And the anger keeps mounting
Graham Thomson of the Journal put it well!!
Here is his comment from Graham Thomson's Blog:
SUBJECT: Outrage, what outrage? Perhaps I’m just getting too cynical...but I’m finding it difficult to muster much outrage at Stephen Harper’s cabinet appointments this week.
Yes, I was as surprised as anyone over David Emerson’s hypocritical jump to the Conservatives — especially since he was presented as a Liberal poster boy during the election campaign in British Columbia.
And I had to stifle a guffaw when Harper appointed Michael Fortier to the Senate to sit as a non-elected member of cabinet. That one move managed to make a mockery of Senate reform and responsible government.
People are rightly angered at the hypocrisy of it all (Liberal supporters in Vancouver-Kingsway must be ready to toss Emerson into Coal Harbor).
So, where’s my outrage?
I’m not sure. Perhaps I’ve misplaced it after 25 years as a journalist. Or maybe it’s been worn to the nub after reporting on this kind of thing so many times in the past.
Remember Reform Leader Preston Manning in 1993?
He promised a new era of cleaner more responsible politics — Reformers wouldn’t accept the gold-plated MPs pension plan. They wouldn’t fly business class. Manning said Reformers would never settle into Stornoway and he actually held a photo-op to hand back the keys to his limo.
Manning and Reformers such as Deb Grey broke every one of those promises.
The Liberals, of course, are masters at political sleight-of-hand.
Jean Chretien famously promised to scrap the GST — and infamously never did.
There are all kinds of other examples, too numerous and ponderous to mention here, of politicians putting expediency before principle.
I suppose there is a silver lining here: For all those afraid Harper has a hidden agenda to do things radically different, he has shown he’s just like all the rest.
In a bizarre way, that reaffirms my faith in politicians. As long as they’re willing to do what it takes to stay in power at the federal level, they’ll never do anything radical.
Maybe that’s why I can’t muster any outrage.
Or perhaps it's because I have high expectations for members of Harper's cabinet such as Rona Ambrose and Tony Clement.
Hmm, maybe I'm not as cynical as I like to think.
COMMENTS
Posted by Graham Thomson on 2/7/2006 12:14:43 PM
I expect the Conservation popularity to hit below 20% soon!
Here is his comment from Graham Thomson's Blog:
SUBJECT: Outrage, what outrage? Perhaps I’m just getting too cynical...but I’m finding it difficult to muster much outrage at Stephen Harper’s cabinet appointments this week.
Yes, I was as surprised as anyone over David Emerson’s hypocritical jump to the Conservatives — especially since he was presented as a Liberal poster boy during the election campaign in British Columbia.
And I had to stifle a guffaw when Harper appointed Michael Fortier to the Senate to sit as a non-elected member of cabinet. That one move managed to make a mockery of Senate reform and responsible government.
People are rightly angered at the hypocrisy of it all (Liberal supporters in Vancouver-Kingsway must be ready to toss Emerson into Coal Harbor).
So, where’s my outrage?
I’m not sure. Perhaps I’ve misplaced it after 25 years as a journalist. Or maybe it’s been worn to the nub after reporting on this kind of thing so many times in the past.
Remember Reform Leader Preston Manning in 1993?
He promised a new era of cleaner more responsible politics — Reformers wouldn’t accept the gold-plated MPs pension plan. They wouldn’t fly business class. Manning said Reformers would never settle into Stornoway and he actually held a photo-op to hand back the keys to his limo.
Manning and Reformers such as Deb Grey broke every one of those promises.
The Liberals, of course, are masters at political sleight-of-hand.
Jean Chretien famously promised to scrap the GST — and infamously never did.
There are all kinds of other examples, too numerous and ponderous to mention here, of politicians putting expediency before principle.
I suppose there is a silver lining here: For all those afraid Harper has a hidden agenda to do things radically different, he has shown he’s just like all the rest.
In a bizarre way, that reaffirms my faith in politicians. As long as they’re willing to do what it takes to stay in power at the federal level, they’ll never do anything radical.
Maybe that’s why I can’t muster any outrage.
Or perhaps it's because I have high expectations for members of Harper's cabinet such as Rona Ambrose and Tony Clement.
Hmm, maybe I'm not as cynical as I like to think.
COMMENTS
Posted by Graham Thomson on 2/7/2006 12:14:43 PM
I expect the Conservation popularity to hit below 20% soon!