"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Thursday 10 September 2015

VOTER TURN-OUT WILL BE LOW AGAIN

An official  in the Prime Minister's campaign has been sent down  to Ottawa. Media links the exile to  
Tuesday's dumped candidates. Once again,technology outed the miscreants. In Harper territory, somebody had to bear the brunt. If not the CAO in the Prime Minister's office...somebody else not so close.

How do they find these candidates? Why were they chosen? If they weren't there to fill the space 
would any-one  with  a reputation and credibility offer to serve. We certainly are living in changed 
times.

Liberals have had to turf a candidate. A twenty-one year old Muslim girl had to pull out because of inappropriate comments posted on Facebook when she was just a teen-ager. Like  yesterday. With more than a few other teens and older than teens. 

There is no politically correct way to say this so I will  say it straight.

What wisdom, judgement or proven competence is a twenty-one year old likely to bring to the Honourable Office of  Member of Parliament. 

Yes ...the Conservative candidates were  more egregiously lacking. They are  white and there's no visible record of religion practiced. 
How is the electorate supposed to refer to in their assessment?
Are these three isolated cases of nominations gone awry?

Jean Chretien once chose the candidate in Etobicoke/Lakeshore . A media profile showedJean Augustine, black as coal, came  from Jamaica to work as a domestic leaving her two children  behind with her family. Afterwards they came to Canada and the single mother became a welfare recipient who went back to school and earned a certificate  at Teacher's College. At the time the Liberal leader chose her, Jean Augustine had become  Principal of an elementary school. 

Augustine was never a back-bencher. As Parliamentary-Secretary to the Prime Minister's office her visible minority face was highly visible behind him. One of only two black members.  

Three terms at the Federal level was enough to earn a comfortable pension. By Provincial appointment, she  afterwards occupied the office of something called  Commissioner of Fairness with a per diem of $566.

Controversy erupted  about use of extravagant  use of limousine service and a charge of $3.50 for ear phones during her extensive travels . Monies had to be re-paid. Ontario Liberal Culture Minister Michael Chan cited " improper useof funds" 

While in Paarliament, a fellow Liberal, not-so-honorable, Djag Bhaduria was expelled from the  party for disreputable conduct.it was alleged he sent threatening letters to school,officials because he was not chosen for a position and, as a landlord he failed to carry out necessary repairs on residential buildings he owned. 

Several petitions were collected in the Markham riding demanding he be removed from his seat in Parliament.To no avail. He also travelled far as an M.P.  He again sought the nomination  in the next election. A picture in the press showed him surrounded at the nomination by dark faces wearing turbans. 

At the time of his ouster  from the party, Jean Augustine  took the position the Prime Minister's decision to expel Bhaduria was an act of racism. 

Appointments,Awards and Honours continued to be showered upon her notwithstanding. 

I have told this story before.
No doubt it will be brought to mind again now with newly nominated and dumped candidates.
As a Canadian my intelligence is insulted. 
That a person, quick to recognize opportunity but conspicuously lacking in discernment and judgement was repeatedly raised to prominence for political reasons, strictly in the basis of skin colour, degrades every value and principle of integrity that matters.

Anyone interested in understanding why the right to vote ,so hard-won, now so little respected, 
need look no further. 

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nothing new about all of this. Just that the social media is making it easier to spot the losers sooner rather
than later. I did note that Trudeau's attempt to parachute Eve Adams into a TO riding failed - probably for
same reasons. If you act irresponsibly, there is a good chance you will pay.

Anonymous said...


If you consider that for the most part members of a legislature, be it federal, provincial, regional or municipal, are dopes and dupes.

They don't have to contribute a damn thing except show up and vote on bills that the "Secretariat" presents to them. Most wouldn't understand the content or intent of these bills, and when members of the general public scream, our august elected figures prevaricate and embark on yet another foreign mission to drum up heaven knows what.

I would bet that the average IQ of elected members for all legislative bodies nationwide is below 70.

Anonymous said...

If there is a photo of you peeing into the teacup of a customer, you probably should
not be thinking about a career in politics.

Anonymous said...

Facebook is going to get a lot of people into trouble. What might seem cute or funny as a youngster can bit you in the butt later.

Anonymous said...


Breaking news from The Globe and Mail

"Conservatives hire high-profile Australian strategist to reboot campaign

Stephen Harper's struggling Conservatives have taken on Australian political strategist Lynton Crosby as a campaign advisor - the man widely credited with helping David Cameron win a majority government in the U.K. earlier this year

Mr. Crosby's work for Canada's Conservative Party has become public as Mr. Harper's party, now third in the polls, tries to reboot its campaign following a series of blunders in recent weeks and questions about campaign director Jenni Byrne's adeptness during this race."

A Conservative campaign spokesman declined to discuss Mr. Crosby's relationship with the party, saying "the Tories do not comment on staffing matters."

This is complete BS as there was lots of commenting on staffing matters by roaring Tories during the Duffy/Wright affair.

Interesting how commenting can be selectively appropriate. But from this party one shouldn't be surprised.

Anonymous said...

Remember the polls taken right before the last provincial election?

Anonymous said...

@1707
Breaking news
Vancouver area liberal candidate dumped because of bizarre comments about marijuana
Also Alberta liberal candidate apologizes for offensive tweets about women
In these parts who cares because they are not Harper tories

Anonymous said...


20:54

Just goes to show that there are losers everywhere.

What does that do for your confidence in any or all of the candidates?

The whole thing sucks.

Anonymous said...

18:18
The polls were wrong in the past while except for some by-election in the north.

Anonymous said...

@ 20:54
I think the general idea of the comments here is that those are to be found everywhere,,,,,,,,,,

#anybodybutharper said...

"In these parts who cares because they are not Harper tories"

Uhhh, yep!

Anonymous said...

23:09
Anybody who doesn't want to work vote #Anybodybutharper

Anonymous said...

7:36
Do change the channel.

Anonymous said...

Anyone who wants to see our troops home don't vote for Harper

They're Going Down said...

Sure,'hardworking Canadians' will only vote Harper.

#whatajoke

Anonymous said...

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/09/11/anyone-but-harper-carved-into-brantford-area-farmers-field.html

Anonymous said...

11:11 on 9/11 (interesting date/time stamp)

Mulclair has just announced that he will pull everyone out of the foreign conflicts that we are engaged in. A bold statement and one that I am sure has the CIA and MI5 already making plans to mitigate the risks.

Anonymous said...

14:33
Such a knee-jerk response. No one has suggested a time line that might rattle allies.

day/month/year said...

Actually, it's 11/9.

Anonymous said...

14:33 - In what year?

Anonymous said...

12:23- When has Trudeau ever worked? #whatajoke

Anonymous said...

There is an article by Adam Radwanski in the Globe about the Crumbling Tory Fortress,
I will not be comfortable until there is NO fortress in Ottawa.

Anonymous said...

17:35
Right and Harper " worked " as a mail clerk for a business.
Stop with that stuff. It is so stale.

Anonymous said...

11:39, that "business" is Imperial Oil, where his father worked. I wonder how young Stephen got the job?

#nepotism