Wanna Fight For Democracy?
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.