This is not as big a deal as it would have been before the $5,000 donation cap was put on political donations but it speaks to another dynamic.
...Liberal power couple Heather Reisman and Gerry Schwartz have publicly broken with the Liberal Party line on the Middle East crisis and are turning to Prime Minister Stephen Harper because of his support of Israel.
Mr. Schwartz, a confidante of former prime minister Paul Martin and one of Canada's most influential businessmen as the head of Onex Corp., is one of the eight signatories of an advertisement placed in a newspaper in Cornwall, Ont., where the Conservatives are holding caucus meetings.
The ad welcomes the caucus to Cornwall and expresses appreciation to Mr. Harper, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay and Conservative MPs for "standing by" Israel. It also lauds other G8 leaders and Australian Prime Minister John Howard for their stands on the war.
Mr. Schwartz's wife, Ms. Reisman, says she is leaving the party to support the Conservatives under Stephen Harper.
Mr. Harper has expressed firm support for Israel during the Middle East war. It's not clear whether Mr. Schwartz is also leaving the Liberals for the Conservatives.
In an e-mail to friends, Ms. Reisman applauded film producer Robert Lantos's statement at a weekend rally that he would "hereby take off [his] life-long federal Liberal hat."
"I [am] right there alongside Robert. . . . after a lifetime of being a Liberal, I have made the switch," Ms. Reisman wrote. "Feels strange, but totally and unequivocally right."
People with strong anti-Israel beliefs were never very likely to vote Conservative whereas the Jewish commmunity is (was?) strongly aligned with the Liberal Party. The open question is whether gains in the Jewish community can counteract a move from the anti-Isreal vote to the Liberals?
Comments (10)
Greg, Who cares where the votes fall on this one. It is the right thing to do. Support Israel against rocket-launching terrorists that is.
Posted by L'il Max | August 4, 2006 9:13 AM
Posted on August 4, 2006 09:13
I wonder how Irwin Cotler is feeling right now.
Posted by Joanne C. | August 4, 2006 9:56 AM
Posted on August 4, 2006 09:56
Dividing - or appearing to divide one religious/ethnic community from another - is never a good political strategy.
A few high profile names switching sides - or claiming to - will not impact voter behavior.
In fact, when high profile Liberal supporters take out high octane ads announcing their support for the Conservatives, the person most worried should be Stephen Harper.
Looking a gift horse in the mouth, and all that …
Posted by cb | August 4, 2006 10:26 AM
Posted on August 4, 2006 10:26
“when high profile Liberal supporters take out high octane ads announcing their support for the Conservatives, the person most worried should be Stephen Harper.”
Yeah. Politicians just hate that. Damn. Another unsolicited endorsement from a high profile member of the opposing camp. Damn it!
Posted by Occam's Carbuncle | August 4, 2006 10:52 AM
Posted on August 4, 2006 10:52
First David Asper, today Heather Reisman, and tomorrow maybe Gerry Schwartz.
I’m not sure this issue is anything more than a convenient pretext to back the winning horse. These guys are used to getting their way with government and have been major beneficiaries of Liberal favouritism. They can see the writing on the wall. Whatever IOUs they might have for being good Liberals in the past are worthless.
You can bet they’ll be looking to exercise their influence with the Harper government to get what they want in their future business dealings.
Posted by Steve | August 4, 2006 10:56 AM
Posted on August 4, 2006 10:56
I don’t so much care about the level of profile this gets in the MSM… nothing less then an MP switching is a big thing to them, but to get a MAJOR POLICY WONK AND FINANCIAL BACKER TO SWITCH? That just doesn’t happen.
Think about it… the person who used to WRITE Liberal policy, is now saying “SEE YA!” to her own party? That’s one major black eye if you ask me!
Posted by Christian Conservative | August 4, 2006 1:27 PM
Posted on August 4, 2006 13:27
If you caught QP today, PMSH rips the opposition parties a new one on “neutrality towards a terrorist organization.” Worth watching.
Of course, the headline is all about softwood, which took up about 10% of the interview. Go figure.
Posted by Candace | August 6, 2006 2:57 PM
Posted on August 6, 2006 14:57
I saw it Candace, really enjoyed it.
On the softwood lumber thing I realized Harper had outsmarted the opposition again but they just don’t know it yet, at least not the liberals.
He said that he is confident that the required agreement (we shall see) of 95% of the industry and key provinces will be met in order to implement the agreement. If it isn’t then the deal cannot go through anyways and there would be no reason to have a vote in parliament about it.
So, if the 95% IS met is the opposition really going to vote against it and kill it?? Sounds like a suicide mission to me. No agreement means no vote on what doesn’t exist. No wonder Layton had his panties in a knot about calling parliament back early for a vote, hehehe!
Posted by Anne (happier in Ontario) | August 6, 2006 6:49 PM
Posted on August 6, 2006 18:49
Problem with Schwartz and Reisman leaving the party is that, like it or not, they were good fundraisers and policy advocates.
When the CPC is out-fundraising the Liberals 4-1, I think every single member that leaves the party puts a dent in their armour. Add in that these two people are rich and influential, and you got a big, big dent.
Posted by Riley | August 7, 2006 1:04 PM
Posted on August 7, 2006 13:04
Wonder if Mel ‘BadBoy’ Lastman still finds PMSH “…Scary…” today.
Posted by TangoJuliette | August 8, 2006 5:32 PM
Posted on August 8, 2006 17:32