Living out here on the island it's easy to get a bit addled. Oh sure, we all sit up and listen when someone screams "earthquake" but most of the time we're much too busy worrying about the price of a 12-pack to pay much attention to politics.
Here's my problem. Garth Turner signed on to the Libs today, eh? Suddenly he's got people from every party lambasting him for "crossing the floor" especially, it seems, because he was so outspoken in criticizing the likes of David Emerson for doing just that.
But wait, what do David Emerson and Garth Turner have in common? Emerson ran as a Liberal and, before the Tories could even be sworn in, betrayed his constituents by turning Conservative.
Now, Garth by contrast, got booted out the door by Stevie Harper, right? He didn't have a Conservative party to leave or betray because he'd been shown the door last year, right? He wasn't a sitting Conservative but, thanks to the Conservative leader, he was resigned to sit as an independent, right?
So, how can an independent be blasted for "crossing the floor?" Just who(m) did he walk out on? Last I heard we didn't have an Independents' Party of Canada or have I just been nodding off too much in the afternoon sunshine?
So, please - explain to me how Garth Turner "crossed the floor." Really, please.
4 comments:
''Just who(m) did he walk out on?''
It isn't about betraying the party, it's about betraying the people who voted for a person running under a particular party.
I think it is fair to say that not all of his contituents voted for Garth, many voted for the Conservative (not Liberal)candidate, the party.
It was Garth who made a big deal out of floor crossing, insisting on an MP remaining Independant until an election or bi-election.
He did exactly what he blogged relentlessly against for months.
PMSH is against denying an MP the right to floorcross, and Garth shows why PMSH is right. Sometimes an MP has to do what he has to do.
So:
Garth now understands why MPs should be allowed to cross the floor (in absolute contradiction to what he said about 'let the people decide').
Garth saved taxpayers a huge bi-election bill (thxs for that).
Garth is now a Liberal (Cons would not have him back).
Scott, Belinda and Garth will run in the next LPC leadership race.
The only way it can be explained is if some brave soul or media has the guts to air again Emerson's "victory" speech in Vancouver-Kingsway where he stumbled over the words: "This is the first step in a Con errr Liberal majority!"
That's it in a nutshell. There you have it. It was a done deal from the get-go. People who were there remember.
It doesn't matter how much Harper and Emerson try to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, many people heard.
The only thing that would make me afraid to keep saying what was real, is if Harper and Emerson make a deal with China disregarding the Human Rights issues Harper has so called taken a stand on. Harper whips his caucus, whips his minions, purges embassies, recalls ambassadors, but somehow Harper's Chinese embassy minions have eluded him and are to blame for Celil. Ya, ok.
Talk about hypocrisy. Until that time, I will say Emerson and Harper rigged Vancouver-Kingsway. I heard what I heard, Emerson stumbled over his words that night and showed up out of the blue on February 6, 2006 to be sworn in as a Con along with Fortier. These are the facts.
No wonder China looks at the faces of Harper and Emerson and decide there's not a lot there to save. China looks at Harper and his minions as a reflection in a fun-house mirror. Lose face in a funhouse? Not for China, no matter how many times Emerson goes there: until Harper is gone there is no true face of Canada.
Unlike Emmerson, Khan, Stronach, Brison et al, Garth made floor-crossing - and "party hopping", if you don't see this as crossing the floor - a big crusade of his.
His line was, if you want to be a Liberal, get elected as a Liberal. He didn't add a tonne of weasel-words after it.
He was given the boot from the CPC caucus, to be sure, but he chose to quit the CPC. And after going on and on about how party machines always crushed indep. MP's and others who bucked the system, Garth has just joined one of the biggest machines of 'em all.
Now, Garth obviously had every right to do what he did. But he's living down to the standards set by others, not living up to the standards he wanted set before.
Not only that the riding would clearly have gone Liberal to the incumbent if Garth hadn't ceaslessly campaigned for about a year to win by a narrow margin. The riding will easily vote Liberal and Garth in the next election. The riding would have gone Liberal either way.
Post a Comment