A Political Near Death Experience

When a blog post from 2006 came back to bite

After seeing clips of last night’s debate, it is hard to understand how some candidates can say absolutely any weird thing that comes into their heads and stay in a race, and others can end their political careers over the smallest misstep or just from losing the narrative. Even with decades involved in politics in some form or other, I still don’t fully understand it. Early in my first federal campaign as a candidate, I very narrowly avoided the latter fate. This is that story.

[ The back story to my career, continued from part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 ]

At 16:26 on September 24th, 2015, in the home stretch of the campaign and the night of the federal Leader’s Debate, I received an inquiry from CBC that threatened to derail my bid for office:

Hello, I am seeking comment and explanation on posts Mr. Graham made on his now-inactive blog.

Specifically, I am hoping he can explain/comment on a May 16, 2006 post that reads:

"The Pentagon has apparently released new footage of AA 77 hitting the Pentagon....but wouldn't you know it, there's *still* no plane visible in the video."

Does this reflect skepticism on Mr. Graham's part on the events of Sept. 11?

Also, in the blog, he makes comments about several former and current Liberal MPs - any comment on that?

Thanks very much,

You can reach me by this email, or cell phone (number) tonight. I will be in the office at [number] after 9 a.m. tomorrow. 

I would appreciate a response tonight, or by early morning.

Thanks very much,

Kathleen

Kathleen Harris

Senior Writer

CBC News Network/ CBC.CA

@ottawareporter

I quickly prepared a reply and sent it to the national campaign communication team for sign-off, not wanting to cause more embarrassment than necessary. 

I suggested:

Good evening Mrs Harris,

Thank you for taking the time to explore my past writings. 

As I lost a good friend, Christoffer Carstanjen, on flight 175 on September 11th, I felt in the years following the terrorist attack that the United States government owed it to friends and family of victims to show all footage that was taken. Since that time I have come to realise that it was not the right position to take and this post is not a general reflection of my stance. I have the greatest respect for Chris, a mentor of mine in my information technology career, and hope his memory is honoured by learning the lessons of the devastating attacks of September 11th. 

It is precisely this incident, and being at work on the Hill on October 22nd last year, that leads me to support C-51 in principle on bringing security to Canadians. Our security and our liberty are paramount and I look forward to working for the betterment of both.

As for references to past and current MPs, I have been an active and partisan participant in many leadership races over the past decade and my posts should be viewed in that context. I am proud of my involvement in the Liberal party going back to my youth, and I am proud to be a part of the Liberal team as we prepare to plan for our future.

Thank you again for reaching out Mrs Harris.

All the best,

David Graham, liberal candidate in Laurentides–Labelle

The next morning, I still did not have an answer from the war room, but pointed out that I had included the blog entry in my nomination declarations, so the party would not be justified in saying I had suppressed it. I also sent a tribute to Chris I had written on a 9/11 Memorial page a few months after the attack:

In June, I attended a barbecue at Mr. Pack's house on Hermon with the remaining GEECS. Chris was there and he and Mr Pack cooked up a storm. He had told us years earlier that his degree was culinary arts, and he was certainly demonstrating that.

I was back at NMH at the time for the 2001 graduation, and Clint, another alumni back at the time, was staying at Chris' place.

The day after the barbecue, I brought Clint back to Chris' place and I left him there with his bike. Chris was not home, and I didn't see him again before going back home to Canada.

When Chris showed up on NMH's scene in 1996, he was working either in the Cutler server room or the help desk in Cottage 3. Mike, Zach, and I used to go down and bug him there, helping out with fixing computers, talking, or whatever else was going on at the time. He rapidly became one of the three faculty advisors for GEECS along with Mr. Pack and Mr. Schweikert and attended nearly all the meetings we managed to hold, sat with us in the dining room, and was the life of the party.

In not too long, he became largely responsible for SWIS and informed me that, because of my poor academic standing, I wouldn't get to be one of the SWIS ops, a position I'd coveted since I'd arrived at the school in '95. He administered fairly and with tremendous enthusiasm.

In the seven and a half months since this tragedy, I've been trying to convince myself that it didn't happen. I see the footage on the television and I think "computer animation" or anything else to pretend it isn't so.

Chris, you will always be in my thoughts, from the motherboard on your front licence plate, to your never-ending smile (well, except when I bugged you *too* much), to all that you taught me about the computers and servers you worked with.

David Graham

NMH class of 1999

Finally, the next morning, I was asked to send a watered-down reply, emphatically denying the position that the decade-old blog entry had clearly taken:

Good morning Ms. Harris,

As I lost a good friend Christoffer Carstanjen on September 11^th, my comments reflect a yearning to have closure and see the footage of the multiple attacks which took place on that day. Let’s be crystal clear: I have never and do not question the events which took place on September 11^th, 2001.

As for references to past and current MPs, I have been an active and partisan participant in many leadership races over the past decade and my posts should be viewed in that context. We have the best team and the best plan to grow our economy and put more money in the pockets of the middle class. I am proud to be one part of Team Trudeau, a group of amazing candidates who will bring real change to the lives of Canadians.

All the best,

David Graham, liberal candidate in Laurentides–Labelle

That afternoon, Harris published her article. While it quoted my carefully constructed reply and it never came up again, a BC Liberal candidate had written far more scathing commentary regarding 9/11, responded directly to the media, and a few days later was unceremoniously removed as a candidate.