Gimbol's diatribe and screed

Jason Cherniak needs a hug

Poor guy guess he just didn't see it coming with Khan moving over to the government side of the house.

But I digress.

He's been going over the top since yesterday navel gazing the topic to death trying to come to terms with it.
Frankly I think he's going through the stages of denial.
But he's a big boy, and he'll get over it.

However, his latest posting gives five possible reasons why the defection occurred.

I felt that to get into a thread war would only degenerate and just cause him to lose it even more...poor guy.
But it did cry out for a response.
So I post them here.

1) Dion has defended the right of all Canadians to hold duo citizenship. You would think that Khan would support that as a man born in Pakistan. I'm pretty sure many of his constituents do.

Yes, but I did hear Dion say that this right was something he would give up if it kept him from winning an election. Sort of reinforces the liberal modus operandi, you don't like what I'm saying I can always say something else.

2) Dion has defended programs that support women's rights, adult literacy and minority legal rights. Khan must be upset that Dion is defending these Liberal programs that the Tories cut.

No Khan in his words was upset because the liberal party has moved away from policies that support free enterprise, family, and Canada being strong.

3) Dion has called for a stronger environment policy. Could Khan really believe that the appointment of John Baird as Environment Minister solves that little problem? There is no credible way to argue that Khan could judge this issue yet, unless it is the environmental focus in general that he does not like. However, he would have known that when he voted for Dion in Montreal.

"Little problem"?
Yes, well lets see.... I'll let Dion's deputy leader say it best. "But Stephane we (liberals) didn't get it done."
But Dion in a display that is sure to be replayed quite a lot during the next election responded with a tantrum "THATS NOT FAIR" making it worse by then saying "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT" and then cooked his goose with "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO MAKE PRIORITIES". Odd isn't it how the current PM seems to be able to establish them and make progress on all of them.
Youtube is our friend.

4) Dion has done his best to include all former leadership candidates in his new team. Only Volpe and Dryden are without official positions. Maybe Khan is upset that Volpe does not yet have enough prominence on the dream team?

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. You can speculate to your hearts content on reasons why Khan made the move, but it was Dion that, rather than just kick him out of caucus (like Harper did to Garth), he told him specifically to go sit with the government.

5) Dion called a spade a spade and told Khan the obvious. He could not sit in the Liberal opposition caucus and hold office under a Conservative government at the same time. This is a principle at the very heart of our Parliamentary system. Either you are with the government or against it.

Khan was not holding any office. But its moot as it just stresses the fact that he didn't jump he was pushed. But lets not leave this point just yet because in fairness I'm going to offer advice that liberal party members might like to take heed, although its to the conservatives advantage if you don't.
Its this.
I have the distinct feeling that the decision to oust Khan is not one that Dion had considered on his own.
I'll submit that Kermit got forced to make the call to calm the nerves of those in the party that hate anything remotely right of centre. That of course is their choice, however, by doing so it reveals that the liberals have moved drastically and dramatically to the extreme left.
The end result is that all those so-called centrist voters that came into the liberal fold back in 93 are going to take their vote elsewhere. This logic can also be applied to certain liberal MP's that may have views not considered pur laine by the left wing of the libeal party (did I say wing? Sorry make that the majority of the membership particularly the QYL). You might want to check up on the activities of some of your more socially conservative (liberal in name only) MP's like Paul Steckle.
The other point is that leaders usually make decisions that are of their own design.
The last liberal leader that decided to run things on the exclusive advice of a core group of supporters was a guy named Paul Martin. Which is okay if they know what they are doing.
Oddly enough I noticed that the guy who was Martin's top organizer in BC Mark Marissen is working for Dion now.
The more things change the more they stay the same.

Perhaps we can pass the hat and buy Jason some flowers and a get well soon card.

posted by gimbol @ 6:28 AM