Pubdate: Fri, 11 Sep 2015
Source: Winnipeg Sun (CN MB)
Copyright: 2015 Canoe Limited Partnership
Contact: http://www.winnipegsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.winnipegsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/503
Author: Anthony Furey
Page: 10

LET SLEEPING TWEETS LIE?

Only days after Conservative Leader Stephen Harper booted two 
candidates from his party for past indiscretions, Liberal Leader 
Justin Trudeau declined to do the same.

Now-former B.C. Liberal candidate Joy Davies was interviewed by 
HuffPost Thursday for comments she'd made prior to the election 
concerning her marijuana advocacy.

"The children of the mothers who used (marijuana) during pregnancy 
had higher IQs and were better socially established than the children 
whose mothers didn't," Davies told the news site.

Whatever your perspective on pot, this is a half-baked view to say the least.

It's also evidence that Davies would have been ill-suited to sit as a 
legislator with a major political party.

Late Thursday, Davies announced her resignation, stating her 
"personal opinion and past comments should not distract from what is 
most important right now."

But her past comments weren't the main problem, the clarification she 
made to HuffPost was most troubling.

While we don't know how influenced her "resignation" was by the 
Liberal team, it would have looked like leadership on Trudeau's part 
if he'd turfed her rather than let her step away.

Another Liberal facing a backlash is Chris Brown, running in the 
Alberta riding of Peace River - Westlock.

Tweets were unearthed of Brown ranting "your mother was a whore" and 
"you f---ing b----" along with a sexist comment directed at Ontario 
politician Christine Elliott.

Trudeau has only said Brown was going through a difficult time in his 
life when he wrote the tweets.

Why wasn't Brown's social media properly combed by the Liberal team? 
Trolling through candidates' online comments is opposition research 
101. Don't leave any ammo on the table for them.

Brown later apologized, chalking the statements up to "alcohol 
dependency" following the tragic death of his partner.

Many people face such hardships, but they don't all respond the same way.

That said, these tweets are from 2009. That's a while ago. People 
certainly change.

Besides, anyone who went to high school or university after the 
Internet was invented, even those of outstanding character, will 
likely have a questionable picture or social media statement floating 
around. The media and political war rooms will have to learn to let 
some indiscretions pass (and likely already do).

But suggesting it's healthier to smoke pot while pregnant is just 
shockingly poor judgment.

Likewise, while we can quibble over whether it's acceptable for 
comedians or online loners to publicly voice sexist and 
expletive-laden rants, it's a different matter when it comes to 
someone who wants to be part of a team that hopes to govern a G7 nation.

Also, to Trudeau's point, what's to say Brown won't face another 
difficult time in his life during a tenure as MP? Will he display the 
same poor judgment then?

On Monday, the Conservative campaign booted Scarborough-Rouge Park 
candidate Jerry Bance from its roster after video evidence revealed 
he secretly peed in the cup of a customer he was assisting in his 
capacity as a service technician.

The Conservatives also bid farewell to Toronto-Danforth candidate Tim 
Dutaud after he was revealed to have made prank calls mocking the 
mentally disabled.

Concerning Dutaud, Harper said he expects "the highest standards" 
from his candidates. Fair enough.

The same clearly can't be said about the Liberals under Trudeau. He 
should have booted Davies and Brown, but didn't.

His standards are clearly lower.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom