"Hopalong" Harper Organizes His Posse.
Harper, after railing for years against an appointed Senate, and throwing a hissy fit when Friend-of-Bill Belinda Stronach left him to join the Grits, picked as members of his new cabinet: a soon to be appointed back room boy Senator and a Liberal floor-crosser.
- David Emerson, a Martin cabinet member, was returned as a Grit in a Vancouver riding where the Reformistas only garnered around 20% of the vote. David is not known for being too politically astute, but for loving the smell of cabinet limousines a tad too much. Look for him to be frantically searching for a "safe" Con riding to parachute into before the next election comes and the knives come out...
- Michael Fortier, a Tory bagman and campaign organizer will be bringing the taint of old-time Mulroney style horse trading patronage back to the Conservative Party where it is most at home. Straight from the back room to the front benches with no back benches in between. So much for Stevie-Boy's promise of open and transparent gummint!
And the rest?
- Jim Flaherty gets Minister of Finance. He rode Ontario's booming 90's economy to a 6 billion dollar deficit when he held the same post under the thugocracy of Mike Harris. He once suggested jail punishment for homeless people for being... homeless. Has the keen logical thinking of your average knuckle dragging buffoon. Say goodbye to almost a decade of non-deficits, people.
- John Baird is in charge of our spending watchdog agency, the Treasury Board. He and Flaherty will be rolling out the tax breaks for corporations and lobbyists. If you want it to fall off a truck, Baird is the man to see. He's also the man to see north of the US border, if you want a cozy log-cabin in which to hide your self hating hypocracy, if you catch my drift.
- Vic Toews, famous for calling for the revocation of recognized rights of gays to marriage, wanting to have judges pass a public review of their social views, is the new Justice Minister. Pierre Trudeau started in that job. I feel sick. Maybe Vic and John Baird can be in the same limo-car pool.
- Stockwell "Doris" Day as Public Safety Minister. Wait till the Homeland Security types in the States get a load of him. They will be getting such a lift in their false sense of competence just by comparison.
- Landslide Tony Clement is the health minister. He was Health Minister under Harris's junta as well.
Clement said he wants to maintain the basic principles of medicare but "enhance sustainability and accessibility" by allowing more private-sector delivery of publicly funded health-care services, including day surgeries.
--Montreal Gazette, Jan. 27, 2004
Somewhat similar to the gentleman who was all for preserving his wife's virtue and reputation, but was not averse to having her work as a streetwalker for pocket change.
The good news (maybe) : There are nine ministers from Ontario, more than from all the western provinces combined. There are only three from Alberta. All that needs be done is some slack jawed con from Wild Rose country to realize that Harper is pissing all over the west - and voice his concern - and the fun and frivolity will be quick to ensue.