Remember recently when we reported on the Conservative “snore-fest” leadership race in Ontario. Can you guess who might have read our report and decided to liven things up? It’s that kid in short pants who has nothing better to do as a federal Member of Parliament than to waste time in the provincial leadership contest. Did we tell you he also takes cheap shots at opponents when he hopes they cannot answer?
It would be worth reporting if we thought for one minute that he was contributing anything to the contest. Even Prime Minister Harper said he did not care what that MP did as long as he shows up to vote for Conservative bills in the House of Commons. That is his total contribution in Ottawa. What makes him think he can do anything better for voters at Queen’s Park?
It is unlikely he would know about an old trick from American politics called the “Roorback.” It has fallen into disrepute in recent years because of the speed of news media dissemination today and the effectiveness of social media. A good Roorback used to be a particularly scurrilous attack on an opponent when it is too late for the opponent to answer the charges. It has the subtlety of loudly passing gas in a crowded room.
But amateurs still try it. Brown pulled it at the end of a leadership debate the other evening. He targeted Oshawa MPP Christine Elliott who was Deputy Leader of the provincial Tories under former Leader Timmy Hudak. He accused Elliott of standing shoulder to shoulder with Hudak in regards to the plan to axe the jobs of 100,000 Ontario civil servants last year. Coincidently Brown was at the announcement of the plan as the Barrie Country Club is in his federal riding. (He never likes to miss a chance to get his picture in the local papers.)
In fine political style, Ms. Elliott shared the blame with her caucus colleagues for the plan that probably cost the Conservatives the election, and Hudak his job, She said she was disappointed that Brown felt the need to go after all of them in this way.
While many in the Progressive Conservative provincial caucus claim they were blind-sided by Hudak’s announcement, it has been proved that copies of planning documents had been given to caucus members. The policy documents that mentioned the 100,000 job cuts were collected again after the meeting for security purposes.
The Barrie MP might be a little more credible in his complaint if he had not been seen congratulating the Ontario Conservative leader for his brilliant leadership after the speech that day at the Barrie Country Club.
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Copyright 2015 © Peter Lowry
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