New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton is a Barack Obama groupie.
With Prime Minister Stephen Harper preparing to call an election, Smilin’ Jack arrived in Denver yesterday.
When Obama accepts his nomination in his Ancient Greek Temple setting tonight, Layton will be waving a blue and white placard with Obama’s name.
“Democrats here are talking about the same kind of change we’re talking about in Canada,” said Layton. “Whether it’s real action on climate change, forging trade policies that work for working families or standing up for jobs and better health care, there’s a real desire here to put the concerns of the kitchen table ahead of the boardroom table.”
Layton’s Denver trip includes more than window dressing since he also will be attending the National Democratic Institute’s International Leaders Forum while there and will be speaking to the Labour Caucus of the Democratic Party.
Jumping Obama’s coat tails is not the first time Layton gravitated towards rock stars.
Elected to the House of Commons in 2004, Layton is a longtime Barenaked Ladies groupie, who convinced the group to play a concert for him “to attract young voters” and got their endorsement in 2002.
“Barenaked Ladies singer Steven Page said the band decided to endorse a candidate because “it was time to start getting involved. I’m getting very nervous about the upcoming face of Canadian politics and its drift to the right.” (CBCnews.ca, Sept. 16, 2002).
Page acknowledged that the move was unusual.
“It’s a touchy thing and it’s funny, even approaching other artists to do that show, if they want to rally around an issue, they’re happy to do it,” he said. “But when it’s actually rallying behind a candidate in partisan politics, it’s not something Canadian artists are known to do.”
These days Barenaked Ladies are declining gigs such as the upcoming Disney Music Block Party Concert Tour as they wait for the courts to deal with charges against Page for drug possession.
A scheduled U.S. court appearance on drug possession changes against Page has been delayed.
Page’s Buffalo-based lawyer, Mark Mahoney, says the singer’s next court date is now slated for Oct. 14 in Fayetteville, N.Y. Mahoney says both he and prosecutors agreed on the date change to give themselves “more time to talk”.
Page was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance on July 11.
Court documents allege Page admitted to snorting cocaine in his girlfriend’s upstate New York apartment last month.
Page was taken into police custody, but was later released after posting $10,000 bail. If convicted, he faces up to 5 ½ years in prison.
Both Layton and Obama have been long time activists for the homeless in their respective countries. Decades ago, Layton and his wife Olivia Chow were found living in subsidized housing while both were being paid from the public purse as elected officials.
Last week the Italian edition of Vanity Fair said that it had found George Hussein Onyango Obama living in a hut in a ramshackle town of Huruma on the outskirts of Nairobi.
“Mr. Obama, the youngest of the presidential candidate’s half-brothers, spoke for the first time about his life, which could not be more different than that of the Democratic contender.” (Telegraph.co.uk, August 21, 2008). “No-one knows who I am,” he told the magazine, before claiming; “I live here on less than a dollar a month.”
With both Layton and Obama together in Denver, making George Hussein Onyango the quintessential Poster Boy for the Homeless would give substance to the their crusades.
Judi McLeod——Bio and Archives
-- Judi McLeod, Founder, Owner and Editor of Canada Free Press, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years’ experience in the print and online media. A former Toronto Sun columnist, she also worked for the Kingston Whig Standard. Her work has appeared throughout the ‘Net, including on Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.
