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Well, I guess we know where Conservative Rob Anders still stands.

Last night, I asked the Calgary West MP for his reaction to Nelson Mandela‘s passing.

I asked him because, despite the tributes from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and pretty much every other politician in the world, Anders, in the past, has not been on side with the former South African president.

In fact, he was the sole dissenter to making Mandela an honourary Canadian citizen in 2001, calling him a Communist and a terrorist.

Had his position softened?

On Thursday, shortly after Mandela died, Anders wrote me back. “I wish South Africa peace,” he said.

But this afternoon he emailed to say: “You may be interested in the obituary that David Horowitz has put together on Mandela for the Freedom Centre.”

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I Googled “David Horowitz Freedom Centre,” and found this link: http://www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org/nelson_mandela_1918_2013

The obituary begins, “Mandela began as a terrorist and never turned his back on monsters like Arafat and Castro, whom he considered brothers in arms,” and goes on from there.

The Freedom Centre is based in Sherman Oaks, Calif., and defines itself as combating “the efforts of the radical left and its Islamist allies to destroy American values and disarm this country as it attempts to defend itself in a time of terror.”

I asked Anders if he wanted to talk, and further explain his position.

But he just wrote back, “I have previously provided my thoughts on Nelson Mandela.

“I will let history be the judge.”

UPDATE:

Here is the prime minister’s spokesman, Jason MacDonald’s reaction:

The Prime Minister’s view, which he made clear last night in his statement and which he delivered on behalf of the Government of Canada is that with the death of Nelson Mandela, the world has lost one of its great moral leaders and statesmen.

He has left an enduring legacy, and has acted with grace, humility and tremendous magnanimity. In that regard he is a model for all of us.

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Many turned to Twitter to share their reaction:

@snolen @l_stone I’ll never forget how Anders proudly claimed credit for preventing unanimous consent for Mandela’s honourary citizenship — Daniel Leblanc (@danlebla) December 6, 2013

So MP Rob Anders, who opposed “terrorist” Mandela’s Cdn citizenship, refers Laura Stone to this obit. Same old Rob. http://t.co/M4WjUfodJO — Don Martin (@DonMartinCTV) December 6, 2013

@l_stone @fossilfuels Then Anders should be okay with his own obituary describing him as a dozy troll and nothing else. #cdnpoli — Larry Koch (@lkoch99) December 6, 2013

@l_stone Yes, I look forward to how history judges Nelson Mandela vs. Rob Anders’ insulting balther. It really could go either way. — Sam Dinicol (@samdinicol) December 6, 2013

@l_stone he should turn on the news, history is happening. It’s a celebration of one of the most honoured individuals ever. Judge that. — George Smith (@GeorgeNDP) December 6, 2013