Drama
Defection
Intrigue
Scandal
You'd think I were speaking of a big blockbuster movie, but alas I am referring to Canadian Politics. What with the recent political events in Canada unravelling, I have begun to wonder what exactly has been running through the frazzled minds of citizens across our great country. It seems that the recent Floor crossing by Belinda Stronach has caused a furious backlash from both Conservative parliamentarians and her local Aurora/ Newmarket ridership, and I am left wondering why.
She has been likened to as a whore, prostitute, traitor and Judas.
Am I the only one who has taken offense to this language and reference? If this were a man, would he have been called a Whore? I won’t even get into that discussion, since we all know that men (when promiscuous) are termed “studs” – hardly a derogagatory remark!
So she didn’t win the seat as PC leader. So she crossed the floor and abandoned her party. So she left Peter Mackay.
So what?
Do people truly believe that a woman of her stature and her qualities and strength would standby and allow her vision of what Canada is and should be, be thrown to the ground and trampled upon? I realise there are a lot of angry people on both sides, but people need to get a grip and realise that nothing is ever permanent in the political landscape. This is not the first time that a Parliamentarian has crossed the floor from one party to another. Within the last year, both Carolyn Parrish (Liberal to Independent) and David Kilgour (PC to Independent) have shown that standing up as a lone voice amongst a sea of others was an act of bravery and integrity. They had their reasons and they made it publicly known. One must also remember Scott Brison, who crossed over to the Liberals as a Progressive Conservative 2 days after the dissolution of the Progressive Conservative party and the birth of the New Conservative Party of Canada. Brison was clearly perturbed by the merger between PC and Canadian Alliance parties, something that Peter MacKay had been long dreaming of, despite his promises to David Orchard that there would never be an alliance with the Alliance Party. And Peter MacKay feels betrayed by Belinda Stronach? Puleaze! Imagine what David Orchard and so many other PC's felt when they announced that news.
What I’m getting at here, is this - no one holds the same political ideals all their life unless they are infantile idiots. You learn and grow and you find your niche. The problem is that there are only 4 distinctive parties in Canada to choose from, and people have it in their tiny little minds that they need to fit into the mold of one or the other.
Bullshit.
I have learned over the years that there are aspects of each party that I respect or like and that I have to find the median, or the political group that I have most in common with. I am completely gobsmacked by those who declare that Belinda Stronach is a Judas for abandoning her party, saying that she did so for ambition.
And again, what is wrong with that?
She has the ambition to lead this country to a place where it should be – an accepting, moderate, fiscally conservative, but socially responsible country. She knew her ideals would never reach fruition with the Conservative Party, not simply because she lost the leadership vote, but also because the Party was not heading in the direction that she saw it should be.
We as voting citizens listen and watch Parliament and local politics to ensure that our interests and concerns are being properly addressed in our registered voters name. We are the voice and in essence the power that drives these political parties, and if they were to tell me that I had no right to change my vote I would have a full-out conniption. The idea that we as voters cannot change party alliance is ludicrous. Things happen, people change, and people make new decisions. I always said that Belinda Stronach was in the wrong party and that if she was a liberal that I would be right behind her. It has nothing to do with her looks or her money. It has everything to do with her ability to see past the party, and into the ideals of what Canadians want. One should never fit themselves in a box.
I say good on ya Belinda. You have my vote and my support and I feel damned good about it.
Stronach is breaking that box, and if a few balls are broken as well, then I say bring it on. Now, we just wait for the Parliamentary votes to determine if this government is dissolved.
Stay tuned...This is so much better than that Desperate Housewives show.
4 comments:
I agree that the whore/prostitute references are disgusting. No excuse for that. And I certainly can't blame Belinda (who's initials are BS - sorry, immature...) for walking away from Stephen Harper. But she helped to broker the alliance of the old tory party and this new hideous incarnation. And then she walks away. I mean was she so stupid that she thought that a merger with Reform/Alliance wouldn't be a disaster???? She helped turn the national party into the extreme party that the Ontario PCs became.
I wonder if the people defending her ever voted for the PCs. I did. Always. But never again after the merger, and never again in Ontario after Mike Harris. So she destroyed the party of red tories, and then joins the Librerals. I'm not impressed.
Snooze, that's a very good point and I too voted for the PC Party at one point in my life. But do you think that this merger wouldn't have happened if Stronach wasn't there? It was inevitable with such figures as Harper & MacKay. I don't think she was able to foster that relationship on her own, as she was already uncomfortable with the parties identity and association to the extreme. Yes, it is true she likely should hold some liability in having been a part of it, but people do have a change of heart.
Besides, she does have fabulous shoes and they would go to waste in the Conservative Party without a few token gay MP's commenting on them.
Dickey: How the Tories feel about women? I don't think any party can claim decent treatment of women. Judy Rebick once commented on how much the left marginalizes women, and whether or not you agree with the political stance, Margaret Thatcher was given a true position of power under the British Tories.
Epi: Ah, but it's really only the Conservatives who would wear such fab shoes as they are the only ones who don't care about obvious shows of mony ;)
I couldn't agree with you more. In fact, there's really nothing much I can add to your words. Belinda Stronach showed courage, guts and heart when she followed her conscience. I don't believe she saw Harper's true colours until after the merger had occurred. Once it was being lived out in the flesh, so to speak, she did the right thing. She didn't stay in the 'abusive marriage'. She spoke out, and she left.
(Thanks for the very kind comment you left on my blog. I'm happy to have been introduced to yours.)
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