John Tory’s Silence Is Deafening…
January 24, 2008 · By Matthew Campbell
So far, the John Tory “I Want To Keep My Job” Tour has been very effective at doing what everyone does in politics but everyone is too polite to acknowledge: running smear campaigns by proxy so that the leader isn’t tied to the muck that the leader is really behind. As long as there’s no verifiable proof that John Tory’s people were involved, no one can pin it down to him…much like the letter that one of the Young PC execs wrote a couple of weeks ago stating that Andrew Brander basically threatened the entire youth executive if they didn’t sign an endorsement of Tory’s leadership.
That shouldn’t stop Tory or his press secretary from issuing statements chastising such low-ball tactics as a blog that was first broken open here on The Politic a few days ago and which personally attacked a former President of the PC Party who just happens to be running the grassroots effort to renew the party through a new leader. So why hasn’t John Tory, the man who kept on claiming to be a nice guy who wouldn’t sink to name-calling and smearings and who told Nick Kouvalis that he didn’t want this leadership review “to get personal”, actually come out and distance himself from such initiatives that are clearly for his benefit?
Well folks, seeing as Mr. Tory and his team are not keen on responding, why don’t you give his office a call at (416) 325-0445 and ask why he’s sitting by while such vile statements are being made for his cause? I’m sure his people would be quite happy to hear from average voters, given that he’s been on a tour to talk to the party membership for the last four months…
http://www.thepolitic.com/arch.....rtcomings/
You never did get what you wanted, did you Matthew?
As a matter of fact, the Together with Tory campaign posted a statement on its website as soon as it became aware of the blog entry at issue. Moreover, we sent the same message to all volunteers and, subsequently, all our our supporters. Personal attacks of any kind should not be tolerated and have no place in our party.
Here is the statement:
“Important Message to Together With Tory Supporters.
We want to ensure supporters are clear that we do not support personal attacks such as can be found in various places on the blogosphere.
We encourage all supporters to continue to speak positively about John Tory and why he is the best person to lead the PC Party. The last thing our party needs is the kind of infighting that would happen in a leadership race. That would only benefit the Liberals. We have to be focused on defeating the Liberals starting now and John Tory has the leadership skills and experience to win the next election.”
Leadership Matters.
If John Tory valued Rueben Devlin he would have personally denounced such actions. Your little note seems more like a talking point than a sincere effort to stand in support of Rueben.
See you at the finish line.
I agree with Nick:
Such a statement is absent of the apology to the individuals who these attacks directly affected. Plus, it’s not like the likes of Lisa McLeod are beyond Mr. Tory’s influence.