» Three Libs running after listing ‘family’ as a reason they wouldn’t

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The rule, almost all of the time, is to never go after family of politicians.

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It’s a good rule. They didn’t run for office. They didn’t ask for public scrutiny.

People get mad when someone attacks a politician’s family member. A few days ago, for example, a partisan jerk posted some garbage about the sexuality of one of Mark Carney’s kids. It was disgusting. It was despicable.

It was condemned by just about everyone, Conservatives and New Democrats included.  That’s good.

So, you generally shouldn’t involve family when you talk about a politician. It’s a rule.

But three recent sort-of exceptions come to mind.

Not because of anything they’ve done. Not because they’ve broken any statutes or laws or anything. They’re all probably wonderful people, enduring their family member’s political career in relative silence.

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But, honestly, families of Liberals Anita Anand, Sean Fraser and Nate Erskine-Smith: How are you feeling? Quite a few of us are wondering that.

Here’s why: Nate, Anita and Sean all said they were leaving politics, back when the Liberal Party was in the basement of public opinion. All mentioned their families. Back, you know, when the Conservatives were 30 points or so ahead of the Liberals.

All three said they were leaving politics to spend more time with family — or return to a normal life or whatever.

Back in December, Fraser made quite a show of it. He was housing minister, back then, and he called a press conference to say he was quitting cabinet and his Nova Scotia seat. “My kids aren’t getting any younger and they’re going to need their dad around,” Fraser said. He got pretty choked up.

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Asked about running for some other office, Fraser was emphatic.

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“Today is not about a transition to some new political opportunity,” he huffed. “It’s about an opportunity to transition to being a father who’s more available to his kids.”

Gotcha. Well, the “transition” didn’t last very long. Right around the time the Liberal Party started to get popular again, Fraser swiftly changed his mind. The party jettisoned the nice guy who had been picked to run in Fraser’s riding, and Fraser was back.

Do you think it’s possible that he didn’t mean what he said about family? That’s a rhetorical question.

Anita Anand did more or less the same thing. A few days after Sean Fraser left politics to spend a few minutes with family, Anand — also a cabinet minister — said she was packing it in.

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Said a solemn Anand, referencing Justin Trudeau’s departure: “I have determined the time is right for me to do the same, and to return to my prior professional life of teaching, research and public policy analyses,” she said. In a statement, she also referenced her husband and kids, and said she would hold the honour of her past public service “in my heart forever.”

Well, “forever” lasted about two months, give or take. The polls changed, and so did Anand’s mind. Presto! She’s back.

Nate Erskine-Smith, meanwhile, made his resignation announcement earlier on. He made a pretty unambiguous Facebook post about it, too. “I won’t be running in the next federal election.” Full stop. No qualifiers, there.

That statement was pretty to clear to those of us who are his constituents. Meanwhile, some Liberals even made the mistake of thinking Erskine-Smith actually meant what he said. They started seeking the Liberal nomination in Erskine-Smith’s Toronto-area riding.

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Erskine-Smith told the media that he didn’t have any immediate plans. “I grew up here and I’m raising my own family here. This is and always will be home for me. We are lucky to have the active and engaged community that we do, and I couldn’t have been luckier to speak up for our community in Parliament,” he told a reporter.

Uh-huh.

Well, whaddya know: Nate’s back, too. His re-election signs have popped up again on lawns in the Beach, like Spring flowers. One must assume he didn’t recycle them when he “resigned.”

Anyway. Spare a thought, this week, for the families of these three Liberal politicians. They probably are as bewildered as the rest of us.

Because quitting to “spend more time with family”?

“Time” sure ain’t what it used to be.

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