Angry in the Great White North

Michelle Simson is the Liberal MP for Scarborough Southwest.  Via Tweet, she is cheering the arrest of Rahim Jaffer:

MichelleSimson: Gr8 20th BD party 4 Hill Times tonite. Jaffer dui & drug bust was all the talk. Tough on crime bills came just in the nick of time. #lpc

MichelleSimson: Agree with getting tough on white collar crime bill. Just hope the new bill gets tough on white "powder" crime too! #lpc #cdnpoli

It might be interesting to see if Michelle Simson has the guts to make statements like this in front of a camera and microphone.  I doubt it.  Tweets are short and disappear quickly -- they are the perfect refuge for the coward who prefers to snipe from the shadows.

In any case, Michelle Simson reveals herself to be a woman of particularly base and vulgar attitudes.  Rahim Jaffer is a private citizen.  He is not a sitting MP, nor is he a candidate, nor even a nominee to be a candidate, for any party.

He was the Conservative MP for Edmonton-Strathcona, until the 2008 election, when he lost the seat to Linda Duncan of the NDP.

He has been arrested and is scheduled to be formally charged for some serious crimes.  If the allegations are true, he will pay a severe price.

Are there political considerations?  Yes.  His wife, Helena Guergis, is a secretary of state in the current cabinet.  I've made my position clear on the implications.

Is Rahim Jaffer the only ex-politician to be in serious trouble?  No.  Former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant is alleged to have run down a bicyclist and has already been formally charged with criminal negligence and dangerous driving.  I also wrote about that, pointing out the irony that Michael Bryant had promoted the notion that all legally owned firearms ought to be banned because some people use them negligently and dangerously, to the point of killing others.  According to Bryant, to save one life would be worth it.  I wondered if he thought legally owned cars ought to be treated the same way, since if Bryant had had his car confiscated, the bicyclist would not be dead.

But Simson is clearly on a different tear here.  Her attitude is that as a former Conservative MP, it is her hope that he be punished severely.  Indeed, Jaffer hasn't even been charged yet, much less found guilty, and Simson is picking out a cell for him.

Why?  Because he was a Conservative MP?  That's it.  A former Conservative politician is arrested, and she's cheering.

What if Rahim Jaffer had crashed his car and died?  Would Michelle Simson be cheering then?

Oddly enough, I really think she would.

Michelle Simson laughing: Do you think Michelle Simson is mocking fellow MP Helena Guergis, wife of Rahim Jaffer?  Maybe sending her taunting tweets?  I wouldn't put it past her, except for that it would require more guts than I think she has.

Michelle Simson on Basic Rights:  In a letter published in the National Post:

Why would you recommend providing sweeping and arbitrary powers to law enforcement to pick and choose who they'd like to stop on the road and not simply lower the legal blood-alcohol level, to lawfully and clinically redefine what constitutes drunk driving? To leave this (and frankly many other basic questions on constitutional issues) unanswered is to abrogate our responsibility as members of Parliament to champion the rights of all Canadians.

I suppose when she spoke of the responsibility of MPs to champion the rights of all Canadians facing the justice system, she wasn't counting Conservatives.  Or maybe she doesn't think Conservatives are really Canadians.

Ask Michelle Simson herself:  Oddly enough, I just got an email from Simson's office:

This weekend Michelle Simson, M.P. will be participating in Variety Village's third annual Walk-n-Roll event, beginning at 3701 Danforth Ave.

Variety Village has invited everyone to walk or roll through one of two designated courses in the neighbourhood - either 5KM or 1KM. This event will be hosted by CTV Toronto Weather Anchor Tom Brown, and Golden Griddle will be providing a complimentary breakfast for participants.

Friends of Michelle Simson who wish to participate as part of our team can meet at Variety Village at 8AM on Sunday, September 20th. To RSVP, please call 416-261-8613 or email info@michellesimsonmp.ca. You may also visit MP Michelle Simson's personal Variety Village page for more information.

It would be fun to see Simson attempt to defend her tweets in front of actual people.

Simson, shut up!  Not everyone in the Liberal Party is as crude as Michelle Simson:

Word has gone out to #lpc mps; don't touch the Jaffer arrest. #cdnpoli http://myloc.me/Fwp9

Simson's tweets came out over 15 hours ago, and this directive was issued 4 hours ago.  I can only assume Simson was not the only one clapping and laughing.  I just feel like picking on her.

H/T Siscoe