And here is what The Tyee writes:
...certain Liberal pundits who evidently didn’t get the sunny-feminist-ways memo have been indulging in character assassination, running a whisper campaign that Wilson-Raybould is not a team player, is difficult — one even said on the CBC that she is reputed to be incompetent. This feels very familiar to many women across the country, now rolling their eyes, recognizing this for the stereotypical cheap shots against women who beg to differ.
Ah, the politics of symbolism. Perhaps Trudeau et al. forgot that the MP for Vancouver- Granville is a powerful political and professional actor in her own right. She has a heritage of illustrious politicians in the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation. She has served as Crown Prosecutor in British Columbia, as a Treaty Commissioner, and as Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, places where competence and political acumen are valued. Her public contributions are likely far from over. She is not someone to be messed with and she’s nobody’s trophy.
Hmm. I'm not willing to give someone a free pass for competence simply on the basis of gender. It would go against my three score and ten year life experience watching human beings operate. But that's the general, not the particular.
ReplyDeleteI heard JWR's father on CBC Radio today, and he's obviously proud of his daughter and quite rightly so. She wanted to be PM from the age of 7.
I have to agree to a certain degree with Trudeau that if JWR felt pressure last fall on the SNC-L file, she should have blown the whistle or resigned then.
But status is a strong thing for those who crave it, and politics is a dirty business. So it wasn't till she was demoted from being chief lawyer of the land that the dam of resentment burst. It's only my opinion, but I believe the status of being AG was more important to her ambitions and feelings of self-worth than doing the right thing about SNC-L. When the back room boys gave her Veteran Affairs as a "reward" for whatever slights they imagined she had inflicted on them, while claiming it was all because Brison resigned, a bullshite excuse of the first degree, well, that's when the brown stuff hit the fan, not because of integrity, but pure personal annoyance and a desire for revenge.
I am a cynical man, so I believe JWR is issuing payback to those PMO staffers and thence to the perpetually befuddled and bewildered Twinkletoes, our selfie PM. JT apparently can't work out that other people are incredibly ambitious too, and is obviously incapable of detecting body language/actions. He sails through life like a tweety bird, oblivious.
Cynically, I tend to think this client privilege non-speaking position is part of the scheme to divert attention from the fact that the Bill backdating corporate malfeasance penalties was inserted in the budget and she raised, so far as is known, no objection.
So this is a personal thing, not a political matter in my view. Feel free to disagree, but I've met a few deeply calculating persons in my life. And if you effectively publicly demote them, expect fireworks. Gender or First Nations heritage has nothing to do with it, red herrings at best.
Neither the fate of the party or JT or anything else much matters to JWR now, I would speculate. She's out to get those who done her wrong. As I said, I'm a cynical SOB.
BM
Your analysis may very well be accurate, BM. I did also wonder why she didn't initially resign as a matter of principle, but the other possibility that occurred to me was she felt too much was at stake. Perhaps as the first Indigenous woman to rise to such prominence in federal politics, she felt an obligation to try to remain so as to make the path easier for those who follow. Obviously, if that was the case, it no longer is.
DeleteJust a few days ago I thought that Trudeau would win then retire after another two years ( third terms are tough to win ). JWR was a top candidate for the job. No longer.
ReplyDeleteStrange how political fortunes can be so fickle, rumleyfips.
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