With enemies like these, one needs fewer friends.
My odds of winning the NDP leadership race have significantly increased within only a few days of announcing the bid. The campaign to offer an alternative to capitalism and imperialism by promoting de-colonization, de-growth and economic democracy remains a long shot even if Zionist fanatics and rightist media have turned the extreme long shot bid into a mere long shot.
The Globe Mail, Toronto Star, Politico, Economic Times and Hill Times have all mentioned the campaign in stories about the NDP. Le Journal de Montreal did a long, hostile, but not horrible, story while the rightist Western Standard published a thorough critique of the campaign’s policies. So did Juno News while US-based Front Page did a hit piece. Ben Mulroney ranted for a minute and half on radio about me and leftism.
In the Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne devoted a paragraph to criticizing my socialist economic policies while YouTube influencer Steve Boots covered our domestic policy sympathetically. Leader of the Green Party of Quebec Alex Tyrell did a supportive article on the campaign’s eco-socialist outlook and the possibility of mobilizing disenfranchised Greens. I also did long sympathetic interviews with Dimitri Lascaris for Reason to Resist, Aidan Jonah for Canada Files and Jessa McLean for Blueprints of Disruption and. My article on Why I’m running for leadership of NDP has circulated widely as has the long press release announcing the leadership bid.
As expected, the extremist fringe of the genocide lobby has responded with authoritarianism. Even before the NDP leadership race has officially begun, former Jewish Defence League head Meir Weinstein, Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilley and disgraced anti-Palestinian former BC NDP cabinet minister Selena Robinson are all calling for me to be excluded from the race to lead the party. Now in charge of a group called Israel Now, Weinstein posted on Thursday night that “Israel Now will confront the NDP to either drop Yves Engler or change their name from the NDP to the Nazi Party of Canada.” Lilley boosted Weinstein’s post while Robinson supported a call to “disqualify Yves Engler from running due to blatant prejudice against Jews and Israelis.”
The more the genocide advocates demand my exclusion from the race the more difficult it will be for the NDP brass to block me from running. As Israel kills starving children in Gaza and corrals them into ever smaller concentration camps, will NDP members accept the genocide lobby determining who are allowed to run for party leader?
Some of the attacks are unhinged. Quoting the release announcing the campaign, former Toronto Sun columnist Sue Anne Levy posted, “Hey pasty face: You forgot the part in your bio about being a member of the Hitler youth.” I hope to sue Levy for defamation over the outrageous lie.
Based on their response, my candidacy has successfully freaked out the genocide lobby.
On Wednesday the NDP announced that candidates will have to raise $100,000 to participate in the race. Even though the party has many fewer MPs today, that sum is far larger than the $30,000 demanded during the 2017 leadership race. It’s obviously designed to exclude grassroots, working class candidates from participating and to control the parameters of debate allowed. It will likely succeed but, the large sum is not an insurmountable barrier to participation. In fact, to win the race I’d have to sign up 20,000 new members, which at the $5 per person minimum would cover the $100,000 cost.
With Mark Carney cowering in the face of Donald Trump bluster, slashing social services to pay for militarism and supporting an ever more depraved Israel is it possible to find 20,000 Canadians to act to shake up Canadian politics?
We’ll find out.
Please email NDP leaders to reject genocide supporters’ effort to determine who is allowed to run for party leader.
On July 13 at 7pm EST there will be an online meeting to assist Yves’ leadership bid
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