Nikki Ashton’s Honest Intentions
Her trip south may have positioned her above the mere political pawns
Last month Nikki Ashton, the NDP MP for the northern Manitoba riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, took her door-knocking talents south to Fargo, North Dakota to support American presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
By aligning herself with Sanders, a social democrat who is the farthest left-leaning candidate in the presidential race, Ashton has made no secrets about where her loyalties lie. And in the public eye, such a simple display of honesty is a surprising and potentially redeeming quality rarely seen manifest in politics.
If what she is doing is merely furthering the democratic cause, we ought to be encouraging Ashton’s honest political participation. Is not open dialogue on all matters what we expect of our representatives? However, if she is playing the more regressive political game, she’s only following our former Prime Minister’s lead.
Let us not forget that when Stephen Harper speaks to top Republican donors at a private, Republican Jewish Coalition dinner in Vegas, he does so strictly to express his unyielding support of Israel. Harper, of course, could in no way be involved in any fundraising or campaigning for the Republicans—he has duties to fulfill and a salary to earn.
Let us not, as well, allow Harper to pull any political wool over our eyes. His way of denying campaigning for the Republican Party, says Michael Harris of ipolitics.ca, is to “[tell] multiple stories on how people should view his activities before finally settling on the most self-serving explanation.”
I would argued that those ordinary stiffs who are said to represent our values ought to take a page out of Ashton’s book by taking similar risks, openly displaying their flags, and engaging in actions truly representative of their values. Instead of veiled, highly-politicized, and thin-skinned performances, wouldn’t you rather elect politicians who openly signal their inspirations and engage in activities that align with confessed principles beyond those of their constituents?
