This Tory Says Thumbs Down
Filed Under: Canadian Affairs
I was going to adopt a wait and see approach with respect to the controversy currently surrounding the cabinet selections but thanks to a flimsy excuse I’ll comment right now. Before I get to that however let me say that I am a proud supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada and its leader Stephen Harper. But I am in no way a blind follower. I categorize myself as a rightwing conservative who believes in such things as smaller government, more individual freedoms, a strong military and lower taxation to name a few. It just so happens the CPC is the party that most closely shares my beliefs hence the reason for my support. But as I said I am not a lemming blindly following along. I have opinions of my own and they sometimes conflict with those of the CPC. When I feel the party has done something wrong I will say so out loud. Such is the case with Harper’s cabinet selections, namely Emerson and Fortier.
I’ve listened to the reasoning of those who defend the naming of David Emerson and Michel Fortier to cabinet and I’m afraid I must respectfully disagree. I’m not disputing the fact that these two gentlemen may well be very good at what they do. I don’t dispute the fact that Emerson, being a real CEO, brings a lot to the table and could prove to be quite useful in the softwood lumber dispute but the ends do not justify the means. I’ve even heard the comparisons that this situation is quite different from Stronach’s defection in that the Tories didn’t really have that much to gain. My problem lies not with the motive behind the action but rather the action itself.
Such is also the case with Fortier and the CPC’s desire to have Montreal represented. Again, I’m not interested in why they were named - I’m upset they were named at all. This goes against everything the CPC campaigned on during the election. Just a week before the election 40 Conservative MPs said they thought it would be a good idea for anyone who crosses the floor to seek re-election. Where are they now? The only one to speak up that I’m aware of is Garth Turner. I don’t like the idea of MPs crossing the floor and I too think when it happens they should have to go back to the voters. How many people voted for Emerson the man and Emerson the Liberal representative? I know that if my MP did that I’d be pretty pissed.
Let’s also not forget the things Emerson said about the Conservatives even on election night. All of a sudden the Tories are swell guys? If a guy is that quick to abandon his principles and jump ship do we really want him?
And as far as Fortier goes Harper said he would not use the Senate for political reasons but that’s out the window as well I guess.
I’m sure Harper’s intentions are good and he’s trying to put together an effective caucus for the benefit of the country but this was a huge mistake even if it pays dividends. In politics image is everything. Hell, in life perception is reality. That’s one point we drove home during the campaign. But we managed to flush that down the toilet after only one week.
But the thing that really got my goat was the excuse offered for Emerson’s failure to show up for the press. After waiting nearly 30 minutes reporters were told Emerson was stuck in traffic and the event would be rescheduled for a later date. Stuck in traffic? For half an hour? In Ottawa? Get real.
If we are going to be the party of principles and values we had better start acting like it.
6 Comments so far. Click here to join the discussion!
Anonymous
awesome post!
Feb 9th, 2006
Anonymous
Sayy Thumbs Down. Hope you are the kind of Tory who states his principled objection, but does not withdraw his support for the people who warked so hard to gain the position needed to change events.
John
Feb 10th, 2006
eugene plawiuk
Well said.
Feb 10th, 2006
Len Kutchma
John,
I’ll not let a minor controversy such as this derail my support. As I said in the first paragraph of the post, “…I am a proud supporter of the Conservative Party of Canada and its leader Stephen Harper.”
Having said that allow me to repeat myself when I say that I follow no party or man blindly. I may be a CPC supporter. I may be a Conservative. But first and foremost I am a conservative.
Feb 11th, 2006
Len Kutchma
Eugene,
Thanks for stopping by. You’re always welcome here. Our politics may differ but I do enjoy reading your thoughts over on your blog.
Feb 11th, 2006
Shane Mattison
I wanted to write and ask, in spite of the media and public ‘firestorm’ over the Emerson appointment, to
ask that Canadians please try to see the big picture.
We have a new prime minister who made his cabinet decisions based upon his belief in merit. I could complain that ‘ole loyal Alberta’ should have received more, but that is not my duty, but rather instead to welcome the rest of Canada on a needed movement towards redressing the sheer Tammany Hall corruption that put our society on a dangerous footing. When things get that corrupt, and contempt towards the people’s power of the purse so widespread, is there any alternative except to take Mr Harper at his word when he admires these two businessmen as capable of making important contributions to our public
polity? Are we so averse to having a truly multiparty system that our media and opinion makers cannot allow a new government to prove itself? Perhaps it was a quick and hastily shared moment, sending the jitters into a quarter of the electorate.
But who can deny that such a reaction was fed by professional opinion makers who are bent upon the very destruction of the new government?
I am amazed, as a history teacher, at the lack of historical
perspective, in misunderstanding of the British parliamentary system, which we were fortunate to inherit. Even in American constitutional thinking, parties are not the ‘be-all
end-all’ of responsible representation, but channels against the dangers of polarized factualism. Studying Edmond Burke, in our own system,we are confronted with the reality that we elect a Member of
Parliament not to be a mere ‘party robot’, but to exercise wisdom
when the country is in emergency.
And make no mistake, Canada is swiftly coming to emergency, both abroad and at home. Winston Churchill was always sensible to this larger picture. He also knew that often what the country needs and is deprived of is an ‘enlightened centrism’, which is what he embodied his whole career. So did FDR in America. We should applaud Stephen Harper in getting it right. Mr Emerson legitimately has had a liberal heart and a conservative head. Is that a crime? Again, Churchill crossed the floor twice. What if we find ourselves in the midst of a world war and we’ve passed some mistaken law that our
members of parliament can never switch parties? They were elected to
use their minds and their wisdom on behalf of the country. Since
when is my vote for one particular party ‘God?’ If one votes
only for party, then you are prepared to vote for McCarthy types, solely on the basis that he or she represents ‘the Party.’ And that is a fundamental misunderstanding of Parliament! So, dear Canadians,
forgive them and forget about it. Drop the righteousness - its unbecoming.
This tar and feathering of a highly, highly accomplished man has got to quit if we are to retain self respect as a nation. I ask the too often Liberal-devout and Eastern-favored media imams to cool their fatwas. Prime Minister Harper should be allowed to grow with his job.
And Canadians everywhere better start asking “not what their country can do for them, but what they can do for their country!”
shane mattison
(stanford ‘81)
Feb 15th, 2006
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