By arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
Wednesday, august 30, 2006
Scott Brison left the Conservative Party after losing the leadership and joined the Liberals. In a Yogi Berra moment, it seems like déjà vu all over again and Scott is in the process of losing the leadership once again in his new party. Brison came out swinging last week against the two perceived frontrunners in the Liberal leadership race; Michael Ignatieff and surprisingly enough, Bob Rae. It is truly amazing that the two top candidates to replace Paul Martin are a guy who spent the last 30 years out of the country and one who should have been out of the country instead of leading an NDP government in Ontario for five years.
If Brison has any hope of winning the top job, he has to go after the guys who at least appear to be out in front. It's not that he went after him but the way he did it that shows he still has some time to go before he fully catches on to what it really means to be a Liberal.
Brison accused Ignatieff and Rae of "fuzzy and intellectual dishonesty". Fuzzy and intellectual dishonesty? Brison isn't attacking Iggy and Rae; he's attacking the very heart and soul of the Liberal Party of Canada. and implying that there is any connection between intellectual pursuits and the Natural Governing Party is contrary to everything that we know about the Liberals.
The former Tory leadership candidate went after Bob Rae for saying that Canadian troops should be pulled out of afghanistan but that Canada should send troops to Lebanon. Brison took a shot at Ignatieff for saying that Israel had a right to defend itself but shouldn't have bombed Lebanon.
at least both Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae should be given credit for quickly catching on to the party that they have so recently joined. With Brison, Ignatieff and Rae in the race, not being a member of the party five years ago seems to be a job qualification. In light of Brison's criticism of the two frontrunners, he doesn't seem to be adjusting to his new environment in the way that the other two are.
To accuse two Liberal leadership candidates of dishonesty; intellectual or otherwise, is like accusing a dog of, well, acting like a dog. Does anyone remember adscam? and to imply that being "intellectual" has any place in the Liberal Party of Canada is to show a complete and utter lack of understanding of what that party is all about. Liberals don't engage in intellectual thinking; they take polls and measure which way the wind blows. Get with the program, Scott.
Let's take the statement by Ignatieff that Scot Brison was critical of. There is actually nothing "fuzzy" about saying that Israel has a right to defend itself but that they shouldn't have bombed Lebanon. It's all about potential votes. Saying that Israel has a right to defend itself brings in the Jewish vote. and criticizing the bombing of Lebanon assures continued Lebanese, arab and Muslim support. To look for some intellectual basis or even logic behind Ignatieff's statement is to completely miss the point.
The truth is that Scott Brison isn't really a Liberal. Part of his crossing over to the party that was led by the great Paul Martin Jr. was opportunism but, hey, that's politics. Essentially Scott Brison is a disgruntled Tory who can't stand Stephen Harper more than he is a real Liberal.
The irony is that, compared to most of his fellow candidates, he probably wouldn't make a bad leader of the opposition or prime minister.
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