Simpson Slays Silly Iggy

In "constitutional matters...the groundwork must be carefully prepared, the agenda carefully calibrated, and words carefully measured. What the Ignatieff Liberals have done in Quebec is the opposite of this approach."

In case y'all missed it, Jeffrey Simpson was on-line earlier today on The Hill_Live, the Globe's weekly federal political discussion. He eloquently slayed Iggy & the Iggiots, again and again, for their foolishness.

Iggiots
"Many of the questions dealt with Michael Ignatieff and his proposal that eventually the status of Quebec within Canada be defined as a "nation." Ignatieff has repeated many times during the campaign that it is understandable for Quebecers to say "Quebec is my nation, Canada is my country." This is a defensible position as a statement of, shall we say, sociology and belonging.

A very fine Quebec editor once wrote that for Quebeckers, Canada was like a church. They didn't go there often, they didn't much believe in its precepts, but they kept going there for important occasions and they didn't want the institution destroyed.

There is a large and, in my view, dangerous, leap from the Ignatieff verbalized position and the idea that Quebec as a "nation" should be placed in the Constitution. The idea was latched onto in a hurry by partisans within the Quebec wing of the party. And if we know anything about constitutional matters in Canada — and here I speak as a grizzly veteran of constitutional coverage — it is that the groundwork must be carefully prepared, the agenda carefully calibrated, and words carefully measured.

What the Ignatieff Liberals have done in Quebec is the opposite of this approach."

False History of Iggiots
"Jeffrey Simpson: Chris, here's a bit of history. After the January election, the party established a series of "renewal commissions" (see my column tomorrow for more on those).
One on federalism specifically ruled out constitutional changes. It said Quebec was a "nation" in the sociological sense of the word but suggested that administrative changes were the best way to adapt to changing circumstances and deal with inevitable pressures within the federation.
This report was trumped by people in the Quebec wing, many of whom are Ignatieff supporters. They wanted Quebec recognized as a "nation" in the Constitution, not now but eventually.
And, Ignatieff has often argued in his writings that ethnicity and nationhood do not necessarily mean political sovereignty.
So there was a blending of his intellectual understanding, the Quebec wing's desire to find something to get them back into the political game in Quebec, especially in pursuit of "soft nationalist" votes, plus tactical considerations that this would help their candidate in Quebec.
But what has happened?
Predictably, the issue has split the party, split the country and can come to no good whatsoever."