It began with Anita Anand writing that she was not only going to stay out of the Liberal leadership race (which was a surprise given that she had previously been organizing an effort before the job was even open), but was also not going to be running again in the next election—which is a shame, because she was not only an extremely competent minister, but probably the best defence minister the country has had in a couple of decades at least. Former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole did the classy and dignified thing and saluted her work.
https://twitter.com/erinotoole/status/1878482424193073181
That simply wasn’t going to be on.
https://twitter.com/jenni_byrne/status/1878513929229320380
Whether Byrne misgendered O’Toole by accident or deliberately (because Conservatives thought it was hilarious to call Trudeau “Justine” and feminise him at every single opportunity), or if she was referring to Anand, it almost doesn’t matter because this is the kind of toxic, purity-test bullshit that she thinks the party really needs—and make no mistake, she is running the party. (If people thought it was bad that Katie Telford was running the PMO, should Poilievre win it’ll be Byrne doing the same). There’s a reason why Conservative MPs aren’t allowed to travel with anyone from other parties anymore, or why Byrne is attacking O’Toole for showing a modicum of human decency is praising someone from the other side—because in her conception of the world, they are not rivals or people who disagree on matters of policy, but rather they are the enemy, and if you don’t realise that you are a heretic and the problem. This is going to make Canadian politics even more toxic the more this takes hold.
To all the young people involved in @CPC_HQ, and politics in Canada generally, this is exactly how not to behave in those inevitably fleeting moments when you feel you are on top. Be humble in leadership. Jenni, as one of our party’s current leaders, you should take this down. https://t.co/5dzt7gdISc
— Walied Soliman (@waliedesq) January 12, 2025
Trust me. You don’t want to start down this road, Jenni. Be better.
— Walied Soliman (@waliedesq) January 12, 2025
This in turn led to people praising O’Toole for being a decent Conservative, which is in and of itself revisionist history, and ignores his own behaviour during his leadership contest and right up until his ignoble ouster as leader, where he lied about everything under the sun, and acted imperiously with his own caucus, going so far as to kick Senator Batters out of caucus for daring to challenge him. That, in his retirement, he did the classy thing to wish Anand well, doesn’t change his prior behaviour, and it makes me feel like I’m taking crazy pills that everyone else has memory-holed his actual record.
Ukraine Dispatch
Russian forces shelled Kherson, targeting power systems that left tens of thousands without power. Russia also claims it captured Shevchenko, near Pokrovsk. South Korean intelligence says that North Korean troops captured by Ukrainians in Kursk haven’t expressed a desire to defect. It is believed there have been there have been more than 3000 North Korean fatalities to date (which includes suicides to avoid capture).
Over the past week, the Russians have launched hundreds of strikes on Ukrainian cities, villages, and the positions of our warriors on the front lines. Nearly 700 aerial bombs and over 600 attack drones were used just in a week.
Every week, the Russian war continues only… pic.twitter.com/EkvB9fOUmv
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 12, 2025
Russian drone strikes on Sumy Oblast spark fire at children's wellness center, 2 injured in attack on bus.
Russian drones struck civilian infrastructure in Sumy Oblast on Jan. 12, leading to multiple casualties.https://t.co/7Mwkmmy4FB
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) January 13, 2025