Kevin is the focal point, it gives Emerson a target to shoot at.

Its not that political parties such as the Liberals or NDP aren’t stakeholders in what has happened here in Vancouver-Kingsway, but that their concerns must take a back seat to those of all people in my riding. When a highly visible local Liberal insider continues to take the centre stage, this unnecessarily confuses and dilutes the message that all of us other riding residents want to convey.

I won’t let Emerson use Chalmers to paint our movement as a partisan scrap. It isn’t. Our ever growing group is made up of regular folks, neighbours from across this riding, and we won’t let communications tactics – “spin” – distract Canadians from the real message behind all of our actions.

And that is simply this: our concerns are not borne out of partisanship, but over basic concerns over the fragility of Canada’s democratic system. The people at a visceral level understand this, even if Prime Minister Stephen Harper and hide-and-seek cabinet Minister David Emerson pretend not to.

Our democracy is based on representation by the consent of the people. We elect members based upon past achievement, promises, policies and party affiliation. David Emerson ran for office, twice, both times promising to move forward and defend policies and achievements of the Liberal party and government, only he isn’t going to be living up to that promise.

In commerce, that’s tantamount to false advertising. If it could ever be proved that David Emerson – before election day – had seriously contemplated an immediate jump to the Conservative party, there might grounds for a charge of misrepresentation or fraud.

Regardless of whether what Harper and Emerson did is legally correct or not, regular folks in my riding know what they did in collusion was unethical and just plain wrong. We all expected better from a Harper-led Conservative government and we’ve been let down, with a thud.

People in this riding picked child care, over a $1200 a year grant per child, less taxes. They picked Kyoto, over a vague and so far ill-defined Made in Canada climate change plan. They picked a hand gun ban and a costly gun registry, because we were unable to better articulate policies in that area, and many others, which would appeal to the residents of my riding.

David Emerson strongly defended all these choices as a Liberal. In fact, as a cabinet minister in the Paul Martin Liberal government, he was sworn to defend these programs and all those put forward by his colleagues in cabinet. Since first elected in 2004, and all the way through the 2006 election, Emerson had no problem standing behind these Liberal policies and programs, and that, more than any other reason, is why he was re-elected.

Then, less than 24 hours after the last ballot was counted, Emerson willingly engaged in negotiations with Harper’s representative (then-MP John Reynolds) to join the new Conservative government’s cabinet where Emerson is now obligated to work against many of the programs he had just been selling to his constituents as reasons to re-elect him. That’s a 180 degree flip-flop of historic proportions. Unprecedented and unethical in every sense of the word.

Whether we Conservatives like it or not, the people of this riding made their choice and we ought to have respected that decision and worked to earn, not steal, their votes.

Its just not right. This precedent can not be allowed to stand. If our votes, upon which our very democracy rests, are to mean anything, then politicians must be accountable for the very partisan – political – stands they take. The Prime Minister must not be permitted to violate the democratic rights of the people, and must not undermine the confidence of the people in our democratic system. Both Emerson and Harper must pay a price for what they have done.

My fellow citizens and I – zealots through and through and proud of it – will continue to press on with this fight. Stay tuned, it’s going to get even more interesting from here.