No one--not even former Olympic chief Paul Henderson--was as joyful as me when I heard that Jack Layton is in the race to replace Alexa (in Wonderland) McDonough as New Democratic Party leader.
Given my past experience as a sometimes campaign manager, I am offering free-of-charge my professional services to Smilin’ Jack, right now.
As the publicity meister himself told the Star’s Kelly Tughill years ago…"Judi and I go back a long way". (Jack kindly never forgets my Toronto Sun columns about himself and Olivia before she became Mrs. Layton.)
Let it be known that I’m serious and no slouch in the political campaign management department. A quick check with Jack’s fellow socialist Ed Broadbent will prove that I was on his campaign team in my callow youth. Heck, you don’t even have to go back that far. A prominent Liberal lawyer, who served as her bagman when he ran unsuccessfully against June Rowlands, will readily attest to my passionate efforts to see June rather than Jack donning the mayor’s chain of office.
I’ll willingly sign any disclosure document Jack throws my way, and even promise to stop trying to spy on his at-home Sunday political brunches.
In the things I’ll-never-tell-about-Jack category: No references from me about his tax payer-subsidized co-op days. It’ much more fun picking on Pam McConnell who’s still there.
No one in the media has gotten ‘round to blaming Jack for the PM’s firing of one Paul Martin.
Through his friend and best activist, bar none Louise Comeau, he not only wrangled $250-million from Martin for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, he got it at arm’s length from the people and government of Canada. The multi-million dollar booty was supposed to rebuild rotting infrastructure, but was poured into FCM initiated green issues like signing up for Kyoto. You can’t do better than that.
I know, Jack that it was merely a coincidence that your decision to go after the NDP leadership came the very next day after your year as FCM prez was up.
No one will ever know from me that that snippety new Finance Minister John Manley came along and ruled out federal tax help for cities a few days later.
Surely the most significant consideration here is that Smilin’ Jack got the boost he needed by raising his profile through FCM. That’s Machiavellian and let’s face it, any politician worth his pork needs a little Machiavelli.
The strategy to `Send Jack to Ottawa’ requires his election to a federal seat. Rumour has it Jack is looking toward the Toronto - Danforth seat currently held by "for-the-little-guy" Liberal MP Dennis Mills. Never mind that Mills soundly defeated Smilin’ Jack in 1997 or that polls taken by the Liberal MP in the current climate show he would win over Layton hands down.
It’s going to take a lot of bucks to get J.L. to Ottawa.
The fundraising letter signed by Phil Jessup, executive director of the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, the formation of which Jack played a pivotal role, hanging in to serve on its board to the current day, will be a big boost here.
If TAF can send money to plant trees in Honduras, God knows how far it can go in helping send Jack to parliament.
Jack and friends like Marilyn Churley and Peggy Atwood may ponder the newfound generosity of "that fascist rag" and that-so-and-so-McLeod.
It’s really quite simple and straight out of the Common Sense Revolution.
Sending Jack to Ottawa would be giving the City of Toronto the biggest relief since the end of the stink created by the recent garbage strike.
Sending Jack to Ottawa would be a virtual T.O. Godsend.
Jack would go the way of the Judy Sgros to be rarely if ever heard from again. His ego might be a rare thing in Toronto, but commonplace in Ottawa. Ego and all, Jack Layton would be eaten alive by all the other egos on the hill.
Everyday he’d have to face up to the bummed out Paul Martin, as opposed to running into Paulie once in awhile at FCM junkets in exotic places like Banff and Yellowknife.
The future is now. Join the Toronto Free Press `Send Jack to Ottawa Campaign’.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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