After several refusals to withdraw his candidacy and his somewhat incredible belief that an apology would go a long, the NDP issued a midnght release of the boy wonder's resignation. The story of the resignation has yet to be really picked up by the entire MSM, but Canwest has a blurb here.
I wasn't one of the hundred that piled onto McKeever's indiscretions, but I do find it incredible that Jack Layton stood by this man. And, to this date Jack continues to believe a simple apology was suffice. Jack, the guy uttered a threat...in writing...it's a chargeable offense. What are you thinking? And for a guy whose party preaches the rights of women? Oh boy.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
The NDP will need to figure out a way to select candidates in the election after this. For example, the party could have its leader appoint some candidates like the Liberals and Conservatives do. It could have sham nomination meetings like the Liberals had in the 2006 election in Etobicoke-Lakeshore when Ignatieff received the nomination because his opponent didn't have the right to contest the nomination. With increasingly centralized control in most of the parties, the local constituency associations will become advisory bodies who will work with the candidate that the party leader and his/her office has appointed.
re: sexism
I don't want to pretend to defend McKeever. I find him rather pathetic and emotionally stunted. However, I think it was the Liberals who were patronizing and subtly sexist in not accepting the validity offended woman's acceptance of an apology, and deciding instead to play dirty politics with this woman's injury.
More has surfaced, he's resigned, move on. Meanwhile, we could be debating serious issues like the economy, the environment, social justice.
Skinny dipper you're right. Liberals have a penchant for trampling on their riding associations, like Central Nova, where I'm sure they'd love to run a candidate but were told they can't. Truth is, even trampling on democracy, the Liberals haven't been much better at vetting candidates.
Sorry, coffee hasn't kicked in. Above should read: ...the Liberals were patronizing and sexist in not respecting the validity of the offended woman's acceptance of an apology...
Doesn't sound like she accepted any apology to me. Maybe you read a different article than I did though.
The Liberals also released a statement from the target of McKeever's remarks, who said she was told by the NDP to remain silent.
"I don't like being silenced or manipulated by anyone in my life," Krauss posted on a discussion forum Oct. 2. "I had asked for Mr. McKeever to resign and/or be removed by Mr. Layton but it was made clear to me that this would just not happen."
She went on to say that other candidates have been reprimanded by their party leaders for what they have said.
"Other parties - whether they kept their candidates or not in the end - made public (statements) to show they do not condone offensive, vulgar or insulting comments. I can't do this with them anymore. I have given them nothing but kindness and generosity in this situation and they have ignored me and betrayed me in return."
Sorry, where's your information from? I wrote about this last Sunday, referring to The Toronto Sun, Sept. 25:
"An interview request to McKeever was not returned, but Krystalline Kraus, the activist the bulk of the comments were directed towards, called the controversy a "dirty tactic" on the Liberals part.
"If they were so concerned about how I was treated, they would have contacted me first," she said yesterday.
Kraus said she was satisfied with an earlier apology from McKeever and would prefer to see the NDP and the Liberals fighting against the Conservatives, not squabbling with each other."
Never mind, I found the thread Liberals are referring to. Since Liberals like selectively choosing their remarks, here are other comments by Krauss on that thread:
"BUT i do want everyone to know what level of desperation the Liberals will go down too. If they were so concerned about me, why has no one from the Liberal Party contacted me about how I felt."
"please understand that my concern with the Liberals is that, like I said, if they were so concerned about me and how I was being treated, why didn't they contact me first? To ask how I wanted to handle the issue, to ask, as a woman being insulted in such a way, how they would handle the publication of the language Mr. McKeever used, etc, or even to ask how I feel about the whole thing."
Clearly McKeever was a bigger dweeb than I originally thought, and clearly not all was settled by his apologies. I commend Krauss for her bravery and honesty. I also agree with her, that dirty politics serves only to distract from more important issues like the one that near and dear to her: supporting war resisters.
I also agree with her that Jack Layton should condemn publicly Mr. McKeever's actions and words, and affirm the NDP's commitment to social justice for all.
Post a Comment