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Liberal exec resigns amid blog controversy
Dec. 26, 2005. 08:25 PM
TARA BRAUTIGAM
CANADIAN PRESS


A high-ranking official within the Liberal Party of Canada resigned today after he made disparaging comments on his blog about NDP Leader Jack Layton and his wife, NDP candidate Olivia Chow.

Mike Klander, executive vice-president of the federal Liberal party's Ontario wing, stepped down after photographs of Chow, the NDP candidate for the Toronto riding of Trinity-Spadina, and a chow chow dog were posted on his blog dated Dec. 9 under the heading ``Separated at Birth."

The blog also contained an offensive reference to Layton.

"I'm going away for a couple of days so I thought I would find something smart and witty to put up on my blog before I left," the blog said, dated Nov. 23.

"Unfortunatley (sic) I couldn't think of anything so I just want to say that I think Jack Layton is an asshole . . . for no reason other than it makes me feel good to say it . . . and because he is."

The site also had a Top 10 list of things that would "piss me off" during the federal election campaign.

They included:

— "Being dragged out to a Liberal rally, lied to so I'm there 30 minutes early, and then forced to stand in a hot room that's way too small to give the appearance that everyone wants to be there."

— "Harper being flanked by the sexy Rona Ambrose at every opportunity."

— "Harper being flanked by the ethnic Rahim Jaffer at every opportunity."

The blog has since been taken offline.

Klander's blog was personal and did not reflect the view of the federal Liberals, said Stephen Heckbert, a spokesman for the Liberal campaign in Ontario.

"I think he recognized that there's some things that are outside the bounds of good taste," Heckbert said. "And I think then it came to a decision that it would be better for the party and for him if he were to step down."

Klander was a volunteer and did not play an official role for the Liberals during this campaign, Heckbert said, adding he's apologized to Chow.

"Obviously, this is something the Liberal Party of Canada doesn't condone. It's our view that partisan rhetoric has its limits."

But Ian Capstick, a spokesman for the NDP campaign, said the postings reflect Liberal mud-slinging.

"We were shocked, disappointed and offended," Capstick said from Ottawa. "This has become indicative of the way Liberals are seeing this election. They couldn't find basis for attack on Ms. Chow's community record, her activism, so they chose instead to focus on one thing."

Klander's resignation was a positive step, but he needs to make further amends, Capstick added.

"He needs to take a good long hard look at some of the postings he made on that website and realize the impact that they had on a variety of different communities."

Though Klander's comments were regretful, it's not uncommon for political blogs of all stripes to cross certain boundaries, Heckbert said.

"Partisan blogs get a little heated, particularly around election time," he said. "You'd see some language that might curl your hair."
 
chowchows.jpg


Chow Chow Dog
 
I guess some people are not to clear about the meaning of "wit."
 
olivia's last name is chow and the dog's name is chow. this is racist how again?
 
Well, it could have been worse. Like, maybe, references to Yoko Ono or "Full Metal Jacket"
 
I think everyone has been rightfully offended, and he has resigned. What I really can't stand is Chow and Layton attempting to use it for political mileage out of the actions of someone who was not even involved in the campaign.

------






Chow calls Liberal official's blog joke 'humiliating'
‘I think the true mask of the Liberal party has been taken off,’ NDP candidate says
Dec. 29, 2005. 08:34 PM
CANADIAN PRESS

A Liberal party official’s posting of “racist†comments on a website, comparing Jack Layton’s Chinese-born wife Olivia Chow to a dog, was “no joke,†the NDP leader said Thursday.
Mike Klander, executive vice-president of the federal Liberal party’s Ontario wing, stepped down Boxing Day after photographs of Chow — who is also an NDP candidate in Toronto — and a chow chow dog were posted on his blog, under the heading Separated at Birth.

“I frankly never expected that we would face such things, that a candidate would be singled out,†Layton said in his first public appearance since before Christmas.

“I certainly hope racial slurs will come to an end in this campaign.â€

Layton noted that Europeans who controlled portions of China in the past used to hang signs that read “no dogs or Chinese allowed,†and said no Chinese person familiar with their history will ever forget those signs.

“This is no joke, and I think it’s a culture of arrogance that has set in .x .x . and the election will have to deal with it,†he said. “It reminds us that insults flow from arrogance. There is far too much of this in today’s Liberal party.â€

Chow appeared with Layton later Thursday at a campaign event in the city’s east Chinatown district, and said the comparisons to the dog on the Liberal website were hurtful.

“I think I was tremendously saddened,†she said. “To have this kind of racial slur is humiliating. I think the true mask of the Liberal party has been taken off, and I certainly hope on Jan. 23 people will understand that it is time for a change.â€

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper was equally sharp.

“To see them calling Mr. Layton names, comparing his wife to an animal, this is the campaign of the Liberal party,†Harper said during a campaign stop in Kelowna, B.C. “It’s all fear, it’s all smear.

“It’s one incident of scandal and corruption after another. What this should tell all of us, the time of these guys is up.â€

Layton compared the web-based insult to school-yard behaviour, and said it’s the same kind of discrimination many new Canadians face when they look for a job.

“That kind of attitude has no place in our country,†he said. ``Canada should not be governed by people who think that way.â€

The couple appeared to easily win over their Chinese-Canadian audience Thursday when Layton began by offering greetings in Cantonese with Chow translating into English, before he switched to English while she again translated.

Layton also won applause for saying Canada should apologize for the head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants in the late 1890s and early 1900s, and compensate those who paid the tax and their surviving families.

“We need to have a response from our government that starts with an apology — an open and complete apology to the Chinese community,†he said. “That has got to be the starting place for redress.â€

Ottawa collected $23 million from more than 80,000 Chinese immigrants between 1885 and 1923, with the tax ranging from $50 to $500 a person.

Last month, the federal government signed a $2.5-million agreement in principle with the National Congress of Chinese Canadians and other organizations to set up educational and commemorative projects related to the head tax.

But Prime Minister Paul Martin has refused to apologize for the controversial tax.
 
Well, it could have been worse. Like, maybe, references to Yoko Ono or "Full Metal Jacket"
Click to expand...
Me love you long time.

Couldn't resist.
 
I didn't see it as racist, either. I think it's an over-reaction and overly PC.
 
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