The Candidate
Like dipping a single toe into the lake from the dock before jumping in, Ruth-Ellen Brosseau robocalled her constituents yesterday. It was the first thing she has done to earn their trust as their MP since filling out (in whole or part) of her nomination papers.For many on Pro Blogs, criticism of her election is beyond acceptable. At worst it's sexist. It's prejudice. It's ageist. At best, it is merely the actions indicative of sore losers. (To which I wonder whether or not shooting fish in a barrel confirms a claim that the shooter is naturally a bad shot.)
I sat at a poll on E-Day and scrutineered for the LPC. I watched as a man in his mid-40's approached the desk, took the ballot from the clerk, studied it momentarily and said, "My candidate is not on here." Confused, the clerk asked if he was in the right riding,and the man said yes and showed him his registration card. True, he was a voter of the riding. The man then said, "I thought we were voting for Prime Minister." I put my head in my hands and let out a sigh of exhaustion, disbelief, and total apathy.
I was stunned that he could vote even though he was clearly ill informed about our electoral system. I wondered whether or not a candidate showed up at his door and if so, whether he took the time to talk to them or if he just peered from his living room curtains and continued to watch TV or do something "more important" with his time. I wondered whether or not he picked up his mail and read the candidate's information, platforms, and experiences. I wonder whether at all he gave a shit about who represents him in parliament. Apparently not.
And so this is my critique of the election of Ruth-Ellen Brosseau for Berthier-Maskinongé. It is clear she didn't campaign, since she has never been to the riding. It is obvious that she was a "placeholder" candidate -- a throw away that the party used to make their books look good and to get that 308 number for the records. It is clear she doesn't know the concerns, cares or character of her riding. And moreover, the people of Berthier-Maskinongé don't care that she doesn't know them. Or tried. Or wanted to.
The people of Berthier-Maskinongé are getting what they deserve. Someone who lives 300km away that has never shown the slightest care for actually representing them beyond filling in (in whole or part) some nomination papers. The people of Berthier-Maskinongé saw a colour on the ballot, not a name. And if they did see a name it was not Ruth-Ellen Brosseau. It was Jack Layton.
Just like many people of Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar saw "Stephen Harper" rather than Kelly Block on the ballot. This was a factor in stopping Nettie Wiebe short from winning the seat. This is what has kept the people of Calgary-West in a CPC stasis and even the CPC party members of that riding from electing anyone other than Rob Anders who will represent them accordingly in the HoC. This is what keeps dozens of CPC ridings in a stranglehold despite objections from ordinary people about the views of their MP, their hypocritical actions, and general misrepresentation. But, Harper has done a "good job" with the economy. And so, 'X' away!
Will Berthier-Maskinongé be misrepresented by Brosseau? Maybe not. She could be a fine MP. COULD. If she cares. If she works hard. If she basically does the exact opposite of what earned her those 22,000 some votes. Right now Jack is playing peek-a-boo with her because he has to. Otherwise she'll get eaten alive.
Let me be clear, she'll get torn apart NOT because she is a woman. NOT because she is a single mother. NOT because she worked at a restaurant.
To which many Progressive Bloggers are hearing a collective "SO?" from New Democrats. This is a shame.
To justify The Great "SO?" a strategy is devised: Ruth-Ellen will earn their votes after the fact. First, send a robocall. Second, visit the riding and maybe knock on some doors. Third, hold a town hall and meet with municipal and provincial public officials. Fourth, MOVE to the riding (she can afford it) and fifth, stand up in parliament and let their voices be heard.
2015 is a long time away. Long enough to get to know the people who elected you. Use it wisely, Ruth-Ellen. And good luck, cause you'll need it.
The people of Berthier-Maskinongé are getting what they deserve. Someone who lives 300km away that has never shown the slightest care for actually representing them beyond filling in (in whole or part) some nomination papers. The people of Berthier-Maskinongé saw a colour on the ballot, not a name. And if they did see a name it was not Ruth-Ellen Brosseau. It was Jack Layton.
Just like many people of Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar saw "Stephen Harper" rather than Kelly Block on the ballot. This was a factor in stopping Nettie Wiebe short from winning the seat. This is what has kept the people of Calgary-West in a CPC stasis and even the CPC party members of that riding from electing anyone other than Rob Anders who will represent them accordingly in the HoC. This is what keeps dozens of CPC ridings in a stranglehold despite objections from ordinary people about the views of their MP, their hypocritical actions, and general misrepresentation. But, Harper has done a "good job" with the economy. And so, 'X' away!
Will Berthier-Maskinongé be misrepresented by Brosseau? Maybe not. She could be a fine MP. COULD. If she cares. If she works hard. If she basically does the exact opposite of what earned her those 22,000 some votes. Right now Jack is playing peek-a-boo with her because he has to. Otherwise she'll get eaten alive.
Let me be clear, she'll get torn apart NOT because she is a woman. NOT because she is a single mother. NOT because she worked at a restaurant.
But because she did not campaign.
To which many Progressive Bloggers are hearing a collective "SO?" from New Democrats. This is a shame.
To justify The Great "SO?" a strategy is devised: Ruth-Ellen will earn their votes after the fact. First, send a robocall. Second, visit the riding and maybe knock on some doors. Third, hold a town hall and meet with municipal and provincial public officials. Fourth, MOVE to the riding (she can afford it) and fifth, stand up in parliament and let their voices be heard.
2015 is a long time away. Long enough to get to know the people who elected you. Use it wisely, Ruth-Ellen. And good luck, cause you'll need it.
Labels: Canadian Election 2011, Jack Layton, NDP, Progressive Bloggers, Quebec, Ruth-Ellen Brosseau
posted by Dylan at 5/10/2011
7 Comments:
Hi there.
I worked for Elections Canada, for the advanced polls, to be exact. At the table - where the electors presented themselves with the required ID and were given their ballots to vote - was displayed a list of candidates with their political affiliations.
So you should know - if you voted - that there wasn't any *colour* at all on the ballot where candidates' names were printed.
Thus, based on such a gross untruth and many other florid demonstrations of your hatred for any political party except your own, I read the above blogppost as an authentic expression of testerical despair but also as a naïve parroting of Contempt Party instigated attacks against Brosseau.
deBeauxOs,
Thanks for the information.
I am, and was, aware that there are no party colours on the ballot.
And to quote myself, "And if they did see a name it was not Ruth-Ellen Brosseau. It was Jack Layton."
Obviously, Jack Layton's name was not on the Berthier-Maskinongé ballot either.
I suppose I can add "reading between the lines" and "thinking critically" to "campaigning" as things Brosseau supporters do not care to do.
Well, you can say whatever you want but it does sounds awfully patronising towards the electors, some of whom probably voted for Jean Chretien once upon a time, for the same reasons you now condemn.
Is it only okay if they vote for the party you support?
BTW, are you a Red Tory or a Blue Grit?
I don't really blame the electorate for voting for an MP based on the national campaign of the parties. It is clear that through the MSM coverage only a fraction of the voting public researches the biographies, positions and qualifications each individual running for their MP under the party banners would bring to the constituency.
It is clear that the voters of Berthier-Maskinongé made a choice based on the national campaign when they voted. Or perhaps they found reason to vote NDP over and against the individual candidates that canvassed for their support. What is clear, is that Brosseau didn't campaign at all. And that her victory came on the coat tails of a national message. That is fine. We saw how that happened under Mulroney and, I'm sure, under Chretien. And it was equally disappointing as it was then as it is now. What kind of substantial change would it take for the way we select our MPs to more accurately reflect the realities of our national media, political messaging, voter decision-making and information dissemination? Electoral reform. Specifically, MMP. By which Brosseau would be a victim and never elected unless her party and community activities were of substantial merit. Which they were not before she was elected as evidenced in her lack of accurate biographical information (or perhaps, lack of ACCURATE biographical information which needed to be tweaked/doctored/fluffed up).
What was the NDP/LPC reaction to the peek-a-boo campaign of Julian Fantino? Outrage. His election was considered extremely unfortunate that a candidate that didn't debate or engage their opponents or speak publicly could find enough favour (on the back of a national CPC message and the blessing of their leader Stephen Harper).
IN FACT "Dammit Janet" has several posts about Julian's non-campaign and it's suppression of democracy and candidate-constituent engagement such as "Candidate Apathy" on April 20, 2011 and "Left Meets Right. Again." on December 4, 2010. I didn't see much in the comment sections there from you asking the author (and co-blogger) to ease up and stop patronizing the electorate. I won't speculate whether or not we would have seen a different story had Fantino been a successful NDP candidate but the point stands.
Brosseau is fair game. Hiding her in the NDP HQ is fair game. Blaming her inaccurate bio (which was not so much a detriment to her legitimacy in winning because there is no excuse as to why she didn't campaign at all, so the point is pretty moot -- it might as well have said she had been the first woman on Mars for all I care) on "staffers" is too appalling for a party that trumpets a strong grassroots. Vehemently defending the abilities of someone to REPRESENT an EDA who didn't campaign isn't even all that bad -- I'll give her a shot!
But saying we shouldn't question her intentions, qualifications, or the avenues by which she was elected is the HEIGHT of partisanship when it is CRYSTAL CLEAR she was a paper candidate. She's not even a parachuted candidate - the lowliest of political opportunists! And if that is fine with you, then we have nothing else to discuss. If your line of argumentation is "the Liberals did it" or "Fantino was worse" then you're setting a pretty low bar for a party whose unofficial slogan is "Liberal/Tory same old story" and you'll be the one who has to sleep with that on your conscience at night. Not me.
Alas, she "wanted" to be an MP, as indicated by her completed nomination papers (in whole or in part) so she'll have to learn to swim or sink.
Wow, you're really, really good at putting your words into other people's mouths.
Have you considered a career with SunTV Infotainment. You're a natural.
It's not hard to slice and dice the weak defense of an even weaker MP.
I think the distinct element of the Brosseau situation is that she did not even have a "passive campaign". By this I mean she lacks typical credentials, possesses zero connection to the riding, and is not known at all by the electors. There is no reason why anybody in her riding would know anything about her (including her very existence).
People can get elected without actively campaigning. See the long list of incumbents in CPC strongholds (or LPC strongholds back in the 1990s). Or see Julian Fantino. But these people at least possess a profile. They are local figures, likely highly involved in business or commmunity circles, and people know who they are. And if you're an incumbent, you even have a record to fall back on. So even if you don't actively campaign, those who vote for you probably know something relevant about you that goes beyond the party affiliation listed on the ballot. This would be the case with Fantino, a high-profile candidate that a reasonably informed voter in Vaughan would know.
The same argument, however, cannot be made about Brosseau. She was a complete mystery to those who casted their vote for her. (Ok, local NDP members probably had heard of her, but I'm guessing that's an underwhelming group).
This isn't meant to be a judgment on the rightness or wrongness of such candidates. That's not for me to decide.
But I think it is an important difference between the Brosseaus of the world and the Fantinos, and if one were to judge such things this should be considered too.
P.S. I second the suggestion that Dylan should work for Sun News. His program could run after Ezra Levant, and come fully equipped with a rage-metre.
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