Well the Leadership Race is off to an ominous start. Here's the story. The organizers of a debate in Mississauga get all parties to agree to participate. They say the media will be invited only if all three candidates agree. Rae and LeBlanc say yes, Iggy says no. Organizers shut out media. Rae goes to Mississauga but refuses to debate. Let's break this down one point at a time. Starting with the Iggy contention that there are times to talk to the public and times "for family."
I understand that certain occasions are just for the party faithful. When discussing confidential information such as financial data or campaign strategy, I couldn't agree more: keep the media out. However, by the reports that have come out of the meeting (you should know about blogging, Mr. Ignatieff) there was nothing confidential or private about the forum. Nothing that would be particularly bad for the media to hear. Also, since the event (by my understanding) was open to the public as long as they paid a fee, what was to stop the media from coming in and taking notes? Notwithstanding all that, this was not exactly a well advertised event. Large parts of the family didn't get the invitation. Most of the family can't just zip over to Mississauga for a debate. It is useful for Liberals outside the GTA (yes they do exist Mr. Ignatieff) to be able to watch their prospective leaders debate without having to be in the city where the debate is taking place. We are early on in this race and all candidates should be interested in having their views heard by all Liberals not just the small group who went out to Mississauga this afternoon. Mr. Ignatieff, once again I have to quote Joe Biden, "that's not change, that's more of the same."
Mr. Rae appears to have regressed to his NDP roots here. Standing outside protesting is acceptable behaviour among Dippers, it doesn't fly among Liberals. If you really needed the media there to talk to Liberals you should have made that clear to the organizers at the outset. While I agree with Mr. Rae's position on the media for the reasons stated above, he did agree to the rules and should abide by them. If you want to criticize Mr. Ignatieff for his decision, do so in the forum so nicley provided to you by the LPCO. Don't punish the people who came to hear what you had to say just because Mr. Ignatieff is being stubborn.
Why is it that these so-called elder statesmen insist on acting like children?
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2 comments:
There was no squabble until Rae decided to make it one.
Rae is acting like a child - and, who put him in charge of the Ontario Liberals and executive?
You mean the Ignatieff dominated Executive? That executive?
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