16 Comments

This is hard for me because, on one hand, I very strongly sympathize with the Palestinian cause. (For the record, I despise Hamas and believe they have grievously harmed the Palestinian cause, besides committing unforgivable atrocities.) On the other hand you elucidate so very well my primary issue with the present NDP - their perennial refusal to get real in order to get elected in order to do the good they theoretically envision.

You are doing a good job here and I really appreciate your work.

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This column is very useful for helping me figure out the difference between rhetoric about social justice and progress toward social justice. Thank you!

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well said ! My response to Evan & his article the same.. though I added ‘bravely said’ to it

ie the opposite of say nothing - do nothing.. aptly summarizing the current NDP - in my view

The Salamander Horde is CLEARLY a multimedia gallery & a Political / Religious FreeZone

& not a ‘No-Man Zone’ - I have other ‘outposts’ to opine & tilt at, ponder & fight the fights ..

that I BELIEVE MUST BE WON.. I’m ‘a guest here’ .. respondent to Evan as well as his other guests

when I venture outside the borders of the Horde.. thus the only time my guests

might gain clues to what I stand for.. or am doing to defend such values

Thanks Evan.. as usual - will return many times to this article

to challenge & refresh my perspectives..

this is critically important to me 🦎🏴‍☠️

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I think the Ontario NDP needs to think about type of candidates that they want to run in the next election. Sarah Jama might be able to get elected in her Hamilton riding, but she is absolutely unhelpful for ONDP in all other ridings. And that was before the events of last week.

Also, if this issue is so important for her that it trumps the provincial politics, she should have resigned from caucus at her own initiative. That would have been the proper thing to do for her.

My understanding is that the Ford cease and desist letter was sent without the agreement of the caucus and Marit Stiles should have immediately thrown her out of caucus when this happened. As a leader you need to sometimes act decisively and fast. Reducing the caucus by one seat is far less damage than what happened with the delayed departure.

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This is pure nonsense Evan your analysis sucks here, it's strategically stupid to tell your base to get fucked in the middle of a genocide and it's not a stretch to see these events as the potential beginning of the end for the Ontario NDP. The gift they've given to Ford this week would be so funny if it wasn't happening in the context of a mass slaughter fully supported by our political and media class, and if the move didn't make it clear just how much the ONDP hates its base. Jama spoke as a politician of conscience in the legislature something that would be amazing to hear more of from our political class right now, and she's married to a Palestinian btw so how the fuck is she supposed to ignore Israel's 5000 civilian victims in two weeks? Impossible.

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Then she should have had the courage of her convictions and told the leadership what she was going to say instead of lying about it

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Not sure this is a good take to stand behind publicly during an ethnic cleansing but okay 👍

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generally speaking i appreciate much of your analysis on other topics though thank you for your work lol

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How is she supposed to (officially and publicly) ignore the issue? Because that’s the job.

If she thought foreign policy was the most important cause for her energies, she had lots of options. She could have run for a federal seat. Joined an NGO. Done foreign aid. Journalism.

But she didn’t. She committed to provincial politics and provincial issues and to supporting a provincial team. If, in good conscience, she could no longer put those responsibilities above her personal passions she should have done the ethical thing and resigned

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.. I truly can appreciate this comment ..

might I add.. in which case she would have

been forthright ASAP - hair on fire

Emergency Town Hall for Constituents..

She is.. or was an ‘elected Public Servant’ Correct ?

Her ‘Position’ comes with ‘Public Stature.. ie Media aware of her’

Her Position magnifies & extends Her Access to Media - for better or worse..

If one fails to perceive or recognize the ‘fatal conundrum’ (a battle that cannot be won)

then it’s also ‘the hill one decides to die on..’ & any contrary evidence .. nothin to be concerned about..

‘carry on !’ 🦎🏴‍☠️

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No, it's not the NDP who gave the gift to Ford - it was Sarah Jama. Her initial statement was tone deaf (to be kind), it took her 3 days to 'apologize' & she then pinned the statement - pretty much negating the (non)-apology.

And no one in our 'political and media class' is 'fully supporting mass slaughter'.

And did the 5K dead civilians in Palestine happen before or after Oct/7?

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If you're joining Canada's political and media class in tacit support for the collective punishment of 2.3 million civilians Kaycee that's grotesque please think through what you're defending publicly here 👍

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That's not what I said, but I have no interest in continuing this dialogue. This should be a nuanced discussion, but it's not.

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If she felt that strongly, she should have resigned from the party and represented her riding as an independent. Instead she wanted to have her cake and eat it too.

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If this was really a matter of conscience for her and she was told that the caucus had a different view, her first course of action should have been to resign from caucus and sit as an independent MPP.

And who is her base here?

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While I tend to agree with you, it is who she is, a disabled black Muslim, that may play out as discriminatory and have some screaming.

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