, 06.17.2021 09:59 AM

My latest: Green self-destructing machine

The job of the media is to come down from the hills to shoot the politically wounded.

So, let’s put a few rounds in the carcass of the Green Party, shall we?

Let’s start by telling a tale. But full disclosure first: My political consulting firm has acted for every single federal political party. All of them.

(One exception: We haven’t represented the political party led by Maxime Bernier, who was last seen wearing handcuffs in the backseat of an RCMP cruiser, arrested for violating Manitoba public health laws.)

But we’ve worked for everyone else. The Green Party included.

I first met with Elizabeth May, then the Green leader, in Ottawa in the summer of 2019. Some of her senior staff were there, too. We talked about my firm running the Green Party war room in the election.

May eyed me warily. “You make me a bit nervous,” she said.

Recalling that unfortunate time in 2015 when May appeared at a press gallery dinner (see photo above), I replied: “Likewise.”

Anyway, we agreed my firm would be hired. I warned her that, when that news leaked out — because everything leaks in Ottawa, eventually — it would attract controversy. She assured me that she could handle it.

She couldn’t.

Fast-forward to July 2019. May is at a pre-election rally in Guelph, and someone stands up to ask her a question about me. The questioner is distressed. She says I’m nasty (guilty) and she’s upset (good). In front of several hundred people, May insists she said this to me: “What you did in politics previously was despicable, and he said, ‘Yeah.’”

This wasn’t just false. It was a whopping whopper. It was fabulist fiction. It was a bald-faced lie.

She didn’t say that. I didn’t say that.

I fired off an email to all of the senior Green staff who had been at the same meeting, gently reminding them I am a lawyer, and that I planned to publicly repudiate May unless she did so herself, govern yourself accordingly, etc.

May issued a grovelling tweet hours later, in which she whimpered that “some past campaigns had been despicable — not Warren.”

Long story short: A couple of my staff dealt with the Greens thereafter, but not me. I’m old enough to know a clown show when I see it.

Fast forward to 2021, now. The Green Party has an impressive new leader who happens to be (a) female, (b) Black, (c) Jewish, and (d) not Elizabeth May. I note this only because I think (b), (c) and (d) are relevant.

Hamas starts firing rockets into Israel, and Israel properly acts in self-defence. The rest of the planet descends into paroxysms of “anti-Zionism” (read: Anti-Semitism). The Green Party joins in.

One of their MPs, a non-entity from New Brunswick, tweets that Israel is a state that practices “apartheid.” Last time I checked, “apartheid” is the whites-only system of laws promulgated by South Africa. Israel, meanwhile, has two million Arab citizens, some of whom are members of the national Knesset legislature, the civil service, the judiciary, and the army.

If that’s apartheid, it doesn’t sound like it’s very effective apartheid.

Anyway. The new Green leader — who is, as noted, Jewish and Black — declines to agree with the “apartheid” blood libel. The MP non-entity thereupon defects to the Trudeau Liberals, who the MP says share her “apartheid” defamation. Senior Greenies start demanding the new leader be fired for being moderate.

Elizabeth May, still regrettably an MP, is heard from. She chastises her successor, and says she wants the anti-Israel defector back.

Had enough? Me too. And I don’t think, anymore, that we need to come down from the hills and shoot the wounded Green Party people.

They’re pretty good at shooting themselves.

— Warren Kinsella was special assistant to Jean Chretien

37 Comments

  1. irreversable road map to freedom says:

    The Green Party in Canada is a racket. Fake jobs for fake political staff etc…

    Atwin never expected to win and has simply made a very crass financial decision with the assets which accidentally landed in her lap. That golden pension is only four years away if she can just keep her mouth shut and stare at the floor. The new Green leader, shall we say, is *very downtown Toronto* and won’t play well in Fredericton. Alternatively, everyone’s favorite hair doo won the riding only two years ago. That is the only calculation being made here. It is blindingly obvious but no one wants to admit it. Its got nothing to do with Israel or the Environment.

    • The Doctor says:

      You’re right that crass survival/opportunism has to be the real motivator here, because otherwise, given the facts, it’s the most inexplicable floor-crossing in the history of political floor-crossings.

  2. Peter Williams says:

    Perhaps Liz May and the Greens could kindly tell us how many Jews live in:
    – Saudi Arabia
    – Iran
    – Iraq
    – etc

    And while they’re at it, how about Liz May attending a Pride parade in:
    – Saudi Arabia
    – Pakistan
    – Iran
    – Iraq
    – Gaza

    • Bluegreenblogger says:

      Elizabeth May was the first Federal Leader to march in Toronto’s Pride parade actually. No Paul Martin, No Chretien, Mulroney nor etc.

  3. Derek Pearce says:

    They’re making Trudeau’s re-election easier that’s for sure.

  4. The Doctor says:

    It still gobsmacks me how little consequences there were for Lizzy May’s drunken rant at the PPG dinner. If that had been a CPC leader, their career would have been OVER. Instantly. Pariah for life. But because the media has always treated the Green Party with kid gloves, they basically forgot about it.

    It’s like when Alexa McDonough made that comment during that election campaign about testosterone dulling the mind. Crickets from the media. Imagine if a male party leader said estrogen dulls the mind. Nuclear explosion would have resulted.

    Just an unbelievable double standard.

    • irreversable road map to freedom says:

      It’s because no one takes them seriously. Even Greens know they aren’t serious, which was why she got hammered before taking the stage. Its not a political party. Its a fundraising racket. No one wants to call them out because its very fashionable to pretend to care about the environment these days.

      • The Doctor says:

        Aside from not being taken totally seriously, I think the Greens have been this sort of blank slate or tabla rasa, on to which people just project all kinds of nice feelings. Aside from being “pro-green”, wtf are they? Nobody really knows. As a result, they have clearly attracted people into their ranks who have zilch in common other than some nominal commitment to pro-environmental policies.

        And I think as a result, most of the media has just had this sort of “aww, aren’t they nice?” attitude towards them, which is the antithesis of critical thinking. Plus Lizzie May (pathetic drunken rant notwithstanding) was media savvy, and knew intuitively how to play them. Thus what she got from the press was essentially a non-stop tongue bath.

        • irreversible road map to freedom says:

          Agree with everything Doctor says… They ran unbelievably weak candidates in my riding… but they were often celebrated as being “brave” for just showing up. Especially any female candidates. I’m a big fan of women in politics… But incompetence should never be draped over by gender.

          • The Doctor says:

            I totally agree with you that a lot of their candidates have been seriously weak, under-vetted and in many cases outright koo koo bananas. And if they were from another party (especially Tory or Liberal), the press might have actually looked into their incompetence/weakness/kookiness.

  5. Steve T says:

    I agree with everything you said. Except the statement that Annamie Paul’s race, religion, and gender have any relevance whatsoever.

    She took the correct position on this matter (in my view). That’s why she is a good leader, and a good person. The same would be true if she were a white Christian man, or an East Indian hindu trans-person, or any other combination.

    • irreversable road map to freedom says:

      I have zero doubt…. None…. That any of this would have happened if Paul was white, Christian, male and had a slight beer gut. BUT – its not the Ottawa political people who are racist…. They have made a cynical, yet accurate calculation that Joe and Jane front-porch of Fredericton probably won’t warm up the the tall black, bald lady from Toronto. And their right.

      That’s the reality and people should stop dancing around it.

      Paul’s naivety is also astounding…. Meet me on the battlefield of ideas?! Please. This is a battlefield where Justin dare not tread. Ever. If you thought Canadian politics is a battlefield of ideas, Dean Del Mastro has several trains to sell you.

      Freeland’s defense of herself is hysterically funny. I defy anyone to read her remarks without dying of laughter. She says she’s a feminist. The government is feminist. The PM is feminist. What f%&king planet has she been on for the past six years?! This government has done more damage to women in politics than any other in Canadian history. She is correct though that she is not a token. She should never elevate herself to the level of being a token. She’s an enabler.

      • IRMTF,

        Preconceived, crass, “destined” ambition is absolutely the only thing that courses through some people’s veins. How typically Trudeau Liberal…

        • irreversible road map to freedom says:

          I wouldn’t even dignify it by calling it “ambition”. That suggests Atwin has intentions of making a difference or contributing in some way. This move is no better than a stock dump. It’s like Tony Soprano moving from garbage scams to HMO scams.

          Also – my 1st line should read “That *none* of this would have happened…”

  6. I never took Ms May seriously as a politician, and it always astounded me how so many in the media treated such a mediocrity with fawning admiration. “Clown show” indeed. Seems that the Greens have some very nasty and unsavoury people in their organization.

  7. Phil in London says:

    All I know is a “party” except in a legal dispute needs a hell of a lot more than three MPs can we at least use the word “rump” before party to refer to this small small irrelevant and single issue band?

  8. Mainstreet now has the Trudeau Liberals up 11.

    Time for a throw up break.

    • irreversible road map to freedom says:

      Nanos has the Liberals up by 15! In Dec. of 2005…

      • IRMTOF,

        I’ve been calling for a CPC win for at least six months. People remain consistent: they continue to laugh at my prediction. Apparently, Churchill didn’t exactly get a chuckle out of Attlee kicking him to the curb.

        • irreversible road map to freedom says:

          …not to belabor the point, but my Nanos poll was approximately 5-6 weeks before Harper became PM and about one month after CPC Execs were demanding that he resign.

    • Martin says:

      It looks like younger Canadian women are finally waking up and moving away from our fraud of a “feminist” “PM”.

      • Peter Williams says:

        Team Trudeau will play the abortion card again. And the Conservatives are stupid enough to facilitate it.

        • Ronald O'Dowd says:

          Peter,

          We will counter that effectively by fronting with Michelle Rempel-Garner who happens to be pro-choice. She is a highly effective communicator and her consistent message will dovetail quite nicely with that of the leader. We need ads on this topic that quite literally build upon each other and both O’Toole and R-G need to be in every single one of them. My two cents.

        • Martin says:

          They are moving to the NDP.

          • Ronald O'Dowd says:

            Martin,

            This isn’t exactly Jack on the verge — at least until the CPC cop sympathizer got in on the act. At best, this is a temporary parking of progressive votes that could very well revert back to the Trudeau Liberals on election day. I hope not.

    • Phil in London says:

      It is pretty easy, hold onto your lunch, they have not built any vomitoriums yet.

      There are pretty simply two choices in federal elections.

      1) vote conservative
      2) vote non-conservative

      One would think that means that conservatives would dominate the landscape of federal elections yet they do not.

      Liz May has never uttered a campaign note that does not demonize the conservatives. She can appeal to the green zealots who would much rather slow down the economy (without even needing a pandemic). That is a Liberal win. They get the tree huggers on board by without having to make serious tree hugger actions (unless you talk about carbon taxes which to Liberals is written carbon TAX.

      NDP is simply another group to manipulate. How many times have Layton / Mulcair / Singh ever voted non-confidence in a liberal minority? ONE. How many times have they voted non-confidence in a conservative minority? My guess is one hell of a lot more times than one.

      Even the Bloc is less biased half of the time. I think they do a good job of opposing both mainstream parties.

      So please piss away your vote, the liberals can’t help but love the idea of you not voting conservative because of that anti-blue movement. They have only had one instance in the history of the country that they have not been the government or the official opposition.

      No-one but Conservatives and Bloc supporters are voting against Trudeau next election, last election or the one before that.

      I am not saying it is a perfect solution but a two party system for a decade or two would provide far more balance than a pizza parliament.

      That is not me saying everyone should vote conservative. It is me saying if there were two choices you would see a more centrist government. (Less pandering to the left or the right)

      I also understand that this sort of system in the USA has not been without it’s issues. That said I know a lot of republican voters who had enough of the idiot in chief, that they voted for a Democrat and the results (except those viewed by the trumpists) seem to suggest enough people can make a decision for the betterment of the country.

      Here, not so fast, vote green, vote dipper, vote dipper, even vote reform and People’s party. They all but ensure another Liberal government even if Phil’s dead Cat is the leader.

  9. Gilbertt says:

    The Green Party has a lot of anti-semites. That’s put the leader in a difficult position. Another problem is Elizabeth May, who acts like she’s still the leader.

  10. Doug says:

    I miss Lisa Raitt

    • Gord says:

      Especially since she was replaced by a Justin-esque mannequin with a sharp Olympic jean jacket, who as far as I can tell has done diddly-squat in Parliament on behalf of the good people of Milton other than vote like a trained seal. Nice hair, though.

  11. Fred J Pertanson says:

    WARREN!!! PLEASE!!! GET RID OF THAT FUCKING PICTURE OF DRUNKEN MAY OFF THE TOP OF YOUR WEB PAGE!!!

    Caps lock because I am screaming.

    Cheers

  12. Gloriousus et Liber says:

    I still contend that one day, we will see Elizabeth May appointed to the Senate by a Liberal PM.

    • irreversible road map to freedom says:

      You may well see that from Justin…. You won’t see that from a Liberal PM.

      • Gloriousus et Liber says:

        I have been saying that since seeing her tongue bathe every Liberal leader during leadership debates since Martin! She has been running for Liberal senator for a long time.

  13. Sarah Gabrielle Baron says:

    Revolutions always come from the fringe. You guys should know that. The Green Party of Canada is under attack, and you guys are enabling that. Why not ask your kids what they think is important? They won’t say anything to do with anything you guys are spazzing on about. They will say: climate change, mass extinction, global warming. As for Israel/Palestine, the GPC is site of an ideological proxy war. It’s overtaking good work we would otherwise be doing. And Jenica was a threat. Only two voices in parliament are active against new nuclear. Less than two weeks after making a video about Point Lapreau’s reprocessing to attain plutonium (something Pierre Elliot Trudeau banned), Jenica is silenced, in the belly of the beast. In your attacks on a small band of well-meaning Greens, you expose an underlying fear. The whole ship is sinking, it’s just a matter of how nasty we treat each other on the way down.

  14. Craig Hubley says:

    The GPC “Leader” Annamie Paul, whose position is explicitly that of spokesperson and not author of policy, attempted to change that policy by proxy, by appointing an advisor who contradicted it and also contradicting the policy of the three sitting MPs. So it’s a lie that she was “moderate”, she was defying her terms of employment.

    “Last time I checked, “apartheid” is the whites-only system of laws promulgated by South Africa. ”
    This is false. Apartheid since 2002 has had a formal definition as a crime in international law.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid_(crime)

    A legislator in Canada should use international law terms to describe crimes under that law, correctly. Jenica Atwin did. She is not a “non-entity” but an MP. Someone more trusted to speak for Fredericton than Trudeau, Freeland, Ya’ara Saks, Noah Zatzman or Warren Kinsella.

    Not to speak up for Elizabeth May, but, she was quite correct about the child soldier who was tortured having more class than the entire CPC. And, Jim Harris, a white guy, was forced out of the party’s leadership just for slowing down member authored policy by letting its forum be disabled.

    “Participatory Democracy” is one of six principles of the Global Greens. Since most Canadians want some form of sanction against the state of Israel, yes, Green Party of Canada policy will reflect that.

    Which is why it was targeted like Corbyn, Bernie and the NDP BDS movement.

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