Just When You Think You’re Out, They Pull You Back In…

I got home last night and made my way over to the computer. I opened up my internet and checked my email, then I found out that Jason Cherniak had accused little old me of making the Coulon campaign lose.

I immediately checked my calendar to make sure it was not Tuesday, and that I had not fallen into a coma for three straight days. It was indeed Friday and Coulon hasn’t lost anything.

I had responded to Jason’s initial accusation that a blogger who is pointing out the blatant truth in Outremont is bringing down a whole by-election. I must confess, Jason did always give me WAY too much credit.

I have been out of Liberal politics since the Spring, the last Liberal event I attended was the Trudeau nomination, and even then, I was already preparing to make the jump to journalism anyway.

The only requirement necessary to see that there is something afoot in Outremont…is a pulse. The signs are everywhere, literally and figuratively. One campaign is sluggish and dragging their feet while the other is hitting the ground sprinting and not letting up.

Polls have shown the race leaning the way of Tom Mulcair in Outremont and every political analyst in Quebec is saying this may spell doom and gloom for the “weak leadership of Stephane Dion.” Let’s be fair. Some people use untested. Others use fragile.

Back to Jason, who after blaming me, a non-Liberal who made a political commentary reflecting the very dire nature of the Outremont Liberal HQ, for bringing down the Liberal Party, he then said it was people like me, you know the “angry Ignatieff supporter”, who was bringing Dion down.

I would like to mention to Jason that as a former Liberal and aspiring journalism student, that also makes me a former Michael Ignatieff supporter. You know what else makes me a former Michael Ignatieff supporter? The fact that the LEADERSHIP RACE IS OVER!

So after a few insider Dionistas went whining to the media that sabotage was afoot in Outremont, a pattern emerged that it was all a secret plan hatched in Liberal backrooms to make Dion look bad! I love a good mystery and this had all the telltale signs of a good mystery being cracked…

I mean, who doesn’t LOVE a good mystery?

Not so fast, says Cherniak. I don’t mean to say blame Ignatieff supporters. Fire anybody who said that! I mean to blame the nationalists in Quebec. Blame the VOTERS for not liking Stephane Dion! How dare Quebecers want a resolution to the fiscal imbalance or recognition as a nation? How dare they not love Stephane Dion as much as Cherniak does?

This has to be my favorite one yet. Blaming the voters is generally a bad idea in politics. I was only deeply involved for about 8 or 9 years, but I did learn that if the voters think you aren’t doing a good job, the voter is right. They are the boss Jason, never forget that.

So while pandemonium ensues a couple of days early, I would like to clarify that earlier, when I said what was gonna happen Tuesday, I was not assuming a guaranteed Liberal loss. By-elections are wacky and stranger things have happened. However, by blaming everybody except himself, Jason is preparing to blame others in case of a loss and taking all the credit for Dion, if the outcome turns out the other way.

My point the other day was this by-election was the epitomy of the Amateur Hour that has befallen the PLC(Q). A win by 200 or a loss by 200 should send the same message…it should never have been this close. Don’t let anybody ever tell you otherwise…