Judy Rebick has ended her support for the Green Party.  This is terrible news.  I'm serious.

 

I've copied her open letter at the end of my comments.

 

Rebick's departure will help make the Green Party appear more inviting to moderate Canadians.

 

Remember when the NDP expelled the Waffle and the ONDP expelled Buzz?  The effect on our (the NDP's) poll numbers was positive.  With friends like Rebick who needs enemies?  Her termination letter would have been more effective if she quoted May rather than paraphrase so we could make up our own minds as to whether or not the statement warrented Judy's reaction.

 

One, of many reasons, the NDP so far failed to replace the Liberal party is that we are burdened with a far-left faction designed to serve a certain very strategic purpose, to systematically handicap the NDP by making it impossible for the party to adapt to changing conditions. Far left-types like Rebick weigh in on the NDP and put it into a "no solution" box.

 

Rebick is a master copy from which Canadian "Status-quo Leftists" can be made.

 

And all it took May was to make a few comments about an issue that the current Conservatives won't touch to get Rebick out of her hair.

 

Now, either Rebick will work for Dion from within Liberal ranks or work for the Liberals by undermining us (New Democrats) from the inside -  a Christmas present for Stephane either way.

 

I will say something good about Judy:  When she paid that woman to dress up as the Statue of Liberty during the Quebec Summit protests - that was real cool.

 

Dave Mann

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An open letter to Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party by Judy Rebick

December 20, 2006

 

Dear Elizabeth,

 

I would have written sooner but I have been travelling.  Since I got back, I have carefully reviewed your statements on abortion and I have to say that I am sorry but I will no longer be supporting you or the Green Party in any way.

 

As you know I was very supportive of your running as leader of the Green Party and despite my differences with some of the platform of the Party I have up until now felt that your presence added a great deal to the federal political scene. But now you have questioned the most important victory of the women's movement of my generation.

 

If you had said that you personally oppose abortion but you support a woman's right to choose, I would have been fine with that.  Instead you said that a woman's right to choose, something tens of thousands of Canadian women fought for for decades, was trivializing an important issue.

 

It felt like a slap in the face.

 

Since you have so little respect for me or for the women's movement which mobilized for so long to win this hard-earned right, I hope you will understand that I ripped up the cheque I had written to the Green Party and you can no longer rely on me for support.

 

There is no middle ground on the abortion issue as you are no doubt finding out. The organized opposition to abortion in this country as in the United States does not care if women die. Of course, there are many people who are opposed to abortion for religious reasons but here I am talking about the anti-choice activists.

 

I personally have debated right-to-lifers for 30 years.  There is no dialogue here. They put the life of a foetus above the rights and even the lives of women. Whether or not you agree with this, by raising the issue in the way that you did, you contribute to their position.

 

We had a debate on abortion in this country for decades.  Raising the need for further debate as you have done is a serious error in judgment and in the unlikely possibility that Stephen Harper wins a majority in the next election, you could have done irreparable harm.

 

I have worked on many issues in my life but this is the one where I have suffered threats up to and including death threats: physical attacks; attempts to get me fired from my job and crass anti-Semitism. I hope you understand who you are crawling into bed with here.

 

I am very sorry about this Elizabeth, but I cannot attribute your comments to ignorance of the issue since you were around when the issue was being debated.

 

Best wishes for a good holiday,

 

Judy

Stockwell Day in the House of Commons on Friday, December 8, 2006, "There is no quote anywhere where anyone on this side called Mr. Arar a terrorist."