As the province’s Reform-based Conservative Party gathers in St. John’s for its annual rally, the editor of the province’s major daily assesses its leader in the plainest English yet used in the conventional media:
So, are you fighting for the little guy when you deliberately use your power and position to insult and belittle any opponent, or are you just another bully?
How long is this going to go on, and who else is the premier going to tag as a traitor or a nothing or a zero?
Here’s my opinion — this kind of behaviour is petty and childish and an abuse of power.
He’s more than willing to sit as judge and jury over the rights of ordinary citizens to speak their minds. Let’s hope he’s not looking for the third part of that triad.
It’s now only a matter of time before the pitchfork and torch mob take to the Internet and elsewhere to denounce this kind of penetrating insight into the obvious.
That’s not to diminish in any way Russell Wangersky’s comments. He’s right on every point of the editorial. What Wangersky said long ago became obvious to a great many people in the province.
It’s just to say that seven years in, Danny Williams can count on unquestioning support and public defences of him from all quarters in the province, including - scarily enough - some newsrooms.
Whenever their god is challenged, they’ll set fire to the heretic in a moment.
And right now, Wangersky just nailed his theses to their front door.
- srbp -
Related: The video that has turned out to be a minor Internet success.