The Monarchist 1.0
Defending the British Crown Commonwealth and the English-Speaking Peoples
[+] HONOURING OUR PATRON, SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, VICTOR OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES
[+] HONOURING OUR QUEEN, ELIZABETH THE SECOND, ON THE 80TH YEAR OF HER BIRTH (1926 - 2006)
[+] HONOURING OUR KING, SAINT EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, ON THE 1000TH YEAR OF HIS BIRTH (1005 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR HERO, LORD NELSON, ON THE BICENTENNIAL OF THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR (1805 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR SONS, THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH SOLDIERS KILLED IN THE 'WAR ON TERROR'
Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard, 46, Royal Canadian Regiment, Nov 27, 2006 (Afstan)
Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, 34, Intelligence Corps, Nov 12, 2006 (Iraq)
Private Jacob B. Kovco, 25, Royal Australian Regiment, April 21, 2006
[+] HONOURING OUR VETS ON THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VICTORIA CROSS (1856 - 2006)
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Oh Belinda dear, you were never the heir apparent
What Belinda Stronach did yesterday to Stephen Harper, Peter Mackay, the Conservative Party and the country at large invites no civil discourse. And yet we must.
In the military we are taught that there is one rule that rises above all others in the ethos of professional conduct: don't blade your buds. In politics on the other hand, it is now that much clearer that that is how one gets ahead. It is a bloody joke for a so-called Parliamentarian to stand up in the House of Commons and vote no confidence in the government one day, and then not so much as a week later covort across the floor to join them, for no other reason than to be rewarded with a large government department to run. It is a slap in the face to Liberal backbenchers to witness a complete amateur take over a major portfolio like this, nevermind the backstabbing of the opposition, many of whom have been loyal and principled stewards waiting patiently in the political wilderness as far back as 1993.
Name-calling is not required here. Belinda Stronach was exposed by the media yesterday as an amoral (I'm not sure she's bright enough to be immoral), confused and completely inarticulate minister of the crown that would make even a high school cheerleader look good. The interview with Peter Mansbridge last night was devastating and embarrassing to watch. She has done herself a great disservice.
More from Andrew Coyne:
David Warren beats out Coyne with this heart-tugging analysis:
Bonus Question: What do Keith Martin, Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach all have in common? They were all Conservatives before they became Liberals. And they all left after losing their respective leadership bids. So don't tell me that none of this has anything to do with principle. It's just blind naked bitterness or raw ambition.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 9:34 a.m. | LINKS |
What Belinda Stronach did yesterday to Stephen Harper, Peter Mackay, the Conservative Party and the country at large invites no civil discourse. And yet we must.
In the military we are taught that there is one rule that rises above all others in the ethos of professional conduct: don't blade your buds. In politics on the other hand, it is now that much clearer that that is how one gets ahead. It is a bloody joke for a so-called Parliamentarian to stand up in the House of Commons and vote no confidence in the government one day, and then not so much as a week later covort across the floor to join them, for no other reason than to be rewarded with a large government department to run. It is a slap in the face to Liberal backbenchers to witness a complete amateur take over a major portfolio like this, nevermind the backstabbing of the opposition, many of whom have been loyal and principled stewards waiting patiently in the political wilderness as far back as 1993.
Name-calling is not required here. Belinda Stronach was exposed by the media yesterday as an amoral (I'm not sure she's bright enough to be immoral), confused and completely inarticulate minister of the crown that would make even a high school cheerleader look good. The interview with Peter Mansbridge last night was devastating and embarrassing to watch. She has done herself a great disservice.
More from Andrew Coyne:
Oh, Belinda, when you stared into the mirror in the morning, wondering if you could go through with it -- knowing that you would, but liking yourself a little better for the struggle -- you must have felt a certain thrill. I’ve grown up, you thought. This is what grown-ups do; it’s what players do. You put away childish notions of honour and loyalty, and you do what you have to do, and that’s all there is to it. It’s nothing personal. It’s just business.
But Belinda, you do not know the people you are dealing with. You think your soul is black but you have no idea. You will hold your office for a couple of days, or perhaps a few months, but only for as long as you are useful to them. And then they will discard you.
David Warren beats out Coyne with this heart-tugging analysis:
From the lips of the lovely Belinda Stronach, Canada received her Judas kiss yesterday. It allowed a bottomlessly corrupt government to escape an election; to continue in office with an agenda that will tear to pieces what remains of our social fabric; which will radically advance the cause of separatism in Quebec, and spread it irretrievably to Western Canada; which will put the country on the fiscal skids. This should not be understated: our country has been delivered into the hands of the wreckers.
I am writing this column now because I do not believe I could persuade my editor to run the space blank. That would most eloquently approximate to what I thought at precisely 11:11 a.m., yesterday, when the news reached me. In a single image, I took in the final betrayal of Canada -- those two smiling faces.
On Saturday, I wrote that last week had been the most disgraceful in our Parliamentary history: the first time a government had ever refused to acknowledge that it had lost the confidence of the House of Commons. Nor can I find a precedent, in Canadian political history, for the act which the ditzy Ms Stronach so glibly performed.
Over the weekend, Paul Martin suckered (the word is not too strong) Stephen Harper into a Parliamentary “truce”, while Ms Stronach unsheathed the knife for Mr. Harper’s back. She had only waited for the opportunity to be presented; to get the timing just right...
I have entertained dark views of Ms Stronach since the moment she entered politics. I argued then, among Conservative friends, that she could be a Liberal Party plant, given her known previous close associations. I abandoned that position, when she ran for the Conservative leadership, thinking, “Surely she is playing her own game.” On balance, I conclude that she is playing her own game, but that is just what makes her a Liberal.
For the Liberals, by now, consist entirely of persons playing their own game, ruthlessly, for personal advantage. This goes beyond any passing mood I might indulge: I can no longer see how any decent person could retain membership in that party...
Bonus Question: What do Keith Martin, Scott Brison and Belinda Stronach all have in common? They were all Conservatives before they became Liberals. And they all left after losing their respective leadership bids. So don't tell me that none of this has anything to do with principle. It's just blind naked bitterness or raw ambition.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 9:34 a.m. | LINKS |
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