Angry in the Great White North

It's hard to believe, but some people miss Garth Turner.  I'm not one of them.  Sure, he was good for blogging material, but honestly, I can't justify inflicting him on a riding just to make my blogging easier.

Still, Garth Turner is spoken highly of in some circles.  Check this email from the Halton Federal Liberal Riding Association:

A message from our President

Get Involved Today!

Dear Halton,

While Halton had a disappointing setback in the past election, it is very clear that there is a strong Liberal base in our area. I've received many emails and calls from people upset with the results. Many voiced their concerns that a good number of Liberals simply did not vote, abandoning the riding to the Conservative party. Other people called to volunteer so that this situation doesn't happen again.

Most callers have been fully supportive of the Hon. Garth Turner and the work that he did. Garth was a good MP who delivered as promised. His town hall meetings and open communicative style made him a favourite in Halton and with Canadians from coast to coast. Other callers have shared concerns regarding who is best to represent the Liberals in Halton.

My ambition going forward is to unite all Halton Liberals, so that we can focus as one strong team. Our internal Liberal problems have left Canada in a tough spot when it needs us most. Steven Harper's poor and ineffective leadership will continue to hamper our economy and weaken our environment. Mean spirited Conservative policies have created a very divided country with little hope for growth.

I want our Canada back and I need your help to do it. Please join our team and help make a difference in the Halton area. Get involved today!

Steve Savage
President
Halton Federal Liberal Association

They miss Garth Turner with his creepy man-crush on Stephane Dion, and they're concerned about who Michael Ignatieff is going to be able to recruit to replace him?

If I was one of Michael Ignatieff's people, I'd have Steve Savage on the phone, then on the carpet, telling him in no uncertain terms that the Liberal Party is looking forward, not back, and to exude confidence when talking about Michael Ignatieff's leadership.

Of course, there isn't really much to be confident about.  The polls show the the Liberals really aren't much better than they were under Dion, for what's that worth out of an election period.  And then there are the craven backdowns after the bluster.  That's pure Dion right there:

What's Iggy doing, meanwhile? In keeping with his role as the anti-Dion, or perhaps because it's just his way, he's talking tough. His "probation" remark was the first in a series of statements in which the Liberal leader came off as a granite-jawed gunfighter. A couple of weeks ago Chrysler's threat to pull out of Canada got him all flinty eyed. "I respond very badly to threats."

This week he was at it again, "If the government wants to make Parliament work, we can find a way to make it work. If it doesn't, look out."

This, after meekly signing off on $3 billion in emergency stimulus spending -- effectively carte blanche -- which he'd previously vowed not to do. That was another dramatic flourish. "I am not writing a blank cheque on $3 billion" was what he said three weeks back. "No Canadian would respect me if I did." Hmm.

Maybe Steve Savage has a point after all.

But I think Savage is missing something very important.  Imagine for a moment that the Liberals under Stephane Dion were in power now, and Garth Turner was a sitting member of parliament.  Stop shaking - it's just a thought exercise.  Realistically, the economic news would be exactly the same.  There is inertia behind these events.  A government just coming into power can't hope to change things for months.  The immediate future is as immutable as the past.

So Garth Turner would be meeting Liberal MPs in caucus and telling them what?  Great recipes for squirrel?  This is a taste of the advice he's giving now that that he's not an MP:

6. Live somewhere you can plant a garden. Growing food in a depression is a no-brainer, giving you excellent nutrition at the right price. Get seeds now. Horde them.

7. Get cash and store it safely in a safe.

8. Get a weapon and learn to hunt. In the last Depression, deer and squirrels almost became extinct. Think about it.

Think about this.  If Steve Savage had his way, this man would be in parliament spreading his poison.  Or perhaps worse, he'd be keeping a tight lip, saying all the right things, but secretly thinking that we're about to be forced to hunt for our own food.  Garth Turner had a reputation for blunt honesty.  But this blunt?

And if he did post these thoughts, but as an MP instead of as a private citizen, would Stephane Dion have kept him in caucus?  Would Steve Savage have wanted him in the Liberal caucus?

On the other hand, if you are a supporter of Garth Turner, and you think he would be thinking differently today had he been elected, then explain why.  The Liberals got their stimulus budget (much to their chagrin).  Today's economic news would be the same no matter who is prime minister...not enough time has passed for a government to seriously start influencing events (though the actions of the past few weeks will start to impact the situation in the coming months and beyond).

I don't think Steve Savage and these Garth Turner boosters have thought this through.  Do they really think Halton would have been better served by this neo-survivalist as their MP?  Imagine the inconvenience of meeting him in his constituency office, now a bunker out in the woods.

On the other hand: All this survivalist claptrap could be just sensationalist talk to sell books and drum up speaking engagements.  I don't want to raise questions of honesty, though.  Let's just call it showmanship.

Not everyone is happy to hear about Garth Turner:  In a response to Steve Savage's letter, a group of Halton Liberals sent out this letter (I apologize for the spelling, punctuation, and grammar, but this is as I received it, and I'm reproducing it here as is except for one word for which I've added what I think was the intended word):

Liberal Party of Canada (Ontario) March 21, 2009
10 Mary Street, Suite 205
Toronto, ON
M4Y 1P9

Hon. Judi Longfield
Executive Director

Mr.Mike Crawley President

Golden Horseshoe Region

Mr.Peter Duffus President

Dear, Fellow Liberal's

We live in the riding of Halton.

Halton has been a strong Liberal riding for years and the people are becoming more and more frustrated by the local Liberal riding association's antics.

Over the last several weeks our local association held two so called Town Hall events. March 4 th in Oakville at Kings Arms pub and another in Milton March 11 th at the Ivy Arms Pub both venues were totally improper to conduct such an event by a Liberal riding association.

Both meetings were a Garth Turner love in .The former Campaign manager of Mr. Turner Esther Shaye who embraced [ed, embarrassed] the entire Region of Halton on National T.V. about staging a false door-to-door Campaign with her son in Oakville during Mr. Turners Campaign was once again is trying to fool the public in believing that Turner was the man to win the riding.

Halton Liberal residents want to win back our riding. We need new blood not a Liability nor for the Liberal Party of Canada. The residents of Halton are looking for new blood not someone like the urban Cowboy Turner A public announcement by the President Mr Steve Savage of the Halton riding association has left Liberals at a loss for words in Halton.Why would anyone support someone who has the baggage that Mr. Turner has. On a final note I found out today that the Liberal Riding Association will endorse Turner's new book Launch in April ( Sheeple) Cancus Confidential in Stephen Harper's Ottawa. Again residents do not want to hear anything about cheap shots against a Prime Minister. They want action on Jobs and our local economy before mudslinging actions. Perhaps Mr Turner should focus all his energy on finding Halton resident's jobs rather than trying to be Cesar.

Respectfully Submitted by

Halton Liberals

Steve Savage didn't say he wanted Garth Turner back in so many words, but even a hint of that is enough to make these Liberals apoplectic. 

And since when do riding associations endorse books?  Does the Liberal Party at the national level know about this?  Has anyone read an advance copy to be certain that this doesn't turn into another embarrassment for the Liberal Party?