Despite establishmentarian views to the contrary, I believed Belinda Stronach would run for Liberal leader after Martin the day she crossed the floor. Now she is coming to Quebec City for a month for French lessons.
But what really strikes me about this Gazette piece -- which could be studied in journalism schools as a case study of the "puff piece" -- is not that revelation. It is the utter lack of rigorous questioning by the reporter of Belinda's minions. Cases in point:
If she runs for the Liberal leadership, she (Stronach) will have by her side some of the savviest Liberal organizers from Quebec - seduced by what they say is the down-to-earth attitude of a woman who can be considered one of the richest in the world.
...
Brigitte Legault, the dynamic president of the party's youth wing in Quebec and one of those likely to back Stronach if she runs, says there's a lot that Quebecers don't know about Belinda Stronach.
"They paint her very negatively, they give her an image of a young, rich, perhaps arrogant woman. Having met her a few times now, I think they are going too far."
.....
...Stronach already has the backing of Richard Mimeau, a veteran Liberal organizer who is likely to become her chief organizer for Quebec should she throw her hat in the ring. Active over the years in both the provincial and the federal Liberal parties, Mimeau has earned his stripes organizing on behalf of everyone from Daniel Johnson and Jean Charest to Paul Martin.
Mimeau said it was Stronach's grasp of issues and her down-to-earth attitude that attracted him.
"After the election, I told myself, I'm going to take a break from politics and I am going to try the private sector, and she was the one who convinced me to come back. I find her very refreshing."
If you have picked yourself up off the floor from laughing yet, you will realize that yes, Monsieur Mimeau actually said he was supporting Stronach for her "grasp of issues and her down-to-earth attitude" and that she "convinced" him to come back to politics from the private sector.
Belinda can be seductive, that's for sure. But did it not occur to this reporter to inquire as to whether there might be other reasons for their support?
Guess not. Because Belinda Stronach would never buy people. Oh no. Never:
Rivals accuse the Stronach campaign of poaching Quebec organizers with salaries of up to $50,000 for nine-weeks' work. The deal reportedly includes bonuses if Stronach wins.
"We call her Magna Bucks," Richard Decarie, a former Tory strategist now organizing for former Alliance leader Stephen Harper in Quebec, told The Canadian Press.
The lack of investigative journalism done on Belinda Stronach's campaign financing has always puzzled me. When will someone do some real digging?
