Warren Kinsella points out something on his site that has always bothered me:
After I banged up Vic Toews and Carolyn Parrish in the postings below, I got lots of flame email from conservatives irritated about what I had to day about their good ol' boy Vic - and delighted about the Parrish pillorying. Conversely, I got social democrat types writing to say the reverse. It's all kind of predictable and therefore depressing, don't you think? I mean, why can't a so-con write, just for once, to say he or she thinks Toews was being disingenuous? Why can't a Dipper opine that Parrish harmed the anti-Bush cause with her Idiocy? Why can't people (bloggers in particular) play against type?
I have to admit that I was out the country during the Supreme Court Justice appointments and missed the whole Vic Toews story, but I think Warren Kinsella has a point here. People do stupid things all the time and just because they lean the same way politically as you, does not make it any less stupid.
Unfortunately our whole Parliamentary system is set up to reinforce such disingenous confrontations. The non-governing parties have taken the term "Loyal Opposition" too literaly. Let's take Free Trade as an example. PM John Turner was in favour of free trade. Leader of the Opposition John Turner was against it. Similarly Leader of the Opposition Brian Mulroney was against Free Trade. PM John Mulroney for it.
It also bothered me when the Liberal Party appointed their Cabinet. Predictably, Leader of the Opposition Stephen Harper said the following:
The Prime Minister has put together a combination of weak and inexperienced ministers dominated mainly by his loyalists. Unfortunately the cabinet reflects an old team of Liberals with very few new ideas.
Mr. Martin made it clear during the election that he does not want to work with the Conservatives, and sadly confirmed it today with promotions for people like Scott Brison, Jean Lapierre, and Ujjal Dosanjh.
I don’t think Canadians should expect new ideas from this cabinet. Clearly, I am disappointed by today’s announcement.
Don't get me wrong, I like Stephen Harper, but this just sounds like sour grapes. The comment about inexperienced ministers makes no sense in comparison with what a Conservative Cabinet would offer. And the "new ideas" comment. Canadians showed in the last election that any new ideas should come from the left and not the right. Why couldn't he have said something as simple as the Cabinet reflects what the Canadian people voted for and have been done with it?
But this is just one example and all the parties do it. In fact, parties will take stances on issues they disagree with, just to try to make them wedge issues. It is no wonder that Canadians take a "I will believe when I see" stance on Politicians.
