Memo to Marianne Cerilli: What the hell are you thinking?
"Some of the things he's (Kaj Hasselriis) presenting are not progressive," reportedly referring to the fact that Kaj doesn't seem to believe all taxation is inherently good and that he doesn't actually support a monorail system spanning Winnipeg.
Whaaa? That's the big ideological gulf between Marianne and Kaj?
Now, let's be clear, we didn't have money on Kaj beating Mayor Sam.
But why split the same, relatively small, potential political base? Is she nuts?
Well, in fact, here are just a few points for consideration about the former MLA for Radisson:
- She had one of the safest NDP working-class seats in Manitoba.
- She decided to abandon that seat following the retirement of Jean Friesen to vie for Wolseley -- a nomination contest that saw two OTHER WOMEN in the race already -- for reasons that can only be explained that Radisson was a little too blue collar for her personal tastes.
- The avowed ultra-feminist, Cerilli, thereby helped split the prospects of other female candidates, leading to the nomination of the pony-tailed, well-intentioned, but unmistakably male Rob Altemeyer.
- She is hereby pretty much responsible for reducing the female contingent in the NDP caucus by TWO. All by herself, too. Not bad, eh?
- Cerilli presented a report to the last NDP convention talking about the party's shortcomings in helping women becoming elected. She somehow omits her own role in the phenomenon of reducing women's representation in the legislature.
Sorry, Kaj. That's the "politics of inclusion." We feel for you.