Rewarding Ambition

Thomas Mulcair appears to be a man of many parts. An outstanding candidate for leader of the New Democratic Party, he stands his ground, it would appear, rather than taking the easy way of going with the flow. Accusations that after he separated from the Quebec Liberal Party, he expressed interest in joining the federal Conservatives but refrained from committing to them when they refused to offer him a Cabinet position, are interesting.

One might be excused from the assumption that wide gaps in ideology exist between the three parties. Not so much, perhaps between the Liberals and the NDP, particularly of late, but a yawning gap between either the Liberals or the NDP and the Conservatives. The Liberals play it safe, the NDP are rashly committed to their vision of what constitutes a non-judgemental 'leftist' view of the world, while the Conservatives are, well, conservative.

Mr. Mulcair evidently is committed to environmental causes, among others of his deep interests. It was the Conservative less-than-stellar commitment as he saw it, to environmentalism that dissuaded him from joining them. So he has the the convictions of his convictions. Courage having little to do with it; righteous discernment everything, evidently.

He left the Provincial Cabinet in Quebec on a matter of principle, and it was principle that kept him from joining the Conservatives. One might assume that principle might also have restrained him from becoming a member of the New Democratic Party, but it appears not to have had that effect, even though he has failed to commit himself to supporting them financially.

Yet he aspires to become the new leader of the NDP. Surely, he is more than acutely aware of the NDP's lukewarm support of Israel, as opposed to his own robust support. He would have to be, since he went out of his way to criticize Libby Davis's unwavering support for Palestinian 'human rights' which she and others claim have suffered sorely at the hands of the Jewish state.

He even led similarly-minded members of the NDP caucus in supporting the Harper government's decision that Canada would not participate in the UN Conference on Racism, agreeing with the statement that the conference represented an "anti-Semitic" hate-fest singling Israel out for outrageously slanderous activities, equating the country with Apartheid and racism.

"Active and long-standing members of the NDP" have launched a website to make available information about Mr. Mulcair which might have the effect of having delegates think twice about supporting his leadership bid. Still, he seems the individual best positioned to bring the party forward, to advance its interests in Quebec and beyond.

It's been reported that he is interested in changing the traditional "language and approach" of the NDP, still mired in socialist rhetoric reminiscent of a much earlier time in political history. He is quite correct in assessing the party's intemperance on social issues and its language of communication as being too heavily rooted in the past.

The party bills itself as having a 'progressive' political ideology, but it hasn't really progressed much beyond its origins, other than to position itself a little more closely toward reasonableness with the unlamented absence of grandstanding, clammily and self-serving hypocrites claiming to be devoted to human rights as a shield to a broader agenda.

Past members such as Svend Robinson have not been missed; the party might benefit from the absence of Libby Davis, both of whom have time to spare in spades for the presumably downtrodden, afflicted by that traditional old Jewish penchant for persecuting and violating the rights of those who have the temerity to question their right to exist as a nation.

Those who fear Thomas Mulcair's possible ascension to the leadership of the party, fear he will take it in an entirely other direction unreflective of past values. "We are worried that many New Democrats are considering supporting Thomas Mulcair without knowledge of the political positions he's taken in the past". Referring in large part to intentions to move the NDP to the centre of the political spectrum.

A move that had already been undertaken as a start by former leader, Jack Layton. But without the usual comradely underpinnings that accompanied that initial slide centre. He has characterized his potential leadership as a boost for employment in Canada and for small businesses that create new jobs. While retaining the usual NDP-union ties, calling on the federal Labour Code to ban replacement workers during a strike.

"As NDP prime minister I will work to ensure good-paying jobs and investment in our communities" he has stated. Now that will be the day. When Canada would take that immense leap to invest its future in the unlikely crowning of the NDP as the leading political party of the land. The NDP may have achieved the position of Official Opposition by a political-social-vote fluke, but anything more than that is beyond remote.

Mr. Mulcair might have achieved more for his own personal ambitions had he taken on the Conservative invitation to join them, even if at a more modest level than he had demanded. In time, given his principles, commitment and resolve, who knows, he might have possibly presented as an alternative leader of the Conservatives, and eventually reach for the prime ministership.

Under the circumstances, his ambitions will never be rewarded. We have much to be thankful for.