Putting an end to weeks of speculation, Baba Brinkman has announced he will be composing a new rap song in suppport of his mother Joyce Murray bid for the Vancouver Quadra federal Liberal nomination. In an email to friends, Mr. Brinkman writes "when the local political internet watch-dog" - that would be your humble organ - "caught wind of the story that Quadra's current MP had decided not to seek re-election, opening the possibility that my mom could succeed him, how did they report it? Was the headline 'Stephen Owen to Retire'? Was the headline 'Joyce Murray Rumoured to Be Running in Quadra'? No, the headline was 'Coming Soon: A New Baba Brinkman Rap?' Even though I wasn't even mentioned in the article, this was the point of interest. So despite my mom's incredible credentials and abilities, according to BC's political pundits she is just 'that rapper guy's mom'. What's good for the goose is good for the gander though, so you can bet I intend to deliver the goods." In the meantime, readers can listen to Mr. Brinkman past campaign raps on his Website. The following is a complete copy of the aforementioned email.

-----Original Message-----
From: Baba Brinkman
Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 7:34 PM
Subject: Help Wanted in the West

Hi - me again. This is just a note to everyone I know in the lower mainland, a plug for someone else this time.

As most of you know, my mother is Joyce Murray, the former provincial Minister of Environment turned federal Liberal candidate for MP. She chaired Stephane Dion's leadership campaign in British Columbia at his personal request, because they had both been environmentalists in cabinet and were both passionate about tackling climate change. As it turns out, Dion made us all proud, and now things are beginning to heat up.

My mom is now seeking the nomination for Liberal Party candidate in Vancouver Quadra, which includes Kits, West Point Grey, Shaughnessy, Dunbar, Kerrisdale, and UBC. She grew up in that area, graduated from Lord Byng Secondary, and has recently moved back there, and she now faces a tough battle to get nominated. If she's nominated, she will be a great candidate with solid political experience and will kick conservative ass in the election, whenever it drops on us. Then she will be on Stephane Dion's team once he becomes Prime Minister, and will have a hand in the progressive social and environmental agenda that he is promoting. Don't be fooled by those cynical Conservative TV ads either; Stephane Dion will be Prime Minister and he will put this country back on the right footing. I know he will be a great leader, from speaking to him and from seeing the enthusiasm he can inspire in people for positive change.

This is something remarkable. My mom was a tree-hugger and a tree-planter, a peace-marcher and entrepreneur, she is a dedicated environmentalist, and she even wrote her Master's thesis on climate change issues back in the early 90s before everyone jumped on the bandwagon, and now she will have a chance to contribute to Canada's role in achieving sustainability and tackling the single greatest challenge of the century. Don't get distracted by terrorism, unless you've got an appetite for pickled red herring (actually, I am partial to red-eye roll-mops, but that's another story).

So here's the plug. If you live in Vancouver Quadra, or if you know someone who lives in Vancouver Quadra, my mom needs people who live in Quadra (see map on www.ElectionsCanada.ca) to sign up as members of the Liberal Party to vote at the nominating meeting. Or if you just have time to spare, my mom needs volunteers for her nomination campaign, and she needs donations. If you've been watching Dion from the sidelines and secretly cheering for him, here's your chance to make a modest move (a membership only costs ten bucks). It is something substantial towards the greater good, which I can testify is my mother's motivation as a politician.

Finally, a little comic relief. For every election my mom has fought since 2000, I have made a rap song about the issues and release it in time to have some impact, change some minds, or at least get some laughs as political satire. The most recent one was in support of Stephane Dion, and it got played on nation CBC radio a number of times during the leadership race back in November/December. You can check all of these songs out at this link:
http://www.babasword.com/index/audio.html

So when the local political internet watch-dog caught wind of the story that Quadra's current MP had decided not to seek re-election, opening the possibility that my mom could succeed him, how did they report it? Was the headline "Stephen Owen to Retire"? Was the headline "Joyce Murray Rumoured to Be Running in Quadra"? No, the headline was "Coming Soon: A New Baba Brinkman Rap?" Even though I wasn't even mentioned in the article, this was the point of interest. So despite my mom's incredible credentials and abilities, according to BC's political pundits she is just "that rapper guy's mom". What's good for the goose is good for the gander though, so you can bet I intend to deliver the goods.

Here's the link if you want to take a gander:
http://www.publiceyeonline.com/archives/002154.html

If you want to help out or if you know of anyone who might, please contact Cameron St John.

If you want to learn more about my mom or contact her directly, her website
is: http://www.joycemurray.com

Here's to a better future,

baba

--
Baba Brinkman
Babasword Productions