History Repeating Itself

Looks like some people are a little annoyed that PC Party of Ontario brass are talking to Rocco Rossi, the guy who coulda been a contender for mayor of Toronto, about being one of Tim Hudak's candidates.

This sort of thing is great for gossip, and it does put the interesting question out there about exactly what the Liberals have done to keep their people from drifting away.

Anyway, a little perspective is always a good idea.

Here's what one of these annoyed people said some years ago about John Tory, who just happens to be another centrist-y guy who ran for mayor of Toronto, and who ended up being a part of the PC Party, and who afterwards almost ran for mayor again.

“How can John Tory actually claim to be a ‘progressive’ conservative, as he does,” I asked this writer, “when he has allowed a knuckle-dragger like Randy Hillier to be his candidate up near Ottawa? How can he, on the one hand, express moderate disapproval of Hillier before the nomination - and then, just on Saturday, applaud Hillier as he was introduced onstage? How can he - and I am quoting verbatim from the Lanark Landowners Manifesto, here, written by his candidate Hillier - embrace a man who has written this: ‘Using taxpayer’s dollars, our governments support and promote Quebec, Native, Arts, Homosexual, Urban and Multi cultures. However when it comes to the independent, peaceful rural culture in Canada, government support is stifling, suffocating and controlling.’ That’s what John Tory’s candidate, Randy Hillier, wrote!”
I was warming up, a bit, so I kept going: “Shame on John Tory! Shame on him! Shame on him for claiming to be an urban, urbane ‘progressive’ conservative, and then turning around and permitting the candidacy of someone who rails against ‘Quebec, Native, Arts, Homosexual, Urban and Multi cultures’! ”

Oddly enough, this same person later pushed Tory to run for Mayor of Toronto again, despite Tory's association with Hillier, then settled on Rossi, who also lost, and then let loose with an attack quite similar to what he said about Tory some years ago!

When you spin too hard, you end up in the same place where you started.