On protecting one's own

Jeff's post today offers a useful jumping-off point to toss in my two cents' worth on Ray Lam's resignation as a B.C. NDP candidate. But while I agree with Jeff that there's plenty of reason for concern with both parties' actions, I have to figure (in what's surely a rare result) that he's underestimating how problematic the B.C. NDP's response was.

Let's start off with a bit more detail on how the B.C. Libs first tried to attack over the pictures of Lam:

"This is someone who is running to represent the people of Vancouver-False Creek in Victoria, at a time when we have really critical issues, like crime and the economy," said Mary McNeil, the Liberal candidate in the riding.

But the sheer emptiness of McNeil's rhetoric is obvious. There's not the slightest reason why Lam's ability to deal with those issues would be affected by the photos, and indeed it's McNeil that spared no effort in deflecting attention from her own government's record to try to make the election about her opponent's social life.

And the Libs' response managed to get even less credible from there, as McNeil's posturing was followed by the even more laughable spectacle of Gordon Campbell - yes, that Gordon Campbell - having the sheer gall to bash Lam's judgment.

Now, from my standpoint the proper response on the part of the NDP should be twofold. First, point out that it's the opposition that's trying desperately to distract from real issues with meaningless distractions (all the while ignoring its own glass house on the subject). And ask how plausible it is to suggest that nobody in the Libs has had a minute of fun since crime and the economy became issues - not to mention whether you'd want a government that was made up of the type of automatons that would be required to meet that standard.

Second and more importantly, rally around the duly nominated candidate who was facing an unprovoked, baseless attack. Which is where the NDP unfortunately seem to have plenty left to learn.

Of course, there's every reason for a party to drop a candidate who faces actual substantive ethical concerns. And I certainly wouldn't want the NDP to fall into the pattern of thinking that there's absolutely no degree of moral or ethical failing that shouldn't be papered over for the sake of a party's image. (See Vitter, David; Craig, Larry; Canada, Conservative Party of.)

But by dropping Lam as a candidate, I'd argue that the NDP sent an extremely dangerous message in the opposite direction: that anybody whose youth was photographed should steer clear of the party, as they can't count on any defence against even the most frivolous of public smears.

Which has both immediate and long-term consequences. One certainly wouldn't expect Lam or his personal friends or supporters to stay involved with much enthusiasm in the rest of the campaign, and there's no way of knowing how many other potential candidates (and their own networks) might see the example as reason to stay away. And ironically enough, Lam's example may mean that anybody who might have similar photos in their past will see more potential for a future in politics in the B.C. Libs - since while they'll only be even quicker to go after NDP candidates based on Lam's precedent, they're almost certainly willing to put up with (and vigorously defend) worse among their own.

All of which means that for the sake of avoiding the inconvenience of defending the harmless against the absurd, the B.C. NDP has tossed away a democratically-nominated candidate, and sent a signal which will only encourage even more pointless diversions from their efforts to build momentum.

I've said before that I don't think it'll be long before the political scene does adjust in large part to fact that minutiae about candidates may be easily accessible by developing far more accurate standards as to what actually serves to disqualify candidates. And at least one provincial NDP wing is well on its way to making a similar non-story into the embarrassment for the party's opponents that it deserved to be. But unfortunately, Carole James has missed a golden opportunity to help turn the tide - and we can only hope that her party and province won't suffer as a result.