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Nice, Look who is calling the kettle black!!
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| Jayx1 |
Paul Martin should quit while he is ahead..
cough belinda cough
| quote: | OTTAWA (CP) - Paul Martin has broken his post-election silence to blast former Liberal star recruit David Emerson for defecting to the Conservatives.
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The ex-prime minister is slamming Emerson and Tory Leader Stephen Harper for largely ducking the media and the public - especially voters in Emerson's Vancouver riding - over the controversial move.
"To date, neither has been willing to subject themselves to an appropriate level of scrutiny on this matter - a decision that I believe robs Canadians and the people of Vancouver Kingsway of a deserved explanation," Martin said Wednesday in a statement from Europe, where he is on vacation.
Martin said he was "astonished" when Emerson - the man he personally recruited and named to cabinet - showed up Feb. 6 to be sworn in as the new Tory trade minister just two weeks after being elected as a Liberal.
"As we have seen, members do switch political parties when they feel their values are no longer welcome in the party they ran in. My government was the beneficiary of that phenomenon on a couple of high-profile occasions. But this situation is without precedent."
Martin noted that Emerson, who served as Liberal industry minister, has been highly critical of floor-crossers in the past and enthusiastically pounded away at Conservative policies just days before the defection.
"Now, as a member of Mr. Harper's government, he will not only be required to defend the policies of his department, but all the policies of a government which he has attacked in an unequivocal way as being contrary to his own principles."
Shortly after being named to Harper's cabinet, Emerson said he planned to call Martin to explain his decision. But Martin complained Wednesday that he has yet to hear from his former colleague.
Asked about Martin's statement, Harper replied: "You know my answer. Mr. Emerson is going to make a great contribution to cabinet. And that's my answer."
A spokeswoman for Emerson referred all media calls to the prime minister's office, but the PMO had little to say.
"The former prime minister has done his work," said William Stairs, Harper's communications director.
Conservatives fumed after the defection of Belinda Stronach last year, complaining loudly of a lack of ethics and demanding that MPs who switch political parties face voters in byelections. But many are much quieter now they're in power.
Carol Skelton had said she was sick to her stomach when Stronach defected to the Liberals. The Saskatchewan Tory MP even introduced a parliamentary motion to restrict floor-crossing, but she now says she won't be bringing it back anytime soon.
Ontario MP Garth Turner is one of the few Tories speaking out. He says he plans to introduce a bill in the House of Commons on party-switching, despite pressure from the party to back off.
Turner said he campaigned on the idea that MPs who switch parties should be forced to face byelections and he won't betray his constituents |
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| daves |
yeah but remember the Conservatives were bringing something better to the table right? Not pulling the exact same stunts.
Pot to kettle was the Emerson defection, not Martin's response to it! |
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| Jayx1 |
both ways its bad news. I just cant believe that Paul Martin of all people have the nerve to even comment on it.
Interesting though that the press and public reaction to this small potatoes item is huge compared to anytime during the 12 months of liberal garbage we were forced to deal with.
Policywise this was a very smart move by Harper. Politically it was a very dumb move. I dont agree with it based on principle even if the intent was good. emerson should resign and go to a by election or sit as Independent just as belinda should have when she did the same thing. |
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| daves |
maybe the reason why there's not much attention is because Martin has paid the price and it's accepted that his words don't mean too much anymore.
we already know to take what he says with a grain of salt... he's not a big name in policymaking anymore... |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
both ways its bad news. I just cant believe that Paul Martin of all people have the nerve to even comment on it.
Interesting though that the press and public reaction to this small potatoes item is huge compared to anytime during the 12 months of liberal garbage we were forced to deal with.
Policywise this was a very smart move by Harper. Politically it was a very dumb move. I dont agree with it based on principle even if the intent was good. emerson should resign and go to a by election or sit as Independent just as belinda should have when she did the same thing. |
David did say though that had a law actually been in place, he would have done such a thing... |
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| Wurm |
So do the right thing anyway!
Since when is the law a guide for one's morality? |
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| Spam |
If he "does the right thing" then people will vote him out. Because they're mad that they didn't get the Liberal they wanted. Not based on any wisdom or after giving him a chance to see what happens.
When you vote, you're voting for a person. Emerson was elected, and switched parties so he could continue to work in government where he can be much more beneficial than in the opposition.
By next week it won't even be newsworthy until the ethics comissioner comes out and says his bit, by then Stephen Harper will have done other things to either impress or turn off the electorat, so, whatever.
I'm anxious to see what happens when the governing starts. |
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