#2 Black Day in October
I watched the debate in French in full. Stéphane Dion. Booed so he can't quote Ignatieff's own words. In MONTREAL!!! By supposed Liberals! Not a lot of liberal ideals, like free speech, there. Ta-ber-nac! Last time I felt this sick was in 1990 when Martin supporters shouted "vendu" at Chrétien.
I worked hard on the 1995 referendum. I went to l'Université de Montréal, where I did Political Economy, from 1996-2000. I am a Montrealer. It is hard to express to outsiders just how vicious the campaign to defame Dion was, and remains, and just how much intellectual and moral courage it took for him to make the case for Canada and confront his critics. And he did it knowing full well what the reaction would be. I was at many a conference or meeting in UdM where he would address a large crowd, 60% rabid separatists who honestly, if the security detail hadn't been there, would have attacked him. They would ask what they thought were difficult questions and calmly he would sip his water and respond, destroying their premises and then their entire argumentation, so clearly and cogently it couldn't be denied. Which just made them angrier and ended with angry senseless sulky tirades and insults, to which he would respond politely if harshly, turning into some sort of question he could address. BUT NEVER EVER IN ALL THAT TIME WAS HE EVER PREVENTED FROM SPEAKING HIS MIND!!!
It took supposed Liberals to do that.
To the author ofthe Clarity Act. The man whose strategy, as promised when he came in 1996 (see Goldenberg book), led the Liberals to get the highest percentage of vote in the 2000 election, pre-sponsorship scandal. Whatever his faults, Rae would never ever let his supporters behave that way. And Ignatieff for me is now the 9th choice out of 8 (whereas before he was just 8th out of 8:) There are things never forgotten and never forgiven. Not doing anything to stop supporters shouting"vendu" at the architect of the 1980 referendum victory, and never apologising. Not doing anything to stop supporters drowning out the architect of the Clarity Act and the Federal Government's reassertion of confidence in intergovernmental affairs, and not apologising, but saying people should also check out Dion's writings: go ahead you schmuck, it's all golden. Never has such crystal clear prose been put to work for national unity.
I want Dion to win. More than anything. But if he can't, it can't be Ignatieff. He and his supporters aren't fit to clean Dion's shoes.
I worked hard on the 1995 referendum. I went to l'Université de Montréal, where I did Political Economy, from 1996-2000. I am a Montrealer. It is hard to express to outsiders just how vicious the campaign to defame Dion was, and remains, and just how much intellectual and moral courage it took for him to make the case for Canada and confront his critics. And he did it knowing full well what the reaction would be. I was at many a conference or meeting in UdM where he would address a large crowd, 60% rabid separatists who honestly, if the security detail hadn't been there, would have attacked him. They would ask what they thought were difficult questions and calmly he would sip his water and respond, destroying their premises and then their entire argumentation, so clearly and cogently it couldn't be denied. Which just made them angrier and ended with angry senseless sulky tirades and insults, to which he would respond politely if harshly, turning into some sort of question he could address. BUT NEVER EVER IN ALL THAT TIME WAS HE EVER PREVENTED FROM SPEAKING HIS MIND!!!
It took supposed Liberals to do that.
To the author ofthe Clarity Act. The man whose strategy, as promised when he came in 1996 (see Goldenberg book), led the Liberals to get the highest percentage of vote in the 2000 election, pre-sponsorship scandal. Whatever his faults, Rae would never ever let his supporters behave that way. And Ignatieff for me is now the 9th choice out of 8 (whereas before he was just 8th out of 8:) There are things never forgotten and never forgiven. Not doing anything to stop supporters shouting"vendu" at the architect of the 1980 referendum victory, and never apologising. Not doing anything to stop supporters drowning out the architect of the Clarity Act and the Federal Government's reassertion of confidence in intergovernmental affairs, and not apologising, but saying people should also check out Dion's writings: go ahead you schmuck, it's all golden. Never has such crystal clear prose been put to work for national unity.
I want Dion to win. More than anything. But if he can't, it can't be Ignatieff. He and his supporters aren't fit to clean Dion's shoes.
posted by Eugene Forsey Liberal @ 7:36 PM
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