Even before Paul Martin usurped the Liberal leadership, the federal Liberals showed little respect for the Canadian electorate.
You may remember their infamous "soldiers in the streets" TV ad, portraying Stephen Harper as a dictator, with the closing "we are not making this up."
Martin was a poor leader who tried to please everyone, and thus pleased no one. He had no principles and no convictions; he just grabbed power, to fulfil his father's dream.
After Martin's 2006 election fiasco, the Liberals gave an unexpected present to the Conservatives by electing Stephane Dion as their new leader. He was elected as a compromise between Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff, with Gerard Kennedy and young Justin Trudeau's help.
The Liberals thought Dion would be a clear winner because polls at the time showed the biggest concern for Canadians was the environment, with which Dion had experience as a former minister.
Dion misjudged Canadians by running a one-issue platform, trying to outflank the NDP and the Greens in this file.
Once more, smart Canadians understood you cannot run a country with one file, no matter how trendy or chic it is. They dropped their voting share from 30 to 26 per cent.
The Liberals then made the biggest political miscalculation since Confederation by appointing Ignatieff, without a democratic process, as their leader. Ignatieff's appointment was an
offensive choice for a serious party trying to form the next government. Born in a rich, aristocratic Russian family, he was ungracious, elitist, arrogant - an academic divorced from contemporary Canadian society, who spent most of his life outside of Canada.
Ignatieff never bothered or had the capacity to develop a coherent set of policies. He lived in his own bubble, disconnected from reality. Canadians showed that they did not identify with or trust him.
How the Liberals managed to get 19 per cent of the vote in 2011 after their poor judgment and a terrible campaign is still a mystery.
Now, it appears, Liberals have not learned their lesson and are lining up behind Justin Trudeau as their next leader.
Trudeau's bid is a further insult to Canadian intelligence: Liberals think Canadians will vote for him simply because he is the son of the late Pierre Trudeau, not because of his fitness for office, his leadership capabilities, experience or knowledge.
He is a highly inexperienced politician with a big pile of gaffes illustrating his unpreparedness and immaturity for office.
At one gathering in Alberta, he spoke against the oilsands. He accepted being a keynote speaker at a controversial conference in Toronto, which was partly funded by an organization with ties to terrorist groups.
He yelled "piece of shit" at Environment Minister Peter Kent. Every time he opens his mouth, he backtracks, has to clarify, justify or apologize for his comments.
The young Trudeau has a bachelor in arts and education, adding to his short list of achievements. He does not have the best credentials to be prime minister.
I want to believe Liberal party members in the Okanagan are smarter than choosing a leader for more than a young, pretty face and his last name.
Do the Liberals really think Canadians are so foolish as to vote on such superficial criteria? With such a low opinion of Canadians, it is not surprising we continue to turn away from them.
Canada needs a strong Liberal party, which respects and works to improve Canada's political process, but that will never happen as long as Liberals continue to disrespect and misread the electorate.
Winston Churchill once asked: "what kind of people do they think we are?" referring to the Germans. In Canada today, we ask, "what kind of people do the Liberals think Canadians are?"
Salomon Rayek is a Kelowna resident and former executive editor of the Jewish Tribune. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .