When a Liberal candidate gets caught saying so outlandish it doesn't fit the most basic sense of reality, that candidate is rightfully asked to step down. Such was the case with Lesley Hughes of the Kildonan-St. Paul section of Winnipeg, who was caught saying that Jewish people knew the 9/11 attacks were coming so they vacated the Twin Towers in time. This lie continues to persist in the Middle East but it's amazing that some still believe it to be true here even though dozens of the victims were Jewish, including 5 citizens of Israel. Stéphane Dion was absolutely right to kick her off the ticket, although of course it is now too late to name a replacement.
Yet Gerry Ritz wishes Wayne Easter dead and a guy from Calgary blames crime on immigrants, and Steve Harper says they're welcome to stay in the race.
Again ... doesn't this tolerance for intolerance show the kind of person Harper is?
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4 comments:
BFC: i agree but in part i have to blame the liberal war room. the faux outrage over silly season gaffe prone candidates has muddied the water. someone smoked a lot of pot - they should resign - someone said something stupid - they should resign blah blah
the first shot across the bow on these silly resignation calls came from the libs and it undermined the big 'get' the big fish
You and I agree about one thing - the one person who should have resigned is the person who implemented policy that compromised our food safety and led to the DEATHS of 18 Canadians
but now Ritz is just another scandal plagued politician...
if only it were different.
This is totally retarded! I would not characterize her comments as even remotely antisemitic. This is a really dumb move by Dion to dump her, and to do it via the media on top of it!
I hope he loses this riding!
Before future elections, all parties are going to need to get their candidates to express regret for previous comments and actions. These candidates will need to get involved in their communities to counter-act any former comments and actions. For example, if there was a candidate who called women "sluts" ten years ago as a university student and was caught on video, he should express regret about his previous comment and participate in community projects that involve women.
Repair the damage before you start campaigning.
I'll just say the vetting process here in Canada is irksome to say the least. We keep hearing about how potential candidates or running mates are "vetted" in the States, but it's an almost secret process here -- we don't even know who's part of the process. Full disclosure by would be candidates, including revealing any and all skeletons, would be helpful.
Obviously, it'd be impossible to have someone totally beyond reproach. But the mere hint of anti-Semitism, real or not, should have been a killer from the outset. Dion and Co should have checked harder.
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