Angry in the Great White North

The Toronto Star reports on Mark Persaud's defection to the Conservative Party:

The second defection of a former high-ranking Liberal to the Conservative party in less than a week illustrates that the Tories are winning over ethnic voters across Canada, and particularly in the Toronto area, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.

Harper told a crowd of party faithful that the support of former Mississauga-Streetsville Liberal MP Wajid Khan and now of Mark Persaud, a former chair of the federal Liberal party's multiculturalism committee, shows people are realizing the "failure of the Liberals to match talk with action" when it comes to new Canadians.

"There's a place for everyone within the new Conservative Party of Canada," Harper said. "The news is getting out and the party is continuing to grow."

Persaud is not too happy with the Liberal Party, even under the new leader, Stephane Dion:

Persaud, standing on the stage with Harper, Khan and Jason Kenney, the secretary of state for multiculturalism, said he was at first reluctant to speak publicly, but then launched into a tirade against the Liberals.

Persaud said the Liberals have taken a "pedestrian approach" to multiculturalism and shown "disrespect and glaring contempt" for ethnic Canadians.

Like Khan, who announced his jump to the Tories last Friday, Persaud said, "I, too, have wasted over a decade supporting a Liberal party that is ideologically bankrupt, and one that has kept failing Canadians."

Wasted a decade? But isn't the Liberal Party being renewed? If you've wasted ten years, what is another six months or so to see how successful Stephane Dion is at renewing the party? Why throw away such an investment of time and energy, all those contacts, all that goodwill?

Unless you have no confidence that the Liberal Party is going to be any different a year from now.

Of course, this implicit vote of non-confidence has the Liberals doing what they do best -- blaming the other guy.

Persaud's move is not a signal that the Liberals are in trouble when it comes to minorities. It is not a sign that Stephane Dion needs to work harder are pulling the party together. It is not a sign of any problems whatsoever.

It is confirmation of what the Liberals knew all along, that Persaud was never a proper Liberal. Not only that, he's not even mentally stable:

Mark Persaud is an interesting character. He is so interesting that I think he should appear on every talk show and be interviewed by every reporter in Canada. The Tories have made him out to be a big deal, so they have no right to complain. Have fun!
Jason Cherniak

Persaud is a certifiable idiot. Always was and always will be.
Quebec Liberal (as a comment on Cherniak's blog)

Good riddance. Seriously. Losing him is enjoyble enough, but hoisting him on another party is a dream come true.
Hammering Jow (as a comment on Cherniak's blog)

So just how does this "certifiable idiot" get appointed by the Liberals to one of their standing committees? Jason Cherniak explains:

Why would I post in public that I thought the chair of the multicultural committtee is a nut?

Unfortunately, there are many weird people who are able to hide it when you first meet them.

Oh, I see. Persaud managed to hide his certifiable idiocy. Makes me wonder just how many other senior people in the Liberal Party have managed to hide their deeply flawed characters (their "nuttiness" as Cherniak says), only to reveal them should they leave the Liberal Party.

Because while they are still in the Liberal Party, they act normal.

Actually, makes me wonder just how many Liberal government appointees over the last 13 years were certifiable idiots. How many judges, for instance? How many Crown corporation board members? How many Liberal senators?

Oh God, how many Liberal Party leaders?! Past? Present?

How far up does this go?

I mean, Persaud slipped through the cracks. His leaving was clearly a sign of some sort of mental defect that has always been there, cleverly hidden, but undeniable now that he has turned in his Liberal Party membership card.

Wow, Jason might just be on to something big here. Now if he could just be proactive in ferreting out the nutty Liberal Party idiots and hoisting them all over to the Conservative Party or to the NDP, the Liberal Party could get serious about renewal.

Unless, of course, Jason turns out to be the only one left standing.

I mean, when you think about it, given Persaud's ability to mask his idiocy, Jason could only really be certain about himself, right?

The alternative, of course, is to seriously and maturely consider what drove Persaud to this decision, and discuss just what changes might be needed to fix problems in the Liberal Party. But that's a heck of lot harder to do than calling people names.

On the other hand, maybe Mark Persaud prefered the Conservative take on multiculturalism.