Revolutionary Moderation

Welcome aboard?



You know I'm not much for the autobiographical information here, but I have to come clean about something before I dare comment on today's relevant story.



In the spring and summer of 1990, while my politics were still somewhat more malleable, I was caught up in the excitement of the Liberal leadership race, culminating in a convention in Calgary the same weekend that Meech Lake Accord died. I was caught up enough that as soon as Lloyd Axworthy (my first choice) elected not to run, I was finding someone in the Sheila Copps campaign to volunteer to.



I wasn't a delegate to the convention, but I worked like crazy nonetheless. In some small way, I helped her try to convince six thousand delegates that were already elected on Chretien slates, that she had no chance of converting. And ultimately, as a non-delegate, I was selected to scrutineer, so I knew Chretien had won the thing about five hours before the Liberal party elected to tell the world. Played some euchre, yes I did, squirrled away in the dingy backrooms of the Saddledome. I digress.



It wasn't long after the convention that I first bought an NDP membership, and I haven't felt quite so disillusioned since. Chretien's first term convinced me I made the right decision.



All this is by way of saying that if Sheila Copps decides to follow a path I forged for her a decade ago, she's more than welcome. What fun it would be to doorknock with Sheila one weekend, and Ed Broadbent the next.



Looking around, Bow suggests a Shiela-walk would signal a new political dichotomy in Canada, as Martin shifts right and squeezes out the Conservative Party. Jim Elve suggests that Warren Kinsella may also want to weigh his options. More links as they pop up - I suspect this'll be a favourite topic of conjecture for a few days.