You Just Wanna Despair...

Of course, the post below was a thought experiment, dealing with a semi-perfect world. In the real world of Canadian politics, as Andrew Coyne reveals, politicians may not actually be thinking people.

Hilarious story in the Sun about an inadvertently-broadcast meeting of the Liberals' Ontario caucus, aka the Nervous Nellies. These are the people who surfed in on the Liberal wave in 1993 and have been coasting ever since. They've never had to fight in a real election all their lives, and the sudden prospect of it has them nauseous.

Beaches-East York MP Maria Minna told caucus her own sister doubts whether she and other Grits didn't benefit from the sponsorships.

"When we lose our own families, when they're questioning us ... it is bad," Minna told MPs, adding she felt the Ontario caucus was the only safe place for her to vent.

Yes, good thing the whole thing wasn't televised or anything. [Emphasis in original]

As Coyne goes on to point out, even with this huge scandal looming large over their heads, the Liberal MPs in question are still more concerned about "tactics and strategy and how to manipulate the debate" than what to do about the charges.

Nothing in the story indicates that MPs were especially concerned about the substance of the scandal -- finding the facts, punishing the guilty, reforming the system, etc. Just the possible political impact on themselves.

.................

If Liberal MPs are having a hard time sleeping these days, it's not on account of their consciences.

Now what was I saying about learning the character of our representatives?
-- posted by Austin @ 12:58 PM (PermaLink/Comment) ¶