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Day: May 9, 2019
Apparently Andrew Scheer is doomed. Poor chap, you may say. But no, it's his own fault. See, his party is crawling with white supremacists and he's not doing anything about it. Maybe because he can't find any.
Scheer is also doomed because he's a climate "denier" or something. Now in fairness, he doesn't seem to be a global warming skeptic and he's certainly not a racist. But it doesn't really matter. Trudeau and his attack poodles will yap that he is, and the press will bark. And down he'll go like Jason Kenney, Doug Ford and…
Hey. Wait a minute. They won.
You might not know it from Maclean's new cover blaring that "Andrew Scheer Has A Problem: Has the Tory leader let bigoted, xenophobic views become attached to his party?" Um, no.
The actual story starts by saying Scheer gave a very dull speech on Parliament Hill on Feb. 19. And you might only be surprised that anyone noticed he gave a speech. (Terry Glavin just claimed in the National Post that Scheer also gave a humdinger on foreign policy including China but if so it sank like a stone.) Possibly because of this narrative about the white supremacy thing is crowding out reporting about what he actually says or does.
Of course the Maclean's piece was just one article. But it reflected a prevailing mindset. It said Scheer told some oil and gas workers who'd come all the way from Alberta by truck to be mocked by urban sophisticates in Eastern Canada that "We've got your back". Then after the rally Faith Goldy got up on a truck nearby and said some stuff. Boo Andrew Scheer.
We don't know what she said. Bad alt-right stuff. You know. But he didn't say it, she did and she wasn't part of the event. Despite which "A few weeks later, in question period, the Liberal House leader, Ontario MP Bardish Chagger, tried changing the subject from the SNC-Lavalin affair by slamming Scheer for 'attending the same rally as white supremacist Faith Goldy" and other ministers joined in the smear campaign.
So is Maclean's reporting on the Liberals' dirty tactics despite Trudeau's professed "sunny ways"? Heck no. They're reporting that while the same sort of mud-slinging didn't work in the Alberta election, in 2015 "Stephen Harper's Tories collapsed in key battlegrounds, notably Toronto and Vancouver suburbs, after pushing policies that, taken together, alarmed many voters—from banning veils at citizenship ceremonies, to stripping Canadian citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorism offences, to setting up a so-called 'barbaric cultural practices' tip line to the RCMP."
Really? I thought people were tired of the surly, secretive pseudo-conservatism. Because let journalists say what they will, Canadians don't like terrorism, burkas or female genital mutilation. And they're not wild about big deficits either.
This white supremacist narrative is more than a bit peculiar, not so much for insisting that all populism is racism as for saying it's political death because there are so few populists and a huge temptation because there are so many. And for claiming that while Scheer isn't a racist, he is, because for instance he was interviewed on Rebel Media by Faith Goldy before it became obvious that she had, how shall I put it, lost her sense of smell. (I used to know her a little and don't think she's a "white supremacist", but she really needs to practice better intellectual and political hygiene.)
Speaking of coming clean, here I must again confess that I repeatedly and blithely insisted that Donald Trump would never get the Republican nomination, let alone win the presidency. I underestimated the strength of frustration that was driving people to populism and mistook my own distaste for Trump for general public dissatisfaction. Which I bring up here because I think Maclean's and a lot of other media are making the same mistake, especially in portraying concern about illegal immigration as racist political poison.
Scheer might of course lose the election. But if so it will be through dullness, real or feigned, and a refusal to embrace any genuinely conservative ideas. Or he might win, through the same tactics or because Justin Trudeau defeats himself through glibness, incompetence and nasty rhetoric delivered with a smirk. The regional math is also hard for the Liberals, and maybe Scheer is following the sage political advice never to murder a person who's committing suicide. Or maybe he's running a lukewarm campaign in which he appears to fear conservatism almost as much as he fears doing or saying anything anyone can remember five minutes later and we'll get a hung parliament. But however it turns out, Scheer isn't going to lose because he's a Klansman with a dog whistle.
In the end the Maclean's piece kind of hedges its bets, saying it's "possible that Scheer's image will be tainted if he keeps trying to harness the sort of anger that was on display at the United We Roll rally. Channelling it might turn up his campaign's emotional heat in a way that motivates many voters — or reveal a dark side that repels others. The toughest test of his leadership acumen might be whether he can give voice to that discontent without tipping over into sounding intolerant."
Time may tell indeed. But the general tone of the press here, including this piece, reminds me of Rachel Notley, in her first campaign appearance in the Alberta election she just lost badly, saying "I personally do not believe that Jason Kenney is racist. But I do believe the UCP, as a party, has a problem with racism." So I don't say he's a wife-beater. I just wish he'd stop beating his wife.
Such coverage does journalists and the public no good. Report the facts. Speculate about cause and effect. But don't sell us Andrew Scheer as Donald Trump or Bull Connor. If he's doomed, it's because he's too boring and his party is too timid to take a stand on anything that anyone can remember. It's not because he's nodding and winking at a party full of non-existent Archie Bunkers.
Photo Credit: CBC News
The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.
On Monday night, Paul Manly became the second Green MP ever elected to the House of Commons, wining fairly easily a by-electon in Nanaimo-Ladysmith. He joins Elizabeth May, who was first elected in 2011 in another Vancouver Island riding.
So maybe the Green revolution is happening after all?
Not so fast.
True, the Green Party was able to almost double its vote share in Nanaimo-Ladysmith, from 20% to 37%. The growth seems to have grown at the expense of the Trudeau Liberals, who fell to fourth place not a good sign for the governing party. The seat was wrestled away from the NDP, who fell to third place.
The blow is especially hard for the New Democrats, who thought they had turned the corner when they succeeded in electing leader Jagmeet Singh in another BC by-election a few weeks ago. New Democrats have had a foothold in the riding since 2004, when Jean Crowder was elected in Nanaimo-Cowichan.
The NDP had also just recently received 50% of the vote in the same riding provincially, winning a crucial by-election for the survival of the John Horgan government. The stakes were obviously not as high federally. This by-election wasn't going to alter the composition of the House of Commons.
Many voters, who could have been tempted to vote Green provincially, held back to ensure the NDP government wouldn't be threatened. When the federal by-election came around, these voters were freed to vote Green again, in order to send a message to all parties about their real priority.
For sure, Liberals and New Democrats talk a good game on the environment. But it is, not surprisingly, impossible to outgreen the Greens. Especially when, as a government, you decided you could save the planet by nationalizing a pipeline.
Certainly, the Liberal vote collapse highlights the fact that many voters feel let down by Justin Trudeau. There was a mood to protest, and with the NDP in power in Victoria, it was harder to make that case on the doorsteps for New Democrats.
It was much easier for the Greens, who have been gaining governance credibility while supporting Horgan's NDP without having to actually govern. Still, the Greens have shown they need to be taken seriously.
If Manly is only the party's fourth MP in its entire history, (the others, in addition to May, being floor-crossers Blair Wilson and Bruce Hyer), the truth is that the Green Party has been making steady gains over the past decade.
They are no longer a fringe party earning a fraction of the vote.
There are now 15 provincial Green legislators elected across the country. The Greens have the balance of power in BC, were one seat short of having it in New Brunswick, have broken through in Ontario and are now the Official Opposition in Prince Edward Island.
Slowly, the perception that the party cannot win seats is disappearing.
However, the party is still young and still lacks a strong organization. For instance, the polls in PEI were predicting the Greens would form their first Canadian government. When the Conservatives won, many pointed out that the polls were simply wrong.
Except I firmly believe the polls were right. The Greens were poised to form the PEI government. Voters were ready. But they needed help to complete the deal the kind of help an organized party is able to provide. Voters need to be identified. They need to be reminded to vote. In some cases, they need to be brought to the ballot box. The PEI Greens failed to Get Out The Vote.
The Greens were able to do so in Nanaimo-Ladysmith. The Federal Party threw everything at it, and rightly so. Because even though by-elections held so close to a general election are rarely a good indicator of things to come, they can change the narrative ever so slightly.
The Green Party of Canada has now shown that it can elect someone other than Elizabeth May. Voters are paying attention.
But don't expect Prime Minister May just yet.
Photo Credit: Vancouver Sun
The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.
