On the Appointment of Emerson and Fortier
Methinks that many of the conservative bloggers have over-reacted quite badly to the appointments of David Emerson and Michael Fortier. Politics is not a pretty business, and the ideals that one proclaims in opposition can be very difficult to hold to once in power. Both Emerson and Fortier bring experience and knowledge to the portfolios they have been given. They also provide the government with representation for the cities of Vancouver and Montreal, which is important. I find the arguments from the idealist bloggers sounding a lot like the old Reform supporters...
This is a minority parliament. There is risk at every turn that the opposition parties could bring about the fall of the Conservative government. Therefore Mr. Harper must take action that may lead to potential growth for the Conservative Party in a future election.
Those people who have already voted Conservative probably won't change to vote Liberal/Green/NDP/Bloc because of these minor questions of floor-crossing and unelected cabinet ministers. Many cabinet ministers in Canada have been appointed from outside the House of Commons. Many senators have held cabinet posts in Canadian history.
Also, appointing Fortier to the Senate is not the end of the world. He has said that he will resign and run for a seat in the Commons during the next general election. Seems fair to me, considering that the next general election will very likely be within 24 months. Quebec could elect a senator for that seat at that time, as Harper has stated.
To those who think Harper and company should act like saints now that the Conservatives hold power had better be prepared for more things they don't necessarily like. But if you generally support the conservative cause, stop griping about it. Any bad press that conservative bloggers create for this government increase the likelihood that the Liberals will be able to recover and take power again, soon.
This is a minority parliament. There is risk at every turn that the opposition parties could bring about the fall of the Conservative government. Therefore Mr. Harper must take action that may lead to potential growth for the Conservative Party in a future election.
Those people who have already voted Conservative probably won't change to vote Liberal/Green/NDP/Bloc because of these minor questions of floor-crossing and unelected cabinet ministers. Many cabinet ministers in Canada have been appointed from outside the House of Commons. Many senators have held cabinet posts in Canadian history.
Also, appointing Fortier to the Senate is not the end of the world. He has said that he will resign and run for a seat in the Commons during the next general election. Seems fair to me, considering that the next general election will very likely be within 24 months. Quebec could elect a senator for that seat at that time, as Harper has stated.
To those who think Harper and company should act like saints now that the Conservatives hold power had better be prepared for more things they don't necessarily like. But if you generally support the conservative cause, stop griping about it. Any bad press that conservative bloggers create for this government increase the likelihood that the Liberals will be able to recover and take power again, soon.
posted by Technical Bard | 21:20
4 Comments:
"This is a minority parliament. There is risk at every turn that the opposition parties could bring about the fall of the Conservative government. Therefore Mr. Harper must take action that may lead to potential growth for the Conservative Party in a future election."
Kinda like Paul Martin did last spring. :^)
Those sorts of statements coming from Conservatives would be less vomit-inducing if it wasn't for the histrionics from when Stronach crossed.
The fact is that the Conservative candidate came in third in Vancouver Kingsway. Maybe the people there wanted a Liberal to represent them, not David Emerson personally (Question: If he's so non-partisan, why didn't he run as an Independent?) Failing that, maybe they wanted the second-place candidate, Ian Waddell.
Now they have a Conservative MP, even though fewer than one voter in five in that riding voted for the Tory party.
And now that the Tories have power, despite campaigning on a Mr. Clean platform, some of their supporters (that would be you, TB) think whatever helps them keep power should be seen as OK. So feeding David Emerson's ego by giving him a prominent cabinet post is a good deal for all concerned.
You know what, I think you Tories will hold power for a long time: You're starting to think and act like Liberals!
And it's only been one day!
I agree that the blogosphere is demanding an unwarranted ideological purity incompatible with the need to deal with reality. Instead, they should look at the Toronto Star which says it is insufficient for Harper to rely on 905 cabinet members to represent Toronto. Doubtless the Star wants Harper to get a Toronto Liberal to cross over. That's what Harper is facing.
Perhaps this need to not be bound by ideological purity explains why Helena Guergis's private member's bill to make floor-crossers subject themselves to a byelection within 35 days never made it into the Tory platform.
I doubt the Star wants a Liberal to cross. I don't doubt that Harper does. How else can he get representatives in Canada's largest cities? He certainly couldn't elect any.
Harper hubris, or Does Harper have a tin ear?
The conventional wisdom now seems to be that Stephen Harper is a political genius, of the same ilk as Napoleon, or Churchill, or – pick your favourite. But what if Harper’s cabinet-making is not a politically astute move by at all, but simply a sign that he has a political tin ear?
After all, sometimes the past is predicator of the future: in 2004 he misread the electorate with some of his comments about the Liberals – especially Martin – and his premature triumph speeches about the West taking over. And in Parliament he has sounded a bit screechy and overly self-righteous. Then there are those stories about him being a one-man-band, who does not need a mentor because, one observer says he said, he never met anyone as smart as he is ....
So, perhaps this was just Harper being Harper, and marching to his own discordant band?
If so, wait until the second Act: gonna be a lot of fun for Libs and NDP, and a lot of buyer’s remorse by many voters in Ontario ....
And meanwhile, the Bloc will crouch in the wings, nursing its wounds, and waiting for the right time to take Harper down – when he is under a cloud of intolerance or stupidity, but before he cements himself into Quebec as Mulroney Junior. Best get rid of him soon, before he becomes a real threat to the Bloc ...
So wait for the right moment, and the ganging up by the three parties who each have good reasons for taking him out of his new digs at Sussex, and who – between them – hold the balance of power.
After all, Harper arranged a mob-lynching of Martin with all three parties deciding to put in the knife on that particular Ides of May. Having shown the way, I wonder if Harper fears that this time the other three parties will cooperate to bring him down?
Better than even chance, I think; and probably before summer ends, too.....
Maybe Harper should let those renovations take place at Sussex Drive before he moves in: might save him having to move twice, eh?
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