I cannot find an article to refer to it at the moment, but I'm sure it will show up soon. I heard the story on the radio.Apparently Helena Guergis, (Secretary of State Foreign Affairs and International Trade) (Sport) , in a pitched moment commenting on Dion's tour of Afghanistan stated where he'd be visiting next.
Think about that for a moment. She is telling all and sundry where the leader of the opposition to this, our government, is going on his next flight.
Can you say irresponsible? What an idiot. She compromised Dion's security. As the right is all too ready to tell us, don't you think the Taliban are listening/watching?
While you may not care about Dion, (though I think few of you would wish him dead), you must care about the troops in this case. She put them at risk too in a big way.
Foolish inexperience. Man, I kind of understand why Harper yanks such a tight leash. He has no one in that group that knows what it is to be government. Their focus is partisanship. That's it that's all. The interest of the country? They don't get it.
Guergis is shrill, vindictive and dangerous. I presume you put her out there because she's a women, pretty in your terms and that is what you want to present.
You forget that most Canadians care more about what you say and stand for, than how you look.
Update here.
15 comments:
incredibly stupid but yet not surprising by Helena Guergis. Remember, she's the one who said one day she would introduce legislation to prevent floor crossing and the next day became Parliamentary Secretary to one (Emerson). I notice she doesn't mention how many times Stephen Harper went to visit the troops while he was Opposition Leader for three years... that's probably because he didn't.
http://www.cjad.com/news/56/648825
has the entire Guergis statement
You don't think Guergis' thought of that quote herself, do you? Oh, she could have, but with the control freak working the pulleys all day and night, you gotta believe that Harper put his thumb up for this one.
Crafty, crazy and totally irresponsible. As you noted, not only would Dion be at risk, but the extra threat would have been with the troops as well.
It is in today's G&M.
"Almost immediately that same evening, Ms. Guergis shot back in a message circulated to reporters. "The irony of Dion and Ignatieff being in a war zone and being protected by the same troops who protect Afghan women and children is palpable," she said. "I think he should apologize to our troops while he is touring the PRT in safety."
Not only is it incredibly stupid from a security point of view .. it is as politically inept as Harper calling Dion a Taliban sympathizer - and from the same putrid well.
Pure George Bush
Lets hope some of the biased-left-wing-media can stop worshipping Harper for a few minutes to harp on this one. ;-)
By the way ... last year Peter Mansbridge beat up on Dion pretty badly for not having been to Afghanistan. As if a photo opp was a meaningful way to asses a war situation.
And it was a good photo opp too - Iggy & Dion looked good together on the road and this should bury Iggy's vote for the extension in Kandahar. (at least as a wedge issue to divide Liberals ... err active Liberals - watch out for that despicable Manley fellow.)
Yes, that was incredibly stupid, especially since she belongs to the party/government whose constant refrain is about how the Taliban/"Islamofascists" out there pay attention to what is said in our media whenever any Opposition MP/leader questions the CPC government about the Afghanistan mission policies and how they are being carried out. Can you imagine the blowback to her and her leader if there is an attack on Dion where she said he was going? This was an incredibly stupid thing to say at the very minimum, yet from this government it is no surprise, which speaks volumes as to just how incompetent and incapable to operate as a government these folks truly are.
After all, if you think government that governs best governs least you aren't going to have much of an appreciation of the positive aspects of government for the citizenry nor are you likely to be terribly competent in actually running a government. That is one of the main reasons why I think we've seen such broad ranging incompetence from the supposed A list of the Harper cabinet from the outset.
Ironically enough though your post headline is also an argument for HC over Obama in the USA given just how messed up they are domestically from the economy to their legal/judicial elements to foreign affairs with their incredibly damaged international reputation and the massive damage done to their traditional alliances. Indeed, it is one of the reasons as an outside observer of US politics I would be more comfortable with a HC Presidency than an Obama one despite his clearly uplifting rhetoric and ability to charm (although I am inherently distrustful of cults of personality, which I am afraid to have to say is what I see driving a lot of the Obama wave to date) people not traditionally Democratic party supporters. That said I'll take any of the Dem choices over any of the GOP ones, the worst the Dems have to offer this year are still far more competent IMHO than anyone from the GOP side, especially in terms of being willing to unravel the several Gordian knots Bushco has created for America. I just found that an interesting side comment because of your title, hope you didn't mind.
Helena Guergis should change her name to Helena Gorgeous.
Man o man is she ever good looking.
Anon @11:12 I'd forgotten about that.
Anon @12:24 thanks for the link.
Burl, I have no doubt that she was instructed to mock the visit, but every time I see/hear this woman, she blurts out some foolish statement.
I just think she's one of Harper's most deeply inculcated sheep.
ron, I remember that Mansbridge interview. Contrast that with his interviews with Harper.
Well said Scotian. Indeed it would be a fitting descriptor for the Dem race.
I'm with you on the choices. At the moment it would be HC for me, but any of them are better than the fear mongerers and flat earthers on the GOP side.
Ladies and gentleman, the mentality that brought us Stephen Harper perhaps?
Steve Sorge said...
Helena Guergis should change her name to Helena Gorgeous.
Man o man is she ever good looking.
When Abbott and Costello go to War.The Taliban does not kill the useful idiots.
scotian:
The Conservatives state the Taliban is paying attention to what the Opposition says but they do not worry about the Taliban listening to themselves.
The reason is simple. The Conservatives realize that the only people who take them seriously is their own base. Everybody else ignores them or takes them for the wingnuts they are.
So, Mr. Dion and Mr. Ignatieff were never in any danger. :-)
knb:
It has been interesting to see the three days of reasonably positive coverage of their visit. As well, Mr. Dion has been doing a good job of articulating the Liberal position and with the increased coverage engendered by their being in Afghanistan it might actually be getting through to Canadians.
The Liberal position is the one most supported by Canadians and hopefully these past couple of days will help Canadians realize that.
You had to know that the Conservatives would pour scorn on their visit. My surprise is they left it to Ms. Guergis. I think the Conservatives have made a mistake and underestimated the potential impact of this visit. That is why they gave a lightweight the job of dumping all over it. And in the process they made they took away from their own message by their ham-fisted way of doing so.
It still boggles my mind that this band of political amateurs managed to win an election.
"You had to know that the Conservatives would pour scorn on their visit. My surprise is they left it to Ms. Guergis."
I am not surprised. I suspect they were hoping the visit would not garner much positive attention. If Harper commented, one way or another, it would have been reported on. My guess is they figured if a minor member of the government commented the media would take that as a sign Dion's visit was not worth extensive coverage. If so, it backfired.
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