Posted on 11/19/2004 1:53:57 PM PST by Clive
TORONTO (CP) - A defiant Carolyn Parrish was making no apologies Friday, a day after the maverick MP was kicked out of the Liberal caucus by Prime Minister Paul Martin.
"I don't regret it," Parrish told a crush of reporters who greeted her at her Toronto constituency office.
She said she was poised to resign from the Liberal caucus when she met Thursday with the prime minister.
"I went in to resign, Mr. Martin was charming, as he always is; I got weak knees again," Parrish said.
"This is good; it's made me do what I want to do."
Parrish also suggested she let her guard down in what proved to be an explosive interview the same day with The Canadian Press.
"A cautionary tale to rookies: when you have a conversation with a friendly reporter, always remember they're a reporter."
Parrish said she's guilty only of "being an open, approachable person" and has no intention of altering her behaviour when she returns to the House of Commons as an independent.
"I don't have the shell around me that people require in politics, and the day I get that shell I get out of politics. I like me the way I am."
The suburban Toronto Liberal gained notoriety for her outspoken anti-Americanism - "Damn Americans, I hate the bastards," she once said - and for calling George W. Bush "war-like."
Earlier this week, she taped a segment for the comedy show This Hour has 22 Minutes in which she stomps on a Bush doll.
But the final straw for Martin came after Parrish took direct aim at his leadership in an interview with CP on Wednesday.
Parrish, 58, had said that if Martin "loses the next election and he has to resign, I wouldn't shed a tear over it."
"I have absolutely no loyalty to this team - none."
Parrish said she spoke to Martin for an hour Wednesday evening and thought things might work out because he gave her a "bear hug" as she was leaving.
But she also realized she had gone too far.
"What it was in the end was defiance of the control of Mr. Martin and his backroom," she said in a radio interview
Parrish repeated that she has been unhappy since Martin refused to intervene to ensure a "clean race" for the Liberal nomination in her riding of Mississauga-Erindale.
"It's not the same party we had even of two years ago," she said. "There's a lot of discontent and a little bit of fear."
Parrish's firing reduced the minority Liberal ranks in the 308-seat Commons to 134 seats.
The Conservatives hold 99 seats, the Bloc Quebecois 54 and New Democrats 19.
Parrish becomes the second Independent.
Cabinet ministers, backbenchers and even opposition critics on the left who share many of Parrish's views had little sympathy for her dismissal.
Martin had reprimanded Parrish twice in the past for her anti-American comments but had ignored Opposition calls to eject her from caucus.
The Conservatives said the firing was long overdue. They criticized Martin for not taking action when Parrish insulted Bush, while moving swiftly when she criticized the prime minister.
Since her initial "bastards" comment, Parrish was elected for a third time with a healthy majority in her riding.
-
I think she belongs to the Me Generation.
The " By JAMES MCCARTEN" did not belong in the title
Unlike Parrish, liberal Martin prefers to pretend to like Americans. At least Parrish wasn't lying about being pro-American.
I always prefer that America's enemies stand up and be counted instead of hiding behind the forked tongue of diplomacy. So while I think Parrish is a damn fool, at least she's an honest fool.
Who has this Harpy's email?
Canadians, you got to love them. When are they going to stop the silly games and become states? There is a crowd up there like there is in most countries that just hate us because we are the "big dog". And what they should remember what Lee Trevino said, "get out of the way and let the Big Dog eat".
'...I went in to resign, Mr. Martin was charming, as he always is; I got weak knees again," Parrish said. ...'
That is called the M. Moore effect...buckling under to much weight!
Sounds like the " two minutes hate" in the book 1984. What a freak.
She's brassy, alright. The Canadians I grew up with would have referred to such persons as Ms Parrish as rude, and utterly without class or self-respect. OTOH, In San Francisco parlance... Ms Parrish lets it "all hang out". :> Her day will come and go.
The Baby Seals! Oh no - not the baby seals again!
You should see the way Canadians boil lobsters and crabs to death - demonic!
Yeah, we're evil up here for killing baby seals.
What you fail to take into account is: when the seal hunt was going on, the cod stocks off the Grand Banks were in reasonable shape. PETA, Greenpeace, and all those other enviro/animal rights folks make a big stink about the hunt and Canada stops it, even though it's the only income fishermen have during the winter months.
Next thing you know, the seal population explodes, and there are no fish on the Grand Banks anymore. Now the fishermen have no fish to catch, and are forbidden from harvesting the seals as well. So, they all end up on unemployment insurance and welfare.
Can you say "unintended consequences"?
Do some research before you spout enviro-weenie TRIPE!
Hey, I said it was a cheap shot.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.