The professor got schooled by the doctor

An interesting article in the Vancouver Sun last week, where Barbra Yaffe speaks with a reflective Michael Byers, the NDP candidate that was the latest of the many high-profile contenders to be shut down by Liberal MP Hedy Fry in Vancouver-Centre.

The political science professor says he learned there's a big difference between the classroom theory and the political trenches. Very true. He's candid in the interview about his naivete, and reading the piece I was surprised at just now naive he was:

He cites his own naivete in not recognizing the "logical complexities of running campaigns." He didn't appreciate the importance of a campaign apparatus to identify and then pull the vote, nor did he have time to assemble one. He'll now concentrate on building his party's riding membership and fund raising capability.

He has learned some lessons though, namely to blame any verbal stumble on media misquoting or taking out if context:

Byers regrets a verbal stumble he made during the campaign, when he called for the oilsands to be shut down. The quote was taken out of context, he says; he meant the development should gradually be wound down.

If wasn't 'taken' out of context, he misspoke and didn't put his comments in the proper context. There's a difference, professor. First lesson of real-world politics though: it's never your fault.

Anyway, an interesting piece about the differences between political theory and real world politics. If he does indeed run again, we'll see if he's really learned any lessons. At least his poly sci lectures should be a little more interesting now.

I know there's one thing I learned from the race in Vancouver-Centre: never, ever underestimate Dr. Hedy Fry. She's a machine.

Professor learns some lessons in political campaign

Barbara Yaffe, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, October 24, 2008

As NDP candidate in Vancouver Centre, political science professor Michael Byers, unusually, found himself on the learning end of the equation.

The star candidate who wound up losing last week's election to Liberal MP Hedy Fry now says: "Winning was a long shot in 2008."

Byers also lost 10 pounds and a few thousand dollars in income as a result of a leave of absence from the University of British Columbia.

But "I've gained so much, I've won on a personal level." He still intends to become the riding MP; it's just going to take him a bit longer.
(more)

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Lorne Mayencourt in his own words

Meet Lorne Mayencourt, the latest Conservative to challenge Hedy Fry in Vancouver-Centre. He's both for and against carbon taxes, he's both for and against safe injection sites, and here he goes nutty at an all-candidates meeting, even swearing at some of the constituents he hopes to represent:



And from the Mayencourt archives, on Insite:

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Mayencourt and Insite: You be the judge

Following-up on my post from on Tuesday on the video of Conservative candidate for Vancouver-Centre Lorne Mayencourt refusing to get pinned-down to a position on the Insite safe injection site, later in the day Mayencourt was a little more forthcoming with Public Eye Online’s Sean Holman, having apparently received the talking points from Stephen Harper and Tony Clement: never mind what you supported as a member of the Campbell government last week; you’re a Harper Conservative now, so Insite bad.

Mayencourt also claimed, bizarrely, that the Young Liberals’ video was “disingenuous” and cherry-picked clips. Yes Lorne, it’s called editing. He seemed to be implying things were taken out of context though. So, the Liberals released the full, unedited interview so people could judge for themselves.

First, the edited clip:



And now the full interview:



I think you’ll agree the full interview shows nothing was taken our of context or edited unfairly. It also shows many other answers to other questions by Mayencourt, where he demonstrates an unfortunate lack of understanding of just what Insite is about, what it’s accomplishing (property crime is down), and of the community support (business groups once opposed are now onside).

The Globe had a pretty good hit on this later in the day:

Hedy Fry, Liberal MP in Vancouver Centre, is challenging her expected Tory rival to explain whether or not he supports attacks that Health Minister Tony Clement has levelled on the Insite safe-injection facility in the Downtown Eastside.

Lorne Mayencourt, a Liberal MLA in a riding that overlaps Vancouver Centre, is expected to nab the Tory nomination in the riding. As a member of the B.C. legislature, he sat with a government that has been strongly supportive of Insite, located in an adjoining riding but an issue that affects all of the downtown.

In recent weeks, however, Mr. Clement has suggested that doctors who permit or encourage patients to shoot up at Insite lack medical ethics. In August, he told the annual gathering of the Canadian Medical Association that Insite has created a “slippery slope” for physicians, wondering aloud whether it was “unethical” for them to support the administration of drugs that cannot otherwise be legally used. “This is a profound moral issue and when Canadians are fully informed of it, I believe they will reject it on principle,” he has said.

During a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Ms. Fry said Mr. Mayencourt should take a stand on Mr. Clement's views.

Insite needs to be a bigger issue in this campaign, and not just in BC – Insite is a national test site. This is an issue that speaks to the fundamental differences in approach between the Liberal Party and the Conservatives: we favour a comprehensive approach from cracking down on crime to harm reduction and treatment, they just want the tough on crime part.

That’s not the Canadian way, and it just doesn’t work anyways. Mayencourt can’t run from the issue, and neither can the rest of his new party.

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