It's Sunday February the 12 around 9:29AM and

Emerson, Emerson, Emerson

Buttons or no buttons, the reaction by some in the city about Harper and co.'s first week is laughably over the top. The Canadian Press called it "horrible". Crawford Kilian writes that a Toronto Star story claiming Emerson might resign, "might give us a happy ending to one of the most unpleasant weeks in Canadian political history." One of the most unpleasant weeks in Canadian political history? Are you even serious? I bet this won't even make the top twenty.

Unpleasant for whom? The 54% approval of Harper and his government thus far seems to say differently - that is nearly 20 points above the 36% who voted them in. Sure 48% think that Emerson and the appointment of Michael Fortier smells like rotten fish and old school politics. But let's not forget this. Paul Martin and his government scored a 70% on these issues.

And Emerson doesn't seem to be wavering much at all, telling The Province, "I am doing what I think is in the best interests of my riding, the best interests of the province."

But lets go back to the traitor/bait and switch questions. Let me get this straight, people who voted for David Emerson the cabinet minister, are pissed off because David Emerson ditched his greedy corrupt overlords to continue to serve his riding and country in governement as David Emerson the cabinet minister? People have been saying for years how important democratic reform is because the parties are too powerful. And here we have Emerson who has made his own way to deliver results to the people of Vancouver-Kingsway. Over at the CBC Anthony Westell has a rather calm meditation on the idea of switching sides.

Of course it isn't just the Liberals and NDP who are upset. The often http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Miersjellyfish like Conservative coalition is also second guessing Harper's newly found and epic "Rove-ian" political chess strategery. Blogger Damian Penny writes, "An MP can have legitimate reasons for crossing the floor or leaving caucus to sit as an independent, but the circumstances under which Emerson jumped ship betray nothing but pure, unadulterated opportunism. It makes Emerson look bad, and it makes the Conservative government look even worse."

Certainly when MP's like Garth Turner want to drop out of the Conservative caucus over this, you have to wonder how long this minority government will last. And to be fair, when Paul Wells wonders if Emerson is Harper's "Harriet Miers" you know that deep down this move was executed rather poorly.

The thing is, the Conservatives are doing what they have to do to compete with the Liberals. That's a fundemental shift in doctrine from the old Reform/Canadian Alliance days and will lead to more electoral victories, not less. That is what the Liberals do so well, whatever it takes to win. Since 1993 the Conservatives, in all their forms, just haven't had the taste for it. Harper seems to get this. And if you think that the majority of Canadians will lose a wink of sleep about David Emerson crossing the floor explain to me how the Liberals manage to stay in power so long.

Fundementally the Liberals always reminds me of a scene in Catch Me If You Can. Christopher Walken's character asks, "You know why the Yankees always win, Frank?" Leonardo Dicaprio's Frank Jr. answers, "'Cause they have Mickey Mantle?" To which Walken answers, "No, it's 'cause the other teams can't stop staring at those damn pinstripes."

I think people are just mad that we have a political ballgame for the first time in nearly 15 years.

Posted by Jackson Murphy | Link | Comments (2)