Mr. Dion Goes to Ottawa
This is a precis of Red Tory’s blog from today. He notes that the Liberal leadership convention was followed by the movie "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" – the story of an honest, decent man appointed to fill a vacancy in the US Senate whose idealistic plans soon collide with the "grubby reality of political corruption."
"Dion is a decent, sincere man of integrity and conviction…..a staunch defender of federalism and an ardent proponent of what he refers to as the "three pillar" approach – social justice, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.
According to the NDP, Dion "is an out of touch academic who spent 10 years in a scandal-ridden cabinet."
The Conservatives level a similar charge…claiming…that "He’s one of those … Cabinet ministers from Quebec who sat through the sponsorship scandal and claimed not to know a thing that went on while millions of dollars were stolen." Other charges include…the usual ridiculous allegation that he can’t speak English.
As I said yesterday, I think Dion presents a bit of a puzzlement to his would-be critics. It seems to me that getting the sponsorship scandal to stick to Dion will be extremely difficult given the charge is utterly baseless.
His passionate engagement with the environment portfolio, …(puts him)…light-years ahead of the Conservative’s laughable Clean Air Act that forestalls solutions almost indefinitely and obfuscates the problem of greenhouse gas emissions in favour of continued, unrestrained exploitation of fossil fuels.
Will Dion have a problem in western Canada? Perhaps.
A challenge to make any significant progress most certainly, but we’re far from being close-minded out here, especially on the "left coast" of British Columbia.
His messages of environmentalism and federalism both resonate well here.
Quebec is another matter.
While there may be some lingering hostility from the "pure laine" (hardcore nationalists) crowd, he still has the advantage of being a native son.
Critics who casually write off Dion do so at their peril.
He proved himself to be, as some pundits aptly described him, "the little engine that could." Dion is a tenacious fighter and a man of principle.
As Jefferson Smith ("Mr. Smith Goes To Washington) said, "Great principles don’t get lost once they come to light. They’re right here; you just have to see them again!"
