ABACUS POLL CONTAINS CLEAR MESSAGE FOR LIBERALS

In June 2015, as a General Election beckoned, Abacus Data reported that only 3% of those polled perceived Muskrat Falls/electricity as “the most important issue facing NL”. Just 11% expressed concern over the deficit.  

The election gave vent to a public which had watched the P.C. Party languish in a succession of “amateur hours”. They ran the gamut from Dunderdale’s #DarkNL moment to Frank Coleman’s transparently self-serving attempt to become First Minister for all the wrong reasons. 

Tom Marshall left behind a legacy of deficits and not just those related to the Budget. There was the Humber Valley Paving affair and the charade of Muskrat Falls’ oversight.

THE LIBERALS: NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY

Last week, the public saw Premier Paul Davis appoint an unelected female Minister of Public Safety arguing, among others things, the Government suffers a gender deficiency.  

Meanwhile, an intelligent and successful woman, a fine communicator, the MHA for Fortune Bay-Cape La Hune, Tracey Perry is left out of the Davis Cabinet.  She failed to make the list of the Williams, Dunderdale and the Marshall Cabinets, too.  

But the Tories aren’t the only ‘lug heads’ in politics when it comes to promoting women and levelling the scales of gender equality.  The tricks played by the Liberals in the District of Humber East, to discourage Corner Brook businesswoman Donna Thistle from running, do little to give the Party a legitimate claim to enhancing female representation in the House of Assembly. 

It seems Thistle was a cause celeb when the Liberals thought her a sacrificial lamb.  But when Frank Coleman’s departure from the P.C Leadership also removed him from a planned by-election, the Liberals decided they didn't want a political neophyte to challenge the Tories in the District after all. 

MY ABC CAMPAIGN: WHY I CAN’T SUPPORT CATHY BENNETT

The Liberal Party is in the midst of choosing a Candidate who will lead it into the next election.  It is an important choice; the Province badly needs an alternative to the Dunderdale Tories.

The Contest has been a very civilized affair, almost too civil, given how fractious such events can become.  I have been amused from the start that Tory Cathy Bennett was allowed to join the race.  Usually a leadership contender establishes political pedigree well before being allowed to compete for the top spot.  The Liberal Party has decided there is wisdom in the crowd and who can argue.

When I discussed the idea of an ABC Campaign (Anyone But Cathy) with Uncle Gnarley he thought the idea sound.  “Don’t go getting all caught up in big words or sarcasm”, he suggested.  “You are not very good at that stuff.  Just state the facts”, he counselled. “The public aren’t stunned you know.”    I looked at him with a grin and agreed to state my case, straight up. So, here goes.