The one thing people in Newfoundland can count on is politicians who rattle the cage. From the late Premier Joey Smallwood and others since, we have always expected controversy and salty comments from Island politicians. Ches Crosbie, a St. John’s lawyer, has been in the news lately for being refused the Conservative nomination in Avalon riding by Prime Minister Harper. What makes matters worse was that Ches was the only volunteer who wanted the nomination there.
But you have to remember that Ches is the son of John Crosbie, the irascible former Finance Minister in the short-lived Joe Clark cabinet in 1979 and then he held various portfolios in the Brian Mulroney cabinet through the 1980s. And anyone who enjoys exploring Newfoundland history will know that Ches is named after his grandfather Chesley Crosbie who defied Joey Smallwood in his move to join Canada and instead promoted free trade with the United States.
It is obvious that Ches comes by his conservatism, his love of Newfoundland and being outspoken quite naturally. Mind you, after seeing a video of the performance he did that annoyed Stephen Harper, he is best advised to stay out of politics, give up a hopeless stage career and stick to law.
What he did not realize when he did that silly send up of the prime minister in a very bad version of King Lear is that Shakespeare might have forgiven him but Stephen Harper has no sense of humour.
And we can assure Ches that we know whereof we write. This blog believes firmly in telling it as it is and that can also cause trouble. And there are many Liberal Party members who can be just as narrow-minded and unforgiving as Conservatives. Several years ago we had a call from the Barrie riding president at the time and he said that though he did not have the time to read blogs, he had been told of some of the things discussed in Babel-on-the-Bay. He did not approve. While we had never heard of anyone being cashiered from the Liberal Party, we chose to resign from that executive.
With the riding now split in two for the coming election, we could have become more involved in our riding and less able to continue our daily commentaries. Luckily, neither Barrie candidate needs such a noose around their neck. Being a has-been has its advantages. While we have access to some aspects of the campaigns nothing has impressed us yet but the very positive attitudes. Despite the gerrymandered redistribution, the Tories just might have fouled the nest here in Barrie.
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Copyright 2015 © Peter Lowry
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