the fact of the matter is that the ndp are resorting to calling people racists because they're embarassed at what happened. it's a face-saving mechanism. but, they're just digging themselves deeper into a hole.

i don't doubt that there's probably a lot of unease about singh's religious beliefs and personal appearance, but to act surprised or shocked by this is just stupid. it was the most predictable thing that's happened in canadian politics in decades. i predicted it immediately upon seeing the headline.

and, i'll expand on the point: in addition to these kinds of issues occurring in eastern canada, the ndp should expect to see declining numbers as a general phenomenon in rural ridings, including in northern ontario as well as in bc. and, i've seen recent polls where they're even running behind the liberals in fucking saskatchewan.

this is a catastrophe for the ndp, and it is absolutely about the leader. but that's not racism, per se.

i probably wouldn't have much of a problem with jagmeet singh if he presented himself more like ujjal dosanjh, or niki haley. it's not the skin colour that bothers me, it's not where he's from and it's not what language he speaks. what bothers me is that he openly displays his religious beliefs in ways that make it clear that they will be a factor in how he governs, and while you might be able to make sense of that in the context of the social gospel, this is something that is broadly inconsistent with where the ndp has stood in the political spectrum since the retirement of tommy douglas. it's not surprising that ndp voters across the country would react poorly to the thought of electing somebody that is going to put his religious values ahead of pretty much everything else. and, frankly, i agree with them.

i pointed out years ago, now, that this would be a disaster for the party if he refused to cut his beard. i was right.

and, the party needs to stop calling people racists for this and get their head around the actual point: left-leaning canadians don't want to vote for religious people.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ndp-racism-new-brunswick-green-party-elizabeth-may-jonathan-richardson-1.5269606