Friday, October 13, 2006

Michael "Flip-Flop" Ignatieff

I didn't think it was possible for a centrist politician to get low marks from both the Canadian Islamic Congress and B'nai Brith, but Iggy has managed it. I also don't know how someone "doesn't lose any sleep" over something he considers a "war crime." Ignatieff made a huge mistake in trying to pander to pro-Lebanese Quebec by calling Qana a war crime. A Prime Minister cannot go around accusing our allies of war crimes on shoddy evidence. Iggy needs to realize that he can no longer just say whatever comes to the top of his head. He's not an academic any more, people are going to actually care what he thinks.

The last thing the Liberal party needs is another ditherer in office. Iggy's Qana flip-flop should sound warning bells for his supporters. This guy is not ready for the top job. Winning a federal election in Canada requires nuance. You have to play to different regions and interest groups while not alienating anyone. It is a tough juggling act and Iggy has shown himself incapable of juggling. Canada needs a leader who can bring people together and get things done. Hmmm... which leadership candidate has a record of actually getting things done? Oh right, Gerard Kennedy. From getting money for food banks to negotiating contracts for teachers, Kennedy has proven himself capable of bringing people togethter to advance the common good. All Iggy has shown himself capable of is alienating people. From the Etobicoke Ukrainian community (nomination mess), to Albertans (carbon tax), to the Lebanese community (lost sleep) and now the Jewish community (war crimes), Iggy has stepped on land mines everywhere he's gone, let's not follow him on the path to political irrelevance.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree that Iggy needs to listen to his handlers more and be more careful. If he _does_ win the leadership, I am afraid these mistakes will lead to a Harper majority govm't. :-(

If he doesn't win, I hope he can still control his tongue when he campaigns along side the PLC leader, so as not to screw that up, too.

DivaRachel said...

Actually, I did lose sleep over Rwanda. And I think about Sudan alot. Just because the news ignores it, doesn't mean average canadians have forgotten.

Anonymous said...

Iggy's downtrodden friends get jiggy.

Religion of Peace chalks up another 9 'confirmed kills'.

The 'involuntary martyrs' are, at this very moment, lounging gratefully at the foot of the prophet.

There was no immediate word on the religious ectasy of the remaining horribly maimed survivors.

Anonymous said...

the above comment is Islamophobic and hate-filled. A Taliban suicide bomber attacked NATO forces and killed 8 civilians. That's pretty much all there is to it.

In the last week a Christian killed 7 Amish girls (another Christian sect) in USA. We don't say 'Religion of Cross' claims 7 kids.

*shaking head in disgust*

- Mezba

Anonymous said...

The leader of the Liberals need to work to bring people together to bring to fruit common ideals and visions. Ask yourself this: today if the Liberals are in a split (again) over Israel, who is responsible for starting this current mess?

- Mezba

Aaron Ginsberg said...

1. I am not running for leadership. I can be as unnuanced as I like.

2. Iggy alienating Albertans would not show up in delegate selection for the same reason Dion's Quebec troubles didn't: it's all Liberals. Liberals might support a carbon tax, the average voter doesn't. The same is true in Quebec. Federalists don't mind Stephane Dion, they might even like the Clarity Act. The rest of the province doesn't. At the end of the day only about 2% of Canadians are partisans. A tiny percentage are Liberals in Alberta or Quebec. Don't mistake delegate strength for real strength in a given region.

3. If the only reason you don't support Gerard Kennedy is because he's a couple of courses short of a BA, you need to seriously reconsider how you choose a leader. You can criticize Kennedy for being hard to work with or for his weak French, don't embarass yourself with comments about a few undergrad couses.

4. Save the racism for the sewers, where it belongs. I really don't want to have start moderating the comments.

All views expressed in this blog are those of the author and the author alone. They do not represent the views of any organization, regardless of the author's involvement in any organizations.

All comments are the views of the individual writer. The administrator reserves the right to remove commentary which is offensive.

The author is not responsible for nor does he support any of the advertisements displayed on the page