Of all the comments I've seen so far on the Emerson/Fortier Affair, none makes more sense than the one made by Tony Quirk. Tony is an old Conservative hand. I know him casually. He worked at Queen's Park for a while in the Harris years. He's a committed conservative and a loyal party volunteer and supporter. Here's what he had to say in comments at Brent Colbert's blog:
I am concerned that we are beginning to use examples of previous Liberal behaviour to justify our current Conservative behaviour. I have a great deal of time for Minister Fortier. I think he is man of integrity and honesty and if there is anyone who can clean up Public Works, it is he. I am willing (as a proud partisan) to give him the benefit of the doubt.
However, it is impossible to justify the actions of our new PM to those who are not normally interested in politics. The nastiness and vehemence with which friends and family are treating these cabinet appointments makes me embarrassed to have worked so hard in the campaign calling Mr. Harper an agent of change.
It will be difficult for me to get too involved in the future. My only hope is that the public (and myself) will forget these feelings of betrayal by the next election.
In the meantime, bring on my $200 per month child care benefit and cut the GST. (Go Jim F, Go)
$Q.02
And there you have it. This is what happens when you take your base for granted! The media is not letting this story go. Who knows how much longer it will drag on. This was a major unforced error. Not to mention wrong. The saddest part is that it was totally unnecessary.
