LPCQ Nation Resolution: not supported by Quebec membership...no matter what those who sleep in Iggy's underwear drawer have to say.

I have heard the spin at all levels and from people who represent all walks of life:

Antonio at Fuddle Duddle, a blogger and advocate of Michael Ignatieff, reassured all Liberals and bloggers last week that the process used to choose policy resolutions from Quebec to be voted on at convention, including the Nation resolution, was fair.

Ok then. I am sorry I questioned the process Antonio.

Chantal Hébert, a journalist for the Toronto Star based in Quebec says the Nation resolution is obviously reflective of the Quebec membership because it passed.

Of course, all decisions reached democratically are 100% pure and beyond reproach? Sorry Chantal.

Former astronaut, Quebec Liberal candidate in the last election and renewal commission chair, Marc Garneau, said today on Question Period that he expects the nation resolution to pass at convention because the commission he was a part of listened to Quebec Liberals and passed what they wanted via a fair and transparent process.

I guess it was because you say it was, right Marc?

Well not quite. I was there in June in Montreal when grassroots Liberals went to the mike in front of Mr. Garneau, Ms. Garceau and others on that commission. The period for deliberation was extremely short, people and topics were cut off throughout the “so called” consultation. Those who vehemently argued against the commission’s choice to exclude resolutions passed previously last November from the convention process were ignored.

How can Marc Garneau make such claims? What does Mr. Garneau think fair process is all about? Is this spin or a lack of experience?

There is a movement in Quebec, a backlash that could boil over. If so, I expect Mr. Garneau could be made to eat his words from this morning.

A basic lesson in policy making ... the optics of consultation is not what democracy is all about. Optics and claims of openness and transparency certainly do not make for good policy or pure policy outputs reflective of one’s membership, in spite of broad claims to the contrary.

As for Ms Hébert, I used to listen to what she had to say until it became apparent that she is either so indoctrinated by the Iggy nation that she is unwilling to acknowledge that the “fix” was in, or that she has lost the objectivity that is necessary for journalism to have any credibility.

She is aware that the LPCQ has a long history of pressuring highly organised parts of the membership to vote in a certain way. She was there and I cannot believe she continues to neglect the fact that the voting room stacked with Iggy supporters and that this resolution is reflective of the political preferences of a few who support Iggy. For those of you who watched on television, these are the same “members” who in an organised and strategic way in poor taste booed Stéphane Dion in his own province.

As for Antonio, I would like to know more about what you and the other Iggys at LPCQ think is fair process and what is not. At some point someone is going to have to admit that the process used to select the nation resolution was ‘controlled’.

Ignoring the backlash amongst the majority of Quebec Liberals will not make this go away. These are not by the way those Liberals who are controlled by the executive or those who are not blindly supportive of Iggy and the mistakes he has made along the way.

Let’s just face it. Iggy got drawn in by the soft nationalist media in Quebec and the Bloc Quebecois to make a comment on the Nation question early in this race. This was not smart but how would he have known to this extent given that he has lived outside the country for our entire modern history?

Rather than retracting it when it would not fit under the carpet, Iggy’s people have tried to use flippant remark to his political advantage by trying to force this resolution down the throats of Liberals through fear of a Quebec backlash. I guess they expected at least one or two of the other leadership candidates to follow. Who would have thought none would do so and that Iggy would be stranded on an island by this issue?

What should collectively interested Liberals do given that this could tear the party open again? One option is to do nothing and to just let this divide the party, as many sane onlookers can see is now happening. The other is to let Iggy save face by other Liberals quietly and gracefully allowing this time bomb to slip off the agenda before convention.

Let’s put down our advocacy for a second and let Iggy 'save face' by pulling the resolution now for the sake of the Liberal Party, Quebec and Canada, please.