Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Protecting Anders

For those not following the story closely, a judge ordered the Conservative Party to re-hold the nomination meeting in Calgary West, after it was found that the rules were rigged to ensure an Anders win back last fall.

So, after being ordered to do this, the Tories decided to slant the rules to ensure an Anders win. And, because of this, it looks like everyone's favourite MP will be acclaimed, since the candidates vying to replace him have dropped out, blaming the nomination rules.

At first, I was a bit surprised. I mean, why are the Conservatives so keen on protecting such an embarrassing MP. A man who has been muzzled and appears to have no function or purpose in Ottawa. But, then I saw this news story and it became apparent that Rob is still hard at work for Canada's New Government ;-)

OTTAWA — Canada has denied a visa to South African anti-apartheid leader Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who was to have been the keynote speaker at a fund-raising gala in Toronto on Tuesday featuring an opera about her life.

Labels:

posted by calgarygrit at 1:28 p.m.

17 Comments:

  • Oh c'mon Dan. Anders Chairs the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs!

    In all seriousness though, I don't know that "visibility" is the best way to measure how much work or how effective an MP is in Ottawa. If anything, the correlation is often inverse.

    By Blogger ALW, at 1:54 p.m.  

  • You conveniently forgot to add the details from the bottom of the article:

    "The 70-year-old Ms. Madikizela-Mandela, who rose to heroine status as a fearsome opponent of South Africa's apartheid regime, became a controversial figure because of her 1991 conviction in the death of a 14-year-old activist."

    I don't know about you but I'm glad they're keeping convicted killers out...

    By Blogger Richard, at 2:18 p.m.  

  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie_Madikizela_Mandela

    According to wikipedia her 6 year jail sentence was reduced to a fine on appeal...

    By Blogger MERBOY, at 2:54 p.m.  

  • This is perhaps one of the more bizarre of Harper's many dropped/reversed principles since he got into office.

    He's very much a replaceable part in the government. He's controversial and has been caught acting like a little child in Question Period. He'd probably be able to walk away with the nomination if it was truly open. It's a high profile and expensive obstruction of the nomination process that is costing them credibility. And it is such an obvious and blatant obstruction of the process so there is no easy way to explain it (proven by the fact that, for once, Harper hasn't even blamed the Liberals on this one).

    Does Mr. Anders know something about Harper that we don't? Does he know who Harper's secret big donors were? Does he hold a signed copy of the Hidden Agenda in a lockbox somewhere?

    A classic example of Our Principles Do Not Apply to Us.

    By Blogger Ted Betts, at 2:57 p.m.  

  • so Liberal of you to be apologetic to a convicted felon because of gender & race.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:28 p.m.  

  • fred said

    "so Liberal of you to be apologetic to a convicted felon because of gender & race."

    What?

    Don't drink and drive!

    By Blogger JimTan, at 5:00 p.m.  

  • Anders is a goof.

    And there is no way Winnie should be allowed into Canada. Perhaps someone could post the full story on her, including the missing and murdered people, and speeches where she spoke of using machetes and necklacing (putting tires filled with gasoline around someones neck and setting it on fire).

    By Blogger paulsstuff, at 5:15 p.m.  

  • Cerberus,

    Nothing quite so juicy, I'm afraid. It's just that Anders has gone to bat for Harper so it's a personal loyalty in repayment methinks.

    By Blogger ALW, at 5:28 p.m.  

  • Sorry CG, but Nelson Mandela being excluded would be a scandal, Winnie, not so much. She is the worst of what African revolutionaries have to offer. That she has supported necklacing (putting a human into tires and setting him on fire) is utterly disgusting. She has been involved in murders. She is a convicted criminal with a very unsavoury history and I am glad someone has seen past her last name and said "thanks, but no".

    By Blogger The Rat, at 5:47 p.m.  

  • Does anyone else wonder about the judgment of the people and the organization that invited her?

    The "Anders Nomination Fiasco" boggles my mind. A disturbing trend is developing that these Conservatives don't believe in democratic principles.

    The people don't have the right to choose their own representative within the party.

    While the party and leader may always have the last say, if someone more qualified is available, why would the party not let them, if they had the confidence and support of the local party members.

    Calgary West isn't the only riding where this has occurred.

    By Blogger Down & Out in L A, at 6:05 p.m.  

  • I don't really care too much about the Mandela thing one way or the other - it seems fairly reasonable to exclude her.

    But when I saw it in the news right before I was ready to post on Anders, I just couldn't resist...

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 6:14 p.m.  

  • So, how is this different than Dion's promise to have 1/3 female candidates, even if he has to appoint them. Maybe they will mostly be in Alberta. He has just said candidates, not winners.
    Maybe he could be charged abusing women by this action.

    By Blogger maryT, at 7:45 p.m.  

  • What I see as the difference between what Dion has said and what Harper does is that Dion is not interfering with the process.

    Women have run and lost and the outcomes have been respected.

    The one exception was the Martha Hall Findlay appointment but there was consultation with the riding before that was done.

    If Belinda had declared her intentions sooner, MHF would probably have run in Newmarket where she has won the nomination previously.

    By Blogger Down & Out in L A, at 8:02 p.m.  

  • I am really glad that redistribution took me out of Anders' riding (I'm now in Calgary Centre - Lee Richardson is my MP). In 2000 I happily voted for Jim Silye (the PC candidate). After the merger (which I supported), I'd have been faced with the choice of voting for Anders (while probably holding my nose) or deliberately spoiling my ballot.

    By Blogger Brian in Calgary, at 8:34 p.m.  

  • The whole process with Calgary West has been unfortunate. It will be interesting to see what happens on the 14th when the judgment on the appeal on Hawco's decision will come through...

    By Blogger Kirk Schmidt, at 8:38 p.m.  

  • I will simply re-state that Conservatives can't deal effectively with differing opinions.

    It is a cultural problem for them.

    Their party is a top down organization where every member must tow the line or be ostracized.

    Happens at both the provincial levels and the federal level.

    It's pervasive.

    There are tons of examples.

    Last week, here in Alberta, the Provincial Youth Executive of the Conservatives quit, en masse, nine members . . . .

    Atlantic Canada, which had a couple of provincial Conservative governments, is now openly hostile to the federal Harper government.

    Belinda had a different opinion than Stephen. There was a nasty fight . . . . and guess what . . . Belinda left the party a a crucial moment.

    There area dozen others.

    i hear that Rona Ambrose and Diane Ablonczy aren't too happy lately.

    What's bugging them eh ?

    By Blogger Down & Out in L A, at 9:57 p.m.  

  • In a way, I'm kinda disappointed that the challengers decided to take their balls and go home. In this nomination race, neither they nor the incumbent would have been able to sign up instant members to win the election. It would have been a rare event, decided entirely by the committed party members who actually buy memberships even when there's no nomination or leadership race. And now we're missing out on it...

    By Blogger The Invisible Hand, at 1:06 a.m.  

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