That didn't last long. The Green Party has severed its ties to Warren Kinsella. Susan Delacourt reports that:
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May has wound down a controversial working relationship with former Liberal strategist Warren Kinsella, saying, “He’s finished whatever work he was doing with us.”
The limited-run arrangement, which seems to have involved Kinsella setting up a quick-response unit for the Greens, had drawn huge criticism inside and outside Green Party ranks.
At issue was whether May could be serious about elevating the tone of politics while simultaneously throwing in her lot with a pundit/strategist more famous for burning bridges than building them — or, as Kinsella himself boasts in the biography on his blog, who “can be useful in a stick-swinging, bench-clearing brawl.”
May has a reputation as a truth teller. Kinsella is known as a bridge burner. The two reputations were at odds:
Is that the end of it then? Perhaps, with regard to that particular campaign operative, but May is going to be asked again and again in the coming election how much she is willing to compromise her principles for practical politics. That’s really what this controversy was about.
It’s an age-old story in politics, in Canada and beyond: the closer you get to power or influence, the more you have to play the game, no matter how much you insist you won’t. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he of the sunny ways and promises of sweeping electoral reform in 2015, is going to face a lot of similar questions as he campaigns for re-election.
She said to me this week that she remains sure she won’t be drawn into the dark side, that she won’t run attack ads or even fall back into the rote habit of repeating talking points.
She reminded me that to “tell the truth all the time” was her first promise on taking up the Green leadership 13 years ago.
“That’s still my goal. I’ve not changed,” she said. But she admits that telling the truth can sometimes make things awkward for her team, especially when listeners or her rivals add their own spin to her replies. It’s happening a lot more now in 2019 than it did in any of the previous three elections in which she’s run as leader.
So there you have it. Will Elizabeth be corrupted by our political system? Stay tuned.
Image: The Hill Times
12 comments:
It seems almost impossible to remain uncorrupted when closely involved in the political theater we call an election but I do hope May remains steadfast in her desire to do so Owen. Her brief association with that attack dog called Warren was the worst move I have ever seen her make, good riddance!
I agree, Rural. Her alliance with Kinsella was disheartening. In politics, it's easy to sell your soul.
I'm sure there were hundreds of Green Party faithful outraged when WK's hiring was announced. The membership is a progressive lot, generally well to the left of Elizabeth May who remains somewhat rooted in her Progressive Conservative origins. Her will has been tested before when the party membership passed some resolution on Israel/Palestine that she rejected. She threatened to quit but the membership didn't budge and so, for the benefit of both, May backed down.
I don't know who opened the door to Kinsella initially. Kinsella and his wife were quick to ingratiate themselves with Wilson-Raybould and Philpotts. May apparently invited both of them to join the Greens. Perhaps that had something to do with it. Kinsella even toyed with the idea of running for election as a Green. That must have sent Greens scrambling for their blood pressure monitors.
It occurred to me in recent weeks that the deal might be souring. The party had assured us it would keep Kinsella on a short leash and muzzled. His only role would be to "defend" May from her rivals, not to lead some Green attack on Trudeau, Scheer and Singh. That seemed incongruous. What, after all, are Kinsella's greatest talents if not the very attributes the Greens said they would disavow?
Perhaps it finally donned on May that Kinsella's utility was outweighed by his proclivity to claim credit in success and to blame others, sometimes even the candidate, in the face of failure. Olivia Chow and Michael Ignatieff come to mind.
As for the future of the Greens and Elizabeth May, we'll have to wait for the end of October to figure out where they're heading whether together or otherwise. She really has worked tirelessly for her party since she came aboard. She transformed it into a political force but, like most of us, she's no spring chicken.
She sold her soul when she joined Pierre and Nathan in the SNCL teapot. No more green for me until she takes her pension.
I've always had the feeling that if May had to stand alone, Mound, she would. But I'm glad she decided that Kinsella was not worth that kind of effort.
Your take on May is interesting, rumley. There are commentors on this site who have placed their hope in May. We'll have to see if her association with Kinsella has dampened those hopes.
I never saw any sign that Rumley was leaning Green. I'm always took him for a staunch Liberal supporter.
It sounds like he's stopped leaning, Mound.
.. I never bought into the Kinsella 'contraversy' .. instead I followed 3 very strong aspects. He and Lisa stuck their necks out and their childrens to legally go to the wall again a 'community newspaper' that was chock full of hate, & racism & misogeny - Beaches - East York - Toronto.
They also are totally, very strong committed parents.. in the community and elsewhere
They also stood up for Dr Jane Philpott, and Ms Wilson-Reybould in the face of truly dim partisan whining, shrieking & insult & even worse (see Montreal Simon's commenters among so many others)
Yes yes.. They run a PR firm, they do damage control, they are not Hamish Marshall.. and have never worked with Jason Kenney or Andrew Scheer as far as I know. They are not Nick Kouvalis or Jenni Byrne or Arthur Hamilton. They are bright folks.. plugged in .. Dirty Tricks ? Robo crapola, micro targetting.. they know it when they see it.. expect it.. the Cambridge Analytical kind of stuff.. Ms May might have garnered more votes by standing fast' & telling people to 'piss up a rope' or any other fearless - fuddle duddle non poll related strategy.. anything to not resemble the Hamish and Scheer laughable daily media whoring whine & griind beacuse they have way more donor money
Kinsella knows about the "dark arts," sal. What bothers me is that, if we employ them, things will not change. Perhaps I'm simply naive.
Salamander, in my opinion, Kinsella didn't so much stand with JWR and JP but rather stood opposite Trudeau. Kinsella dislikes Trudeau in a big way, from what I can determine, so it wasn't so much that he supported JWR and JP, but rather opposed Trudeau, You are correct he did do some very good work on that racist rag and he is to be commended.
Now back to May. May, has lost her way. Not only did she hire Kinsella, it was reported she announced she would support the Conservatives, if they agreed to some of the Green policies. OMG, she would support the Conservatives, with their racist followers and Scheer hanging out with some well known alt rights, hanging with Ford, his campaign manager is Hamish Marshall who worked with Ezra Levant on the Rebel. Ms. May has lost her way. I used to think she stood alone in Parliament with her principles, but it may be that she is now willing to stand with any one who will help her advance her politics. I used to think of the Greens as an alternative. No more. They don't exist for me, on the ballot and I won't be advising some who don't like other parties to give the Greens a try. Elizabeth May and the Greens are just another political party in Canada and that still leaves me with the NDP.
It's intersting to hear this push back against May, e.a.f. I admit I hadn't heard much opposition to her until now.
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