Peter Kent: the next Foreign Affairs minister?

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Originally posted by adma:
[b]Well, I'd assume she lost significant non-Jewish share, too.

Consider, especially, the swing in neighbouring Vaughan (Maurizio B.'s seat)--the Liberals down from 59.7 to 49.2, the Tories up from 26.1 to 34.3; for the Grits to be reduced to a plurality and a 15-point margin in Vaughan surely counts as a shock result of sorts...[/b]

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Thats very true, and what elese needs mentioning is that the Dipper candidate has obtained 9.62% - nearly enough to reach deposit.
And tahts in one of the most affluent ridings in the country.

The Thornhill result was a bit depressing - below 7%. I wonder why that is
[img]rolleyes.gif" border="0[/img]

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Originally posted by 1948:
[b]Hmmm.

Now kent is Minister of State (Americas). I wonder what he thinks about the racist postings made on the CCD's website about the man who will likely by the next US President? Has he distanced himself from this garbage?

See [url=http://canadiancoalition.com/forum/messages/30574.shtml]this delightful screed that asks whether "We can elect a President with not one, not two, but THREE Islamic names?"[/url] or [url=http://canadiancoalition.com/forum/messages/32627.shtml]this post entitled "How can you possibly feel safe with Obama's personal history?"[/url][/b]

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I wonder what this means for Canada-Cuba relations (or Canada-Venezuela, Canada-Bolivia or even Canada-Brazil)?

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Originally posted by Stockholm:
[b]I suspect it will mean absolutely nothing for any of those.

Making Kent Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Americas) strikes me as a non-job that is probably just a fancy title with no actual responsibility. Would you have preferred him to be Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Middle East)??[/b]

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No, not at all. Just wondering what, if anything, this means for Canadian policy in the region.

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Originally posted by Mr.Canada:
[b]Many on the right view OCAP as an urban terror group. Does that make it so? Of course not.[/b]

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Are you proposing John Clarke as Minister of Community and Social Services then or Solicitor-General?

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[b]Try to look at all the viewpoints before making a decision. Get your news from left and right wing news sources. The truth is usually in the middle.

Peter Kent would make an excellent minister.[/b]

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Perhaps - but not of anything related to foreign affairs, culture (he hates the CBC) or transport (he hates streetcar right of ways).

No one is saying CCD are terrorists but they certainly have hard right views on international affairs of the Richard Perle - Donald Rumsfeld - Paul Wolfowitz variety and their views on Muslims are extreme. While it is a relief that he's neither foreign minister nor minister for the mideast I believe his appointment as Minister of State (Americas) is a further indication that the Harper government is of one mind with the US State Department when it comes to its orientation towards left wing governments in Latin America on the one hand and right wing regimes such as Colombia on the other.

[ 30 October 2008: Message edited by: aka Mycroft ]

Kent's title is not a new one - there was a Secretary of State (Latin America and Africa) in the Chretien government.

Special bonus points to anyone who can name any of the three household names who served in this coveted, high-profile posting in the Chretien years.

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Harper government is of one mind with the US State Department when it comes to its orientation towards left wing governments in Latin America on the one hand and right wing regimes such as Colombia on the other.

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The "State Department" and the Bush administration are two very different things. Historically, the people who work in the State Department tend to be vastly more liberal-minded than are the foreign policy advisors to Republican presidents.

The Harper government MIGHT be of one mind with Georhe W. Bush and Condeleeza Rice when it comes to policy towards Latin America - but in a few short weeks - American foreign policy will be set by Barack Obama and his raft of appointees etc... Somehow I find it very hard to imagine that Canada is suddenly going to take a hardline neo-con policy towards Latin America at precisely the same time as the US is moving in the opposite direction.

holy shit.

that campaign video looks more like something you'd expect to be shown after his death.

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Originally posted by Stockholm:
Would you have preferred him to be Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Middle East)??

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No but I bet voters in Thornhill would have preferred that (since that was the only reason he won there in the first place)?

Quit trolling, Stockholm.

I would argue that the Liberals in Canada are every bit as pro-Israel as the Tories 9with the NDP not far behind), so there is no reason for anyone to switch their vote on that issue in Canada either.

Thornhill is one of the wealthiest ridings in Canada and it was no different from other "905" ridings in recording a major swing away from the Liberals and their weak leaders and their extremely unpopular carbon tax.

It probably didn't hurt that the Liberal incumbent in Thornhill was a low profile non-entity while Peter Kent was a big name.

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I think there is a difference in terms of a perception - Harper is a great hero to rightwing Zionists who think Israel can do no wrong and they were ecstatic about his support for Israel's attack on Lebanon.

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So what? In the US there is a similar perception and rightwing Zionists there salute Bush as a great hero who also thinks Israel can do no wrong etc... - yet 78% of American Jews voted Obama and rejected the Bush acolyte - McCain.

Jews in the US supported Obama to greater extent than any other group in the US other than African-Americans - more than Latinos, more than gays and lesbians...

I doubt that very much - polls show that even among Conservative supporters in Canada - Obama was preferred over McCain by more than a two to one margin.

Sorry to come in so late, but I didn't want to start a new thread but I would appreciate it if it's not shut down right away. It looks like Peter Kent will be facing a serious challenge next time.  Susan Kadis is not running, but the Liberals look they have an outstanding candidate lined up - human rights expert and prominent Jewish community member Dr. Karen Mock.  Although I do not support the Liberals, she is very progressive and would sure be better than Kent!