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This morning I posted a message about David
Emerson, the consumate politician, moving from the defeated Liberal cabinet to
the new Conservative cabinet. To make my point, I used one of my favourite
quotes about politicians, arses and horses.
Later in the morning, a friend took me to task
for my line of thought. He suggested that I should know better, that
politics is about the person we are electing as much as about the party.
If the person is competent and is invited into the Cabinet, why should he not
take up the invitation even if he has to cross the floor? He pointed out
that Churchill had crossed the floor a couple of times, and that in the British
parliamentary system, which we have inherited, this is not so strange a thing to
do.
I've thought about this and have to admit that I
voted for the person and not the party even though that person didn't have a
snowball's chance in hell of being part of the government. I also thought
about David Emerson's credentials -- a very bright and competent man. Why
shouldn't he play a part in managing the country? But there are other
bright and competent people in the opposition now too. What about
them?
If one extends this line of thought more fully, it
leads to the conclusion that perhaps the best way of forming governments is to
do away with parties and ensure that the most competent people possible are
elected to parliament and, from those, the best people are selected to run the
government.
Perhaps having Emerson come over wasn't such a bad
idea. Would we rather have Harper have to reach way down into the
Conservative dregs?
Ed
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