The Globe gets the vapours, but Martin stands by Buzz.
You tell 'em, Buzz:
"If you devolve all the powers to the provinces, what do you have left?" he said. "[Harper's] view of the country is a separatist view."
..."Mr. Harper doesn't have a sense of Canada and its communities," the union leader said.
Mr. Hargrove first began generating campaign headlines last month when, despite the long-held alliance between the labour movement and the left-wing New Democrats, he made a show of supporting Mr. Martin's Liberals.
On Wednesday, his diatribe extended to NDP Leader Jack Layton, who he criticized for spending too much time attacking Mr. Martin's government, "as if undermining Liberals was going to strengthen the NDP."
Diatribe? I'm thankful that Canada has an NDP, and people who don't share my neoliberal leanings (who think social spending is worth permanent deficits for instance) ought to vote for them. But Layton has basically been making the case that his party isn't ideologically serious and that people ought to vote for it "just this once" because the Liberals need to focus on internal reform and, hey, we're getting a Tory government anyway. If I were a leader interested in building a progressive movement for workers, I'd walk away from that sort of thing too.
Harper, of course, is shocked, shocked. For two reasons. First that "Mr. Hargrove's comments show a partisanship that puts the interests of the Liberals above those of the country". And secondly, that "Mr. Hargrove, who is one of Mr. Martin's key campaign supporters, is now urging people to vote for the Bloc".
Maybe it was a misprint and Harper meant "liberal interests", not "Liberal interests".
Anyway, Martin is, correctly, standing by his man, despite the UAW leader's audacity in actually standing up for practical progressive interests:
Even after Hargrove's comments, Mr. Martin was still sticking with the controversial union leader.
"Buzz Hargrove plays a very important role in this country," Mr. Martin told reporters.
"When Buzz Hargrove comes here with some of his other union leaders and essentially says to the progressive forces — to NDP voters — . . . 'I believe that all of these (Liberal) people should be elected,' that is a very powerful statement."
It is. Kudos to Buzz by sticking by his guns and resisting the politically correct cynicism that has engulfed this campaign.
Update: Good God, let this election end. What the hell is wrong with John Ibbitson? This has got to be the most pointless op-ed ever. The Liberals aren't progressive enough! But it's really that people are tired of them! Hargrove acted like a demagogue and wrecked Martin's day! Martin should have stepped on him! But Martin shouldn't blame Hargrove for his woes! (This is as Martin had blamed Hargrove for his woes, which he hasn't.) This is the sort of op-ed one writes when one has nothing at all to say. Maybe we all, all of us, just need a good long sleep.
"If you devolve all the powers to the provinces, what do you have left?" he said. "[Harper's] view of the country is a separatist view."
..."Mr. Harper doesn't have a sense of Canada and its communities," the union leader said.
Mr. Hargrove first began generating campaign headlines last month when, despite the long-held alliance between the labour movement and the left-wing New Democrats, he made a show of supporting Mr. Martin's Liberals.
On Wednesday, his diatribe extended to NDP Leader Jack Layton, who he criticized for spending too much time attacking Mr. Martin's government, "as if undermining Liberals was going to strengthen the NDP."
Diatribe? I'm thankful that Canada has an NDP, and people who don't share my neoliberal leanings (who think social spending is worth permanent deficits for instance) ought to vote for them. But Layton has basically been making the case that his party isn't ideologically serious and that people ought to vote for it "just this once" because the Liberals need to focus on internal reform and, hey, we're getting a Tory government anyway. If I were a leader interested in building a progressive movement for workers, I'd walk away from that sort of thing too.
Harper, of course, is shocked, shocked. For two reasons. First that "Mr. Hargrove's comments show a partisanship that puts the interests of the Liberals above those of the country". And secondly, that "Mr. Hargrove, who is one of Mr. Martin's key campaign supporters, is now urging people to vote for the Bloc".
Maybe it was a misprint and Harper meant "liberal interests", not "Liberal interests".
Anyway, Martin is, correctly, standing by his man, despite the UAW leader's audacity in actually standing up for practical progressive interests:
Even after Hargrove's comments, Mr. Martin was still sticking with the controversial union leader.
"Buzz Hargrove plays a very important role in this country," Mr. Martin told reporters.
"When Buzz Hargrove comes here with some of his other union leaders and essentially says to the progressive forces — to NDP voters — . . . 'I believe that all of these (Liberal) people should be elected,' that is a very powerful statement."
It is. Kudos to Buzz by sticking by his guns and resisting the politically correct cynicism that has engulfed this campaign.
Update: Good God, let this election end. What the hell is wrong with John Ibbitson? This has got to be the most pointless op-ed ever. The Liberals aren't progressive enough! But it's really that people are tired of them! Hargrove acted like a demagogue and wrecked Martin's day! Martin should have stepped on him! But Martin shouldn't blame Hargrove for his woes! (This is as Martin had blamed Hargrove for his woes, which he hasn't.) This is the sort of op-ed one writes when one has nothing at all to say. Maybe we all, all of us, just need a good long sleep.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home