The Rants of Issachar
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Who wants an election?
Not me! And if you believe them, neither do any of our politicians. So why all this talk about an election? If you listen to the Conservative commentators it's the Liberals who will force an election if they don't sign on the confidence motions in the house, if you listen to the Liberal commentators it's Conservatives who are trying to engineer their own defeat with those motions.
So which is it? I don't have a crystal ball that tells me what Mr. Harper, Mr. Dion and the rest really think, but I do have some comments that I think I can defend.
The crime bill is a fundamental piece of Conservative legislation. It's also a piece of Conservative legislation that the house passed. It's being held up by the Liberals in the Senate and if it stays there until the end of the current session, it will not become law. They don't have to kill it, they just have to sit on it.
I'm aware that the purpose of our unelected senate is to provide a "sober second look", but it's been more than two months, and I think it's pretty safe to assume that the Senators were sober for most of that time.
The Senators don't appreciate being told to pass it or else, but the fact is that the Senate lacks the credibility of an elected legislature because the entire body is simply a roomful of political patronage appointments. They are not the house of commons and they don't have the electoral mandate to hold up legislation. Get on with the show and let's move on to the next piece of legislation.
As for the Afghanistan file, the Conservatives have made their position clear after the Manley report. They want a continued presence in Afghanistan that consists partially of combat troops as long as we get some significant help from a NATO ally. The NDP want an end to any and all combat operations and they're up front about it. The Conservatives had laid down their vision for Afghanistan and the NDP have laid down theirs. These two visions aren't exactly compatible and one is going to have to be Canada's. The Liberals have to decide which one they want because Canada has to have a position.
This is a reasonable matter for a confidence motion because it involves extending combat operations for Canadian troops. This is a serious issue and the Liberals have to decide what they want. The problem for Mr. Dion is that there are Liberals who support the Manley report and Liberals hold the NDP view the issue and he's trying to make them both happy. It cannot be done. Simply not dealing with it and letting both sides believe that their view was the Liberal view worked for a while, but that isn't a long term strategy.
Personally I hope the Liberals vote to accept the Manley report as government policy and move on from there. It's the right thing to do.
So which is it? I don't have a crystal ball that tells me what Mr. Harper, Mr. Dion and the rest really think, but I do have some comments that I think I can defend.
- Having motions of confidence on matters that are fundamental to the Conservative agenda is not necessarily unreasonable.
- How "reasonable" that motion isn't primarily a function of how willing they are to compromise with the opposition.
The crime bill is a fundamental piece of Conservative legislation. It's also a piece of Conservative legislation that the house passed. It's being held up by the Liberals in the Senate and if it stays there until the end of the current session, it will not become law. They don't have to kill it, they just have to sit on it.
I'm aware that the purpose of our unelected senate is to provide a "sober second look", but it's been more than two months, and I think it's pretty safe to assume that the Senators were sober for most of that time.
The Senators don't appreciate being told to pass it or else, but the fact is that the Senate lacks the credibility of an elected legislature because the entire body is simply a roomful of political patronage appointments. They are not the house of commons and they don't have the electoral mandate to hold up legislation. Get on with the show and let's move on to the next piece of legislation.
As for the Afghanistan file, the Conservatives have made their position clear after the Manley report. They want a continued presence in Afghanistan that consists partially of combat troops as long as we get some significant help from a NATO ally. The NDP want an end to any and all combat operations and they're up front about it. The Conservatives had laid down their vision for Afghanistan and the NDP have laid down theirs. These two visions aren't exactly compatible and one is going to have to be Canada's. The Liberals have to decide which one they want because Canada has to have a position.
This is a reasonable matter for a confidence motion because it involves extending combat operations for Canadian troops. This is a serious issue and the Liberals have to decide what they want. The problem for Mr. Dion is that there are Liberals who support the Manley report and Liberals hold the NDP view the issue and he's trying to make them both happy. It cannot be done. Simply not dealing with it and letting both sides believe that their view was the Liberal view worked for a while, but that isn't a long term strategy.
Personally I hope the Liberals vote to accept the Manley report as government policy and move on from there. It's the right thing to do.
1 Comments:
Posted by: 
I only read the first sentenance of your post.... [so far!]. But the answer is me! me me! Only because they're exciting.
You know why!
p.s. I haven't been to your blog in ages. Please accept my apologies.
I only read the first sentenance of your post.... [so far!]. But the answer is me! me me! Only because they're exciting. You know why!
p.s. I haven't been to your blog in ages. Please accept my apologies.
