Thursday, January 26, 2006

McKenna: Best Grit Leader the NDP Could Ask For

This is not a great start. From Simon Pole:
In 1994, Frank McKenna promised Henry Morgentaler the "Fight of His Life" if he tried to open an abortion clinic in New Brunswick. That's right, the front-runner for the Liberal leadership is a pro-lifer who denies women the right to choose.
Boy, it's a good thing the Liberal leadership didn't spend the last two months posing as the defenders of a woman's right to choose, huh?

Before reading the following, I'll say this: A clear, unambiguous statement on behalf of a woman's right to choose - despite his previous acts and beliefs - might make McKenna more palatable to me. Otherwise, the following applies:

Not that I really care if the Liberals succeed or not, but if the Liberals think they can win by moving right, they're screwed. It's like they learned exactly the wrong lesson from Monday night.

On the other hand, I expect any Liberals who consider themselves truly progressive to vote against McKenna. Either that, or be prepared to buy a plane ticket to somewhere when your wife/girlfriend/lover/self gets pregnant. Because don't count on abortion being available down south for long. If you're a Liberal who's willing to support McKenna, then just shut up and start voting for Harper already.

Yes, abortion should be a make or break issue for any progressive. Either women have the right to their own bodies, or they don't. Simple as that. This argument is over, and it has been in Canada for fifteen merciful years. We cannot let the conservatives of any party reopen this debate.

On the other hand, maybe the Liberals can run as the anti-woman, anti-queer party, and the NDP can sweep the entire left end of the spectrum. Yay for us!

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