Regarding your excellent March 13 cover story on Bob Rae, “What about Bob?”: there are a significant number of lifetime New Democrats like myself who, while sharing many of Mr. Rae’s criticisms of the current direction of the federal NDP, have chosen to stay and eventually reform it back into a modern Scandinavian-like social democratic party. At the same time, there is without doubt a decided social democratic edge to the federal Liberals’ front benches these days and that is something for progressives to applaud rather than deny. SIMON ROSENBLUM

Of course Bob Rae is a traitor, but not to the “left” or to “progressive ideas,” but to the working people of Ontario. His Social Contract of 1993 led directly to the election of the Mike Harris government and the resulting destruction, which we are still living with.
The question is, why did he do it? His personal and opportunistic political journey will likely result in his election in Toronto Centre on March 17. It will be a sad day for all Ontarians. TED TURNER

Bob Rae a traitor? Pragmatic? Opportunist is most accurate. As a long-time centrist, he loves the mushy middle where he can pretend to be progressive to win elections, but then in practice ignore the rights of the LGBT community as Premier, push for higher tuition fees and debt for broke students with Dalton McGuinty, and now help Harper, Bush and the Republicans continue their deadly war in Afghanistan. If Bob Rae is the future of progressive politics in Canada, we are all totally screwed. DAVID FOX


Bob Rae claims pulling out of Afghanistan would be an “incalculable disaster.” Those long of tooth and memory might remember Rae as a student activist in the late 1960s militantly denouncing the American war against Vietnam. Forty years later he is serving up apologia for an imperial occupation/intervention of the day. Bobby, we hardly know ye!
 DANA COOK

Kardinal weighs in on Fresh Arts
Re “The youth program that worked,” Nov. 8, 2007: The good thing about Fresh Arts is that it was the platform to learn about how to take our careers to the next level. This is what I was and still am doing. To Rea McNamara: it’s unfortunate that I didn’t have time at the time to speak due to travelling around the world, and you took that as me being reluctant to speak about such a great program. I was and still am one of the biggest Fresh Arts supporters. Be responsible to your community. There’s no need to slight myself or Saukrates. We learned at Fresh Arts to “big each other up” — not try to bring them down. Despite the cheap shot, it was still a great article and people need to know about all the positive things that took place. Signing off from Tokyo. Risspec.
KARDINAL OFFISHALL
VIA eyeweekly.com

CORRECTION
Due to an editing error, last week’s cover story “What about Bob?” mistakenly reported that city councillor Kyle Rae is a member of the NDP. He is not, having parted company with that party more than a decade ago. EYE WEEKLY regrets the error.

SEND LETTERS TO LETTERS@EYEWEEKLY.COM OR 625 CHURCH ST, 6TH FL, TORONTO, M4Y 2G1. NAMES WITHHELD ON REQUEST, BUT NAME, ADDRESS AND DAYTIME PHONE NUMBER MUST BE INCLUDED. ALL LETTERS BECOME PROPERTY OF EYE WEEKLY FOR PURPOSES OF PUBLICATION IN PRINT, ONLINE OR IN ANY OTHER FORM.