To a movement that tosses notions like "heritage" and "values" around without ever wondering what the content of these words means, it is interesting watching the differences in understanding pop out when the temperature starts heating up:
In a province where Mulroney is fondly remembered for his efforts to win Quebec's signature on the Constitution, he continues to be a towering figure with a vast network and talismanic presence within his party. Several Quebec Tories complained this week that the former prime minister – the last to win a majority of seats in Quebec thanks to an alliance with nationalists that Harper is working to replicate – has been treated in "cavalier" and "classless" fashion by his current successor. "As far as I know (Mulroney) hasn't been found guilty of anything, he's been exonerated at every turn. This man's like a grandfather to all of us. And (Harper) just took a swing at him at the holiday dinner table," said a long-time organizer, who warned against medium-term damage among Tory troops in the province.Right there at the holiday dinner table. Which is different from the tables, I suppose, where hundreds of thousands of dollars passed in plain envelops, right? The interesting thing to me is the silence of Preston Manning or maybe just the disinterest in his position. The Prime Minister has invested a lot in the idea that he is the source of the movement he heads even though at the time it was being founded he was a coffee gopher for the people who were doing the thinking. Did Preston warn not to cozy up to the uncertain legacy of Mulroney? Or is he, too, now only focused on getting seats.
Comments
Alan - November 19, 2007 4:38 pm
As opposed to that deep and thoughful "Not a real leader" line that Harper cna't get enough of? Of course it is agitpop. It is all agitpop. Sadly at the moment all we have are morons as practitioners and main characters, that's all.
David Janes - November 19, 2007 9:30 pm
Everything after the first sentence in the quote given assumes a link between Harper & Muldoon that doesn't really exist. Claiming that "[Muldoon] has been treated in "cavalier" and "classless" [by Harper]" doesn't make any sort of historical sense, if you (reasonably) read in that the quotee obviously expects Harper _not_ to be treating Muldoon this way. I mean, christosalmighty, most of Harper's career has been about burying Mulrooney.
Sean Liddle - November 19, 2007 10:11 pm
Bah.. I wrote a long wordy response referring to my two (2!) semesters of communication psychology and using said knowledge to analyze Harpers treatment of Mulrooooney then I realized that I don't care. Harper dumps on anyone that has the ability to either take the stage and sing better or louder or make his act look less than stellar. I used to think Manning was a dork but compared to Steve, he was tolerable.