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Gutter Politics at its Worst
Adam Daifallah over at www.daifallah.com/blog has drawn my attention to one of the most sickening displays I've seen in politics in some time. And I've seen a lot of them.
The big debate in the Ontario PC Party is whether John Tory should remain as leader or whether there should be a leadership review. Both sides are organizing and trying to win delegates. Ok, that's normal. That's what we do.
One of the people organizing the drive to replace Tory as leader is Dr. Reuben Devlin. Dr. Devlin is a former two-term president of the party, a long-serving member of the executive, and a dedicated volunteer for many years in addition to be a respected doctor and hospital president.
A group of Tory supporters calling themselves Tories 4 Truth have launched a blog in which they make an absolutely unacceptable personal attack on Dr. Devlin because it seems that the hospital of which he is president has a higher mortality rate than other hospitals. Here is a choice excerpt: " Perhaps, if Rueben is going to insist on giving media interviews, he should start by explaining why patients die more frequently at his hospital than at any other in the GTA."
First of all, what the hell does this have to do with whether John Tory should remain leader? Absolutely nothing. Let's even assume that there's any validity to the attack on Dr. Devlin (which I'm not prepared to do). What sort of logic is this? One of the people who supports replacing Tory is president of a hospital with a higher mortality rate than others, ergo, let's discount his criticisms, ergo, John Tory should remain leader?
Secondly, what the hell do these people know? Are they doctors? Hospital administrators? Ph.Ds in public health? Well, we don't know because they chose to make this attack anonymously. But I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume they ahve no idea what the hell they're talking about. Obviously, the board of the hospital is rather happy with Dr. Devlin's performance given that he is still the president of the hospital.
But mostly, this is just an appalling and unnecessary personal attack on a good and decent man. I'm not particularly close to Dr. Devlin nor am I in any way involved in the campaign agaisnt John Tory. But as someone who has been active in conservative politics for a long time, I've gotten to know the man a bit and have found him nothing but honourable. In fact, I've never heard even one person ever say anything negative about the guy. One of the things I like about him is that he is a doctor and not a lobbyist/consultant/pollster/whatever - the group that tends to make up much of our party's teams (yes, your humble narrator included). The fact that he's a doctor with a successful career outside of politics gives him a sense of independence and a freedom to speak his own mind that many don't have precisely because Dr. Devlin's career is NOT dependent on having a good relationship with whoever is in power. Indeed, if you look at who is running the pro-Tory side, it's full of exactly these types (many of whom I know and like).
Now, I'm not one of these people who has a problem with so-called "negative" or "attack" politics. I've even engaged in it from time to time. i rahter enjoy it, in fact. One of the best political media consultants out there and a mentor of mine, Jaime Watt, once said that there are two rules you should follow when launching an attack. The information you present must be factual and it must be relevant. If a Liberal candidate has voted to raise taxes, that's factual and relevant cause it will affect government policy which is what elections are about. If you're a Tory and you an use that information to slit your Liberal opponent's throat and let him bleed to death, I'll be the first one in line to buy you a beer.
But this crossed the line. This was not an attack on a Liberal who deserves to be attacked. It was not an attack based on anything that matters. It was a cowardly, anonymous smear job by people who don't even have the balls to sign their names to it. And it was made against a good man who I'm willing to be has contributed far more to the party than they ever have.
I know John Tory. I think he is a decent and good man. I know several of the people running his campaign to stay leader and have a lot of respect for them. But this is low and they must immediately denounce and distance themselves from this attack. If this is what we can expect for four more years, maybe it is time for new leadership after all.
The big debate in the Ontario PC Party is whether John Tory should remain as leader or whether there should be a leadership review. Both sides are organizing and trying to win delegates. Ok, that's normal. That's what we do.
One of the people organizing the drive to replace Tory as leader is Dr. Reuben Devlin. Dr. Devlin is a former two-term president of the party, a long-serving member of the executive, and a dedicated volunteer for many years in addition to be a respected doctor and hospital president.
A group of Tory supporters calling themselves Tories 4 Truth have launched a blog in which they make an absolutely unacceptable personal attack on Dr. Devlin because it seems that the hospital of which he is president has a higher mortality rate than other hospitals. Here is a choice excerpt: " Perhaps, if Rueben is going to insist on giving media interviews, he should start by explaining why patients die more frequently at his hospital than at any other in the GTA."
First of all, what the hell does this have to do with whether John Tory should remain leader? Absolutely nothing. Let's even assume that there's any validity to the attack on Dr. Devlin (which I'm not prepared to do). What sort of logic is this? One of the people who supports replacing Tory is president of a hospital with a higher mortality rate than others, ergo, let's discount his criticisms, ergo, John Tory should remain leader?
Secondly, what the hell do these people know? Are they doctors? Hospital administrators? Ph.Ds in public health? Well, we don't know because they chose to make this attack anonymously. But I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume they ahve no idea what the hell they're talking about. Obviously, the board of the hospital is rather happy with Dr. Devlin's performance given that he is still the president of the hospital.
But mostly, this is just an appalling and unnecessary personal attack on a good and decent man. I'm not particularly close to Dr. Devlin nor am I in any way involved in the campaign agaisnt John Tory. But as someone who has been active in conservative politics for a long time, I've gotten to know the man a bit and have found him nothing but honourable. In fact, I've never heard even one person ever say anything negative about the guy. One of the things I like about him is that he is a doctor and not a lobbyist/consultant/pollster/whatever - the group that tends to make up much of our party's teams (yes, your humble narrator included). The fact that he's a doctor with a successful career outside of politics gives him a sense of independence and a freedom to speak his own mind that many don't have precisely because Dr. Devlin's career is NOT dependent on having a good relationship with whoever is in power. Indeed, if you look at who is running the pro-Tory side, it's full of exactly these types (many of whom I know and like).
Now, I'm not one of these people who has a problem with so-called "negative" or "attack" politics. I've even engaged in it from time to time. i rahter enjoy it, in fact. One of the best political media consultants out there and a mentor of mine, Jaime Watt, once said that there are two rules you should follow when launching an attack. The information you present must be factual and it must be relevant. If a Liberal candidate has voted to raise taxes, that's factual and relevant cause it will affect government policy which is what elections are about. If you're a Tory and you an use that information to slit your Liberal opponent's throat and let him bleed to death, I'll be the first one in line to buy you a beer.
But this crossed the line. This was not an attack on a Liberal who deserves to be attacked. It was not an attack based on anything that matters. It was a cowardly, anonymous smear job by people who don't even have the balls to sign their names to it. And it was made against a good man who I'm willing to be has contributed far more to the party than they ever have.
I know John Tory. I think he is a decent and good man. I know several of the people running his campaign to stay leader and have a lot of respect for them. But this is low and they must immediately denounce and distance themselves from this attack. If this is what we can expect for four more years, maybe it is time for new leadership after all.
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