Sunday #2 Don't fall for the stall
Last week the PM - SH, appointed a retired judge to decide which of the documents ordered to be produced by Parliament should be released. No, No No, Parliament ordered that documents be given to Parliament. If the opposition falls for this stalling tactice they might as well dissolve themselves and go home. It's simple Parliament makes a motion and the rest of the Country have to obey - it's the Constitution dummy!
4 comments:
I LOVE this stuff! The Liberals are the worst excuse for an Opposition since The Anti-Dilutionists tried to bring down the minority Dilutionists in The Duchy of Grand Fenwick. Only a failed invasion, led by Tully Bascombe, of a foreign country, saved both parties and the country itself.
Despite the dilemma faced by Ignatief et al -damned if you do, damned if you don't- and despite their near-invisible weakness, Harper himself doesn't dare bring down his own government -again. Somewhere just outside of Ottawa is a small explosives factory making personalized petards. There must be. How else to explain the overabundance of incendiaries upon which both parties have hoist themselves? This is great stuff, Shakespearian almost. Sound and fury signifying nothing. And now we have an honourable man tasked with either speaking truth to power or making a deal with the devil. Ben's entirely correct: All Iacobucci has to do -ALL HE CAN DO- is tell Harper to hand over everything -unredacted and intact. Parliament demands it. There is no debate, no room for interpretation, no hiding behind the absudist rubric of national security. Just hand it all over , pal. |Period. No if, and, or buts.
Anything less and the esteemed former Justice sentences himself to life. Life as a Conservative stooge.
And there ain't no parole on that rap...
Our Ottawa politicians don't need a factory to produce petards. In Shakespeare's phrase they are being hoist on "their own" petards.
There comes a time when the leader of the official opposition has to oppose.
The time has already come, with Harper deciding that he can prorogue parliament to save his own skin, and by defying the house of commons by refusing to produce documents and by depriving house committees of quorums by keeping Tory members at home. Under the normal rules of parliamentary democracy Harper cannot do these things. Ignatieff is obliged to vote against Harper. If this causes an election so be it. After all, if Ignatieff had the guts to do it the electorate might even support him. Even if he looses, Ignatieff's job title means that he has to do it.
These guys could care less about our parliamentary rules. It's all about burying the issue of our treatment of Afghan detainees.
As the clock ticks by and the birds start chirping, eventually our gardens and BBQs will take priority over caring about the issue or government antics.
Very sad but predictable too.
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