The NDP Credibility Gap

Well, what a weekend it has been, and, what a week it's shaping up to be. You may have noticed that the Canadian Post did not put out any articles over the weekend. I'll keep an eye on happenings, and if things happen, I will put out posts on weekends as well. As it happens, watching paint dry in my apartment was pretty much the most exciting thing happening.

Sunday night marked a rather interesting development as far as politics goes. Svend Robinson, who lives in and has represented Burnaby-Douglas for decades, retired from politics a year and a half ago after he was caught stealing a $60,000 ring. He admitted that he was imbalanced, and retired from politics. It was the right thing to do. I do not begrudge Mr. Robinson for his medical condition. Mental illness is a very serious matter, and far too often, we stigmatize people who suffer from various mental conditions. However, it is worth noting that public life is incredibly stressful, and those who are not of sound mind are probably better off in a less stressful environment. Mr. Robinson had a spotty track record in Parliament, and while I do believe he served the people of Burnaby-Douglas well, I believe his positions on a number of issues were irresponsible and outright reckless.

Now, just 18 months later, Mr. Robinson has decided to attempt a return to the House of Commons. Well, I'm sorry, but if Mr. Robinson wants to run, he should try and get himself nominated in his own riding. The last thing the people of Vancouver Centre need is a nutjob politician who doesn't even enjoy the total support of his own leader. Svend Robinson proved himself to be a loose cannon in Parliament for over 2 decades. He's been on and off of the NDP frontbench more times than I can keep track off. But, if the NDP is so short on talent that it has to resort to shipping in a carpet-bagging radical, then that surely says something about the dead end that they have reached under the dubious leadership of Jack Layton, who would be more at home selling used cars than sitting in the Commons. Now, let me be frank here. I was one of Hedy Fry's most outspoken critics last time around, but, perhaps I owe her an apology. I made much of her remarks about phantom cross burnings in Prince George. But not long after she made her remarks, RCMP raided a home in BC's interior, and found KKK paraphernalia, as well as a cache of explosives that could have been used for the most horrific of purposes. While she may not score and A in geography, Dr. Fry did British Columbians a valuable service by shining a spotlight on the scourge of racism that still exists in BC, and across Canada. She is to be commended for that, as well as for her commitment in representing what is likely one of the most diverse ridings in the country.

Dr. Fry has now represented this riding for over a decade. That the NDP can't find a serious candidate who knows this riding is an insult to the people of the area. Yes, Svend Robinson is a gay man, and yes, Vancouver Centre is home to the largest gay population in the Vancouver, but I believe that the LGBT community is smarter than the NDP thinks they are, and they will vote for a person who has stood up for them since 1993.

Moving on from Vancouver Centre, Jack Layton has also exposed himself as a man who put his own political gain ahead of the well-being of Canada as a whole. He brought down this minority Parliament, because he claimed that the Liberals refused to take a stand against private healthcare. Now that the damage has been done, and Canadians have been forced into an election that they never wanted in the first place, Mr. Layton has come out and said that he believes that private healthcare is a reality in Canada, and that's just how things are going to be. Well, if Mr. Layton truly believes that, then why on earth did he vote to bring down this Parliament in the heinous manner that he did? The answer is simple. As a charter member of the Axis of Ego, he was required to. Just like Stephen Harper and Gilles Duceppe, he just wasn't satisfied with holding Parliament hostage, and he gave in to his desire to pull the trigger. Well, Canadians will pass judgement on him on January 23rd, and he's in for an unpleasant surprise.