Elizabeth May is well on her way to repeating the mistakes of history. ----- Elizabeth May’s latest misstep Oct. 18, 2013 ... National Post Editorial Board Green party leader Elizabeth May holds a press conference in Ottawa on Feb. 12. Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press Though parties identifying themselves as “Green” have achieved some political success in Europe, the Green Party of Canada has largely fizzled. It has staked itself out as the party of conspiracy theorists and anti-science wingnuts, all under the watchful gaze of its leader and sole MP, Elizabeth May. Since becoming party leader in 2006, through hard work and determination, Ms. May has elevated her status as a household name far beyond what her electoral success should have warranted. She also won the party’s first seat in 2011. These are admitted accomplishments. But Ms. May has not held herself to the standard that Canadians should expect from a federal party leader. If the Greens are largely a spent force today, Ms. May’s leadership must be considered the primary reason why. Ms. May’s latest misstep came during Wednesday’s Throne Speech. The Governor-General had just announced the government’s intention to build a “Memorial to the Victims of Communism, to remember the millions who suffered under tyranny,” when Ms. May tweeted: “No mention of monument to victims of capitalism. :)” Ms. May was quickly barraged with criticism online, including from Cabinet minister Jason Kenney, who responded: “Perhaps that’s because no one was shot in the back while risking their lives to flee eastward over the Iron Curtain.” Indeed. Virtually every communist state in history has engaged in some form of systematic, state-run persecution. Such measures are necessary to maintain a system of government that squashes the dreams and aspirations of the people. Although it’s hard to know exactly how many have died under the rule of communist regimes, a researcher at the University of Hawaii estimated the number at over 100 million. Reached by the National Post on Thursday, Ms. May described the tweet as “satirical.” “I [question] this relentless process of building monuments. There are a lot of victims of a lot of ‘isms,’” Ms. May told the Post. “Are we going to build monuments to all of them?” This seems a rather cavalier defence of a comment — satirical or otherwise — made after the government of Canada announced that it was seeking to memorialize millions upon millions of deaths. We doubt her response would have been the same had the proposed memorial sought to honour victims of the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide or First Nations harmed by European colonialism. Ms. May is, of course, human, and we all say things in haste that we may later regret. But Ms. May, and her party, make a habit of such missteps. Ms. May has, at least twice in the past, tweeted about the purported dangers of Wi-Fi networks — a claim for which there is virtually no credible evidence, and much evidence to the contrary. In its 2011 election platform, the party pledged to “Expand health-care coverage to include qualified complementary/alternative health professionals such as naturopaths, acupuncturists, homeopaths, licenced massage therapists, chiropractors and dietitians,” even though there is scant evidence for the effectiveness of many naturopathic and homeopathic practices. Nor are the Green party’s fringe theories limited to science and medicine — some Green party members were responsible for organizing a conference in support of Iran’s tyrannical regime back in 2010. One of the organizers went on record claiming that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in Washington and New York were an inside job. Ms. May herself, meanwhile, spent weeks last year ominously warning Canadians that our government was selling out the country by signing a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with China. She tweeted out such alarmist statements as “18 days til we lose Canada” and “our survival as a country is at stake.” (Update: We’re still here.) Canada’s Greens have generally kept their platform vague. This is one reason why the party has become all things to all people, making it the natural home for citizens looking to cast their ballot against the political status quo. Ahead of the 2011 election, when the Greens had not yet managed to elect a single member of Parliament, the media and polling firms largely treated the Greens as a serious federal contender. The party was included in the opinion surveys, and Ms. May took part in the debates with the other federal leaders in 2008. While Ms. May’s election to a seat in the House was considered a victory by supporters, in fact, the election was a major setback for the Greens, who lost almost 360,000 votes and nearly 3% of the popular vote, compared to their previous showing in 2008. The party has shown little sign of upward movement since. And we all know why. Ms. May is an accomplished self-promoter. But as a serious federal leader of a party seeking more credibility, she leaves much to be desired. fullcomment.nationalpost/2013/10/18/national-post-editorial-board-elizabeth-mays-latest-misstep =====
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 05:37:56 +0000
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