April 4 (Crawford Kilian, The Tyee) The Real Emerson Problem : Lousy judgment is built into our political culture
It’s certainly not because Emerson is a flamboyantly evil man. I’m sure his successful career reflects real talent and intelligence. But his instant defection to the Conservatives reflects a profound failure of judgment that disqualifies him from any serious public post.
One individual’s poor judgment, however, is not enough to create an ouster movement with its own website. Millions of other Canadians must now question their own judgment over the past couple of decades. Stephen Harper’s recruitment of David Emerson required the active or passive cooperation of us all.
No doubt following the advice of his very experienced communications (“spin”) team, Emerson has suddenly become more visible in local and national media, now featured in stories other than his unseemly disregard for democracy. Its clear that the backroom boys are trying to change the channel, by portraying their boss as a man of action, in an attempt to distance him from his self-made controversy.
Sadly for the spin guys, their boss goes off script so frequently that their efforts are never going to work. Emerson, reacting to the ever louder demands by his constituents that he act honourably and seek a real mandate from the people in an immediate by-election:
I don’t care. David Emerson
Apparently Dr. Jekyll has left the building, leaving Mr. Hyde alone at centre stage again. Good try guys, but you’ve got to keep David away from the secret potion!
April 3 (Ian Austin and Ian Bailey, The Province) Anti-Emerson voters hit the streets
Among the signs, getups and chants, Tim Fournier waved a sign reading, “Wanna Fight For Democracy? Send Troops to Kingsway.” Fournier said Canada fights for democracy elsewhere, then ignores it at home. “We’re sending troops overseas to fight for principles which we do not embody in Canada,” said the 24-year-old university student. “It sets a bad precedent.
“If we don’t stop it now, when are we going to stop it?”
Stephen Harper set one bad precedent and reinforced another, in appointing David Emerson and the un-elected Michael Fortier to cabinet. What’s really interesting is how regular folks have decided “enough is enough” and continue to come out in ever-growing numbers to rallies and protests to demonstrate that Canadians aren’t going to stand for attacks on democracy any longer.
Since most in my party are hiding their sense of shame on this issue, its typically only those with an agenda that speak up in defence of Emerson, and The Province article does include an ineffective jab from a Conservative in the riding:
Tim Crowhurst, a director of the Conservatives’ Vancouver-Kingsway riding association, claimed the event was run by NDP sympathizers.
“Today was nothing more than a party stage-managed by left-wing activists, many of whom were involved in the rump faction of COPE,” said Crowhurst.
“Their true mission is to elect the NDP. A few other partisans have decided to join them for personal reasons, but their primary motivation appears to be a hatred of all things Conservative.
That’s funny Tim. What’s your primary mission? To elect a Conservative. What’s David Emerson’s? Surely it won’t be to run again in my riding. He hasn’t the guts to do it. His political career is over when this parliament ends, or he resigns. He has only himself to blame.
Clearly Crowhurst didn’t spend much time in the crowd. Maybe he had to leave in a hurry? I wonder if Crowhurst was the idiot who during the rally spun donuts in the adjacent field in a big slate-grey 4X4 pickup?
Probably not. But Crowhurst must be smarting himself – he’s a communications consultant (“spin”) who was co-manager of Belinda Stronach’s Conservative Leadership campaign on the ground here in British Columbia. Remember those days? That was before Belinda crossed the floor.
More to the point, Crowhurst is in the business of selling public relations services—spin—and has a pecuniary interest in making comments such as he has. Some might be crude and suggest he’s kissing Emerson’s butt, trying to ingratiate himself with the “in crowd” currently in power. So lets rephrase that last statement as “Some Conservatives – such as Crowhurst, are looking the other way for personal reasons, because their primary motivation is to stay in power and make some money out of it, rather than do the right thing”.
Crowhurst, who supported Christy Clark in her failed bid for the NPA mayoral nomination, seems to be trying to build some brownie points with the new masters. Somehow I doubt BC Ministerial Regional Office Chief of Staff Colin Metcalfe, who ran Mayor Sam’s successful campaign, will be in a hurry to give Crowhurst a call, but given the overall ineffectiveness of Emerson’s communication’s strategy since February 6th, stranger things might happen.
Austin and Bailey’s article was also printed in The Edmonton Journal and The StarPhoenix.
April 3 (John Pigeon, 24 Hours) Kingsway residents on the march
Mr. Shapiro had to rule this way because he didn’t do the right thing when Belinda Stronach crossed the floor. It is time to set a higher bar for conduct of ethics and governance in Canada. We the people of Vancouver will be the first major tidal wave. Michael Pan, speaker at the rally
April 3 (Darah Hansen, Vancouver Sun) Anti-Emerson protesters fly message over Parliament Hill
Rita Jacobsen, a riding resident, said she’s normally not a “political person” but decided to join in the campaign to oust Emerson because of larger concerns over democracy.
This is so typical of what’s happening here in the Vancouver area – people who are not normally involved in politics beyond casting a ballot once in a while are now coming out in droves to be part of this ever expanding movement.
Emerson could not be reached by The Sun for comment on Sunday. In an earlier interview, he said… “And I just can’t for the life of me understand how people are twisting this around to turn it into something that it is so worthy of scandal-mongering,”
And this is so typical of the clueless Emerson.
April 3 (Petti Fong, The Globe and Mail) Emerson draws biggest protest yet
Few politicians can draw 500 people out on a Sunday afternoon to march for them.
David Emerson can, although it’s unlikely he’s happy about it.
Two months after the MP defected from the Liberals to join the Conservatives, his detractors are not giving up their quest to shame him into resigning.
A number of other estimates put the crowd at closer to 900 or 1,000, by the time all had funnelled into the park, as marchers occupied one lane of Kingsway and stretched back almost five blocks. One of the interesting things about Sunday’s march and rally were the number of Chinese Canadians that came out – either by intention or were spontaneously drawn in as we marched by. The Globe and Mail article concludes with a response from one gentleman who attended:
He Feng, who has lived in the riding for 40 years and has voted for the federal Liberals since 1964, never thought he would be joining in protests.
“I am old, but I can be very angry still,” Mr. Feng said in Cantonese. “He took my vote, put it in his pocket and emptied it somewhere else.”
Mr. Feng gets it – why doesn’t Stephen Harper or David Emerson?
April 3 (Dan Leger, The Chronicle Herald) The secret world of Stephen Harper
The prime minister perceives a pressing need for control over the words and actions of his government. His team is inexperienced and largely untested. Could it be that Mr. Harper canât trust his ministers to stick to the game plan? It would seem that way.
Yet Mr. Harper himself has shown a distinct willingness to depart from his stated political credo and veer off into the bad old ways of practical politics. He lured a Liberal to cross the floor and rewarded him with a cabinet post (David Emerson) and appointed an unelected Tory to the Senate and made him a minister, too (Michael Fortier).
Then in a Paul Martin moment, Mr. Harper fueled up the government jet and flew to New Brunswick, dispensing $210 million in promises to help his pal Bernard Lord prepare for an election. Brian Mulroney would be proud.
This behaviour emits bad political vibes.
Two wrongs don’t make a right, even for the right-wing.