4+ Wednesday, March 16, 198% - North Shore News

© strictly personal ¢

THE MOST famous West Coast politician on the national
stage at the moment, of course, is neither Pat Carney nor
Bill Vander Zalm. It’s Svend Robinson.

My reaction to the news that he
had decided to come out of the
closet is irritation with the man.
Speaking objectively, [ don't see
how it made any sense at all,

The excuse Robinson put for-
ward about wanting to fight for
homosexual rights is less than in-
genuous.

Being justice critic in an opposi-
lion party that is tied in a three-
way race to become the next gov-
ernment of Canada is no minor
position from which to be doing
something about one’s cause,
regardless of what the cause is.

Asa politician, Robinson no
doubt considered all these factors,
but let’s review them.

First, if one intends to remain in
the political arena, one is generally
obliged to apply afew airbrush

“ strokes to the realities of one’s

personality. We are all less than |
perfect.

You don’t get elected by admit-
ting too much. Just because you
kicked a cat once, are you going to
stick that in a press release? Or
even if you did stop beating your
wife...

As for your sex life, come on!

This leads to the question: how
serious is Robinson about power?

[think he must be afraid of it.
He wouldn't be the first politician
to find some excuse to throw the
fight just as he gets within reach of
the levers of change.

Because that’s where the NDP
is. And that alters the political
ballgame in Canada.

It is one thing to use a fringe

Administration
information Centre

group as a platform to espouse
single-issuc causes, quite another
to gamble with the destiny of a
major party when there are great
questions of state to be settled —
free trade, military alliances, acid
rain and nuclear submarines, to
mention a few.

Even if it is true that some 10
per cent of the population is
homosexual, that’s not exactly a
plurality in any riding, Burnaby
included. Besides, that figure is
much-disputed.

Given the gencral edginess of the
public in an cra of scarifying
headlines about AIDS, it would
seem to me, tactically, it is plain
stupid for Robinson to step out of
the trenches and into the line of
fire right now.

I think the most expressive pic-
ture to come aut of the story so far
was poor Ed Broadbent grimacing
as he was being grilied by reporters
about the burning issue of one of
his MP’s sexual preferences.

Not very long ago, Broadbent
was being touted as the next prime
minister. Remember that?

The NDP has been learning
sonie hard lessons about going
against the grain of public opinion.
Their position on NATO, for in-
stance, no doubt cost them their
lead in the polls,

itis all very wonderful to be
principled, but that whiff of
potential power probably got a few
New Democrats hooked,

The horribly tempting idea of
actually stithering into office, lying
all the way, just like the other par-

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ties, and then doing what they
want, must have crossed their
minds.

I believe it was back in the 14th
century that European kings
stopped leading their armies into
battle personally, since all that
happened is that they kept getting
captured or killed, Jeading to their
countries being bankrupted or
conquered.

Stealth, craftiness, deviousness,
deception — these are the legiti-
mate devices employed by suc-
cessful strategists in any political
war. Courage and forthrightness
and high visibility are useful in
their place, no doubt, but if one
throws away one’s power basc to
prove a point, the victory goes to
the other side.

Iam a firm believer in
homosexual rights, just as ] am in
women's rights, fetuses’ rights,
minority rights, animal rights and
middle-aged heterosexual while
male rights.

But the real world, you may
have noticed, is less than ideal.
The people | admire, to tell you
the truth, are the operators who
get things done and don’t get
distracted by 100 many personal
considerations, let alone any need
to let it all hang out.

If self-expression is Robinson's
urge, he should get into art or
therapy or, God knows, even
journalism.

In politics, you’re a team player
or you're a loose cannon. In terms
of PR, at the moment, I have
feeling Robinson just fired a shot
through his own party's deck,
when he should have been aiming
at the enemy. ©

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