Liberal spokesman Ross Rebagliati defies Ignatieff again

Michael Ignatieff's spokesman Ross Rebagliati, the Liberal candidate in Okanagan-Coquihalla, was read the riot act by party bosses last month after he gave a series of embarrassing interviews where he deviated spectacularly from the Liberal line.

Rebagliati submitted to the gag order for a few weeks. But snowboarding isn't a team sport, and Rebagliati isn't much for taking instructions, especially from some squaresville political staffers on the other side of the continent.

So last night he let 'er rip about a whole range of subjects. And what he lacked in knowledge he made up for with enthusiasm. The Commonwealth? Time to leave. The Queen? Get rid of her. He was his usual self: a barroom Napoleon, holding forth on any and all subjects. Even when nobody wants to hear it.

Today Rebagliati realized he had crossed the line again, and publicly admitted he was "getting heat for it". (My favourite is his excuse that his true meaning was lost in translation. Funny, because while the news agency he spoke with was German, both the interview and the publication were in English.)

So far, so normal -- a novice politician screwing up. Again.

But here's what makes this so much fun to watch: unlike most political neophytes, when Rebagliati is caught making a mistake, he doesn't own up to it. He doesn't admit he made a mistake, or just go quiet, or try to correct things. He doubles down, denies he's done anything wrong and brazens it out.

Sorta like telling the Japanese police that the THC in your urine is from, uh, second-hand smoke at a party.

So today, Jane Taber of the Globe and Mail asked Rebagliati about some of his wilder comments. But instead of declining to be interviewed, or climbing down, or "clarifying" or even denying (or repeating the "lost in translation" beauty), Rebagliati expanded. He expounded. He compounded.

Here's Taber's political notebook item on the subject:

Today, in an interview with The Globe, Mr. Rebagliati didn’t back away from his comments. He said that it is “time for Canada to stand alone” and the monarchy “doesn’t have to be part of our government any more.”

“We love the Queen and she is a great representative of the people and basic human rights,” Mr. Rebagliati said. “For the most part she stands for everything good. It boils down to Canadians wanting to be Canadians and not have another country dictate – I don’t mean dictate – set the standard or path for Canada.”

He added that Canada is a democracy and that he does not “see the word monarchy in democracy.”

There's a lot in that, probably more than the Sage of Whistler even knows.

Time for Canada to stand alone, eh? Out of the Commonwealth; then surely out of the Francophonie. I wonder what Denis Coderre thinks about that, or Jean Charest for that matter. What other multilateral projects does Rebagliati want to leave? How about the G8 and the G20? How about the UN and its sub-organizations? How about the Kyoto Protocol and other treaties? How about UN-led peacekeeping?

To be candid, I'd like to see us abandon a lot of these sovereignty-destroying global encumbrances myself. But I don't think that's the Liberal view, is it?

Queen Elizabeth -- probably the most beloved and trusted public figure in Canada -- is good "for the most part"? What about the other parts? What are the foul things that she represents? I know plenty of republicans, but I've never met one foolish enough to try to make the case by smearing the Queen personally.

That monarchy vs. democracy business is gorgeous. Does he think we are not a democracy because we have a Queen? Has he missed the last, oh, 400 years as our monarchy and constitutional democracy were reconciled, to make ours the most stable democracy in the world? Does he think our monarchs are comparable to, say, the royal family of Saudi Arabia? But it is nice to hear Rebagliati so concerned about democracy -- just 24 hours ago he was scolding Stephen Harper for not being obsequious enough towards Communist China.

These statements are no longer just his own. He is an official candidate of the Liberal Party, and even has his own official page on the national party's website. He's speaking for the party, whether they like it or not.

And they do not. Here's what a senior Liberal told Taber today:

...When asked about the Liberal Leader's views on the monarchy, a senior Ignatieff official said: “Mr. Rebagliati’s views aside, we will welcome Her Majesty when she comes to Canada later this year.”

Right; he set Rebagliati's views aside. He didn't defend them -- why should he? They're at odds with those of his party, and with most Canadians. (No doubt, that senior Liberal was just grateful not to have to defend Rebagliati's statements that drugs are "part of a healthy lifestyle".)

I wonder if the senior Liberal Taber spoke with is the same senior Liberal who told the Hill Times that Rebagliati's outbursts are a reason the Liberals don't want an election right now.

But let us not be pessimists. There is a silver lining to this cloud. We now have someone in the Liberal Party who makes Justin Trudeau look scholarly and humble and accomplished.