From 2006 to early 2010, Simon Lono wrote Offal News, a commentary on local politics, debating, and whatever caught Simon's eye.
When Jack Harris quit as leader of the provincial New Democratic Party, Simon turned his sharp eye to Harris' legacy. Simon respected differences of opinion but he had no time for anyone who fell below the high standards that Simon set for himself.
Harris jumped to federal politics not long after and represented St. John's East until he was defeated by Nick Whelan in 2015. Since Harris announced last week that he wanted to be the NDP candidate again, here's a second look at Simon's obituary for Harris' provincial political career.
Jack Harris: Good Bye and Good Night
by Simon Lono (April, 2006)
Like many of
us of a certain age, I had the period in my life where the ideas of democratic
socialism had a certain appeal. And why wouldn't they? They expressed some of
the highest ideals of human generosity, belief of control over our destiny and
the sense that all people deserve basic fairness. And further, it seemed that
all those things were within the grasp of government to deliver.But then as Aristide Briand said, "The man who is not a socialist at twenty has no heart, but if he is still a socialist at forty he has no head."
Jack Harris, I'm sorry to say, never found his head. Nor did he ever find his calling as the leader of a provincial political party. When you look as his record as a political leader and contributor to provincial public affairs, the best one can say is that he always demonstrated potential.
The problem was that he generally managed to perform way below his perceived potential. On occasion, he surprised us all with occasional flashes of true political competence worthy of his inflated reputation. More often he just disappointed us all.
Let me give you just two examples:
