Sure, says Paul. Love to. But gee, the timing on this whole voting thing is not good for me. Could we postpone this whole politics deal until like say a couple of years from now when it’s a tad more convenient for me?
That’s a paraphrase, but it pretty much captures the essence of Antle’s remarks.
Paul Antle ran for the federal Liberals.* According to information from Elections Newfoundland and Labrador, Antle’s made $1,700 in personal political contributions to the Liberal Party since 2004. [See update below]
That put’s him pretty much on par with Dean MacDonald who, while he hasn’t run for the party, did help with the renewal tour recently. He’s also made $2,000 in personal donations to the party’s candidates in 1996 and 1999.
And pretty much on par would be the way to describe Antle and MacDonald right down to their level of serious interest in their political future. They don’t have one. Antle is so clued out about the way politics runs in the province these days – not to mention the state of the party – that he seriously suggested the party should hold off the leadership contest until it sifts into his personal schedule.
"You know, the election is in 2015,” Antle told CBC. “We're sitting in 2012. "It's three years away. That's a long time." Yeah, not really Paul but that’s okay. You’ve got other things on your mind.
News this week is probably the best news the province’s handful of Liberal party supporters have had in a while. Waiting around for the Jesus-de-jour was never a good idea in the first place. As SRBP noted a year ago, the waiting could prove to be a waste of valuable time “given that Saviour Messiah Dean the Magical Wonder Pony may not really want the job in the future just like he hasn’t really wanted it in the past.”
Neither one of these guys was likely to bring anything important to the party anyways. Their interest in politics is apparently limited to the fact that some people people talk about them as potential leadership candidates. Beyond that, though, neither Antle nor MacDonald have done anything on their own to get ready for leadership. If they don’t want the job enough to prepare,then they would be more of a liability than a help in the long run.
Besides, these guys have got other things occupying their attention anyway.
"[For] someone who operates like Dean or like myself, there's an awful lot of things that need to be covered off and ducks put in a row," Antle said.And you know what? That’s just fine. There’s no law that says they have to get into politics. No body had a to their throat. Paul and Dean can contribute more to the province and its future doing what they evidently do best: run businesses. Politics isn’t for everyone.
The only people really put out by MacDonald’s and Antle’s decision are the gaggle of messiah worshippers who have had to book emergency time with the cosmetic surgeons to get their lips resized for a lesser ass to kiss.
Liberals should count themselves lucky that MacDonald and Antle are now out of contention for the provincial party leadership. They can now get down to the serious business of sorting the party finances and running their innovative leadership process. That’s probably the most useful thing they’ve managed to do in the past year.
Earlier this month, the party convention approved an open leadership process that will mirror a provincial general election. Whomever wins will show - simply by going through the process - that he or she can organize a province-wide campaign and successfully appeal to a wide enough voters to win.
It’s been a decade since the Liberals had a contested leadership. It’s been more than 15 years since either of the other two parties have held an open leadership race. As it stands right now, the Liberals will likely have three or more candidates. It could prove to be an exciting year.
The biggest danger for the Liberals is that their executive will have some kind of panic fit or succumb to the machinations of the lesser ass kissers who still hang around them. In the process, they’d ditch the process and try to lure either Dean or Paul or [insert name of saviour of the moment here] back to save them.
Politics, as it seems, can be a lot like adolescent romance. There’s no point in pining over the heart-throb when he’s just not that into you.
-srbp-
*corrected mistake
[To Be Fair Update: An e-mail correspondent clued your humble e-scribbler into another $5,125 in corporate donations to the Liberal Party and Liberal candidates attributable to Paul Antle from 2007 to 2011.
Some have claimed Dean MacDonald has contributed more than the amounts identified here in a couple of posts. Despite repeated requests for verifiable information (names of companies making donations etc) the person or persons making the claims haven’t supplied any information to back them up.
The e-mail inbox is open. SRBP will correct information previously posted based on verifiable, new information.]
