Rob Anders has a theory.In between bites of gravlax and sliced beef from the Chateau Laurier buffet, he lets it be known – minimal prodding necessary – what he really thinks about Thomas Mulcair.
For 15 years, the Reform-cum-Canadian Alliance-cum-Conservative MP for Calgary West has, for better or worse, defined himself as a politician who isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
And so, he has a theory.
“I actually think one of the great stories that was missed by journalists was that Mr. Mulcair, with his arm twisted behind the scenes, helped to hasten Jack Layton’s death,” he said.
“It was very clear to me watching the two of those gentlemen in the front benches, that Jack Layton was ill and that Mr. Mulcair was making it quite obvious that if Jack wasn’t well enough to fight the campaign and fight the election that he should step aside, and that because of that, Mr. Layton put his life at risk to go into the national election, and fight it, and did obviously an amazing job considering his state of health, and that he did that partly because of the arm-twisting behind the scenes by Mulcair and then subsequently died.”
Question: So you think that if that hadn’t existed, Layton would have taken a back seat, rested in some way?
“He would have taken more heed of his health. He might not have rushed into that election campaign with somebody with a knife in his back.”
Backbenchers in the Harper government are often criticized for being afraid, or unwilling, to speak out. This past week in the Commons — with Stephen Woodworth’s motion to study when life begins overtaking the political narrative — proved they can, at times, steal the spotlight.
Now one of the longest-serving Conservative MPs, Anders knows all about that.
His brushes with controversy include the long-ago past — calling Nelson Mandela a terrorist — and the recent-past — inscribing on a card to the troops ‘when in doubt, pull the trigger’; falling asleep in the House; being booted from the veteran’s affairs committee. If the incidents have taught him anything — to tighten up, to hold back, to just not say anything — they clearly haven’t stopped him from being who he is.
This is what makes Anders different from most MPs: he keeps doing what he does, over and over and over again. And he’s still here.
“I’ve always tried to speak from conviction. There are some people who might not share my convictions, and well, that’s just too bad for them,” said Anders.
“It’s kind of what Clint Eastwood said down at the Republican National Convention. He said Hollywood has conservatives, it’s just because they’re conservative they often don’t, kind of, beak off. And I’m a conservative who’s not afraid of sharing my point of view.”
UPDATE:
As of 12:30 pm, Anders has issued an apology: “My comments in iPolitics with respect to Mr. Mulcair and Mr. Layton were insensitive and inconsiderate. I apologize to Mr. Mulcair and to Mr. Layton’s family.”
On China, and Stephen Harper’s dad
Lunch with Anders invariably leads to talk about China. He has long been one of the country’s biggest critics: he once sported a t-shirt calling for China to get out of Tibet at a Chinese New Year celebration on Parliament Hill.
“I would say that the greatest threats to Western civilization are communist China, and are jihad,” he said, blue eyes unblinking.
But he is also an economic libertarian. So his views on the Nexen takeover have been, well, of interest — especially since he’s one of the only caucus members talking.
Anders calls China “the biggest human rights abuser on the face of the earth” and a strategic adversary in every sense. He has concerns about state-owned enterprises, and that Canada should put conditions on any deal it makes. But he’s not necessarily opposed.
“One of the conditions suggested is that if it’s a state-owned enterprise, why should it be able to own more than 50 per cent?” he said. “That’s a reasonable thing to make sure that the company stays largely a private sector company.”
China, along with Senate reform and taxes, have preoccupied Anders’ through his entire career in politics.
A teetotaller first elected at age 25, Anders, now 40, forged his views early. He worked as a youth co-ordinator (and professional heckler) for Jim Inhofe’s senate race in Oklahoma, and plans on signing up Republicans in Canada to vote for Mitt Romney in November.
As one of his biggest influences, Ander cites a man the prime minister knew well — his dad, Joseph Harper.
“Lovely, lovely man. He really treasured his wife,” Anders said. “I remember, he said to me many a time, he said I was generally unhappy before I met Margaret, and he says, after I married her I was generally a happy man.”
Anders, who is unmarried and lives above a restaurant in a building he owns on Somerset St. in Ottawa’s Centretown neighbourhood, clearly has an emotional connection to the Harpers, whom he has known more than half his life. Born in Winnipeg, he grew up in B.C. and moved to Calgary for high school in 1988. He first met Stephen Harper in 1990, when the future prime minister was introducing Preston Manning at the University of Calgary.
When speaking about Joseph Harper, who served as treasurer on Anders’ first election campaign, Anders chokes back tears.
“Emotional moment there,” he said, holding his hand to his mouth. “He’s passed away.”
A Conservative legacy
If last week’s vote on Woodworth’s motion suggested anything, it was that socially conservative views are alive and well inside the Conservative caucus.
Anders, who also believes in the “traditional” view of marriage, supported the motion. On that front, he aligns himself with Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who also voted yes, and who is rumoured as a potential future leadership candidate.
Even though Harper did not support the motion, Anders emanates respect for his boss. “He’s a very clever, disciplined guy who’s got us to majority government because of his caution, and his discipline, and his intelligence.”
Still, for an MP who has sat in the House for 15 years, Anders has arguably nothing to show for it. His private member’s bill to end affirmative action is far down the list. After serving on practically every committee, he has no ambitions to get into cabinet — something he chalks up to never learning French.
He wins by a lot, but he is not necessarily popular with Calgary West Conservatives. In 2010, his nomination was the source of controversy when 19 members of his riding association quit, accusing the Conservative party of interfering because they wanted to hold a nomination contest. Anders chalks it all up to a red vs. blue Tory split. He won his riding by more than 28,000 votes in 2011 and attributes his success to door-knocking — every three years.
In any case, he doesn’t seem worried.
“In some respects maybe I’m the canary in the mine,” he said. “My membership in Calgary West is one of the larger in the country, we bring in more money for the party than just about any other riding in the country, donation-wise. So I think, I am the grassroots in some respects.”
He contends he does not know where his party is headed. He’s not sure what roles he will play next, if any. But with no plans to leave politics, he hopes to be around to see where it goes.
And what would an Anders legacy look like in Canadian politics?
“At the end of my career, if people said ‘he was one of the more conservative members of Parliament who ever sat,’” he said, “that would be a fine epitaph.”
Original Article
Source: ipolitics
Author: Laura Stone
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