Okay, for those of you unaware of the situation that David Emerson has put himself in, let me give you a quick recap of the last week.
Who: David Emerson, Liberal candidate elected into office by the constituents of Vancouver-Kingsway (my riding)
What: Emerson crossed the floor last week to join the Conservative party
Why: the move precipitated an appointment to the cabinet, a position he would not have gotten as a Liberal (of course)
When: Last week... didn't I already say that? Pay attention!
okay, enough of the five W's... if you want a full account beyond what I've written below, go to this story in the Vancovuer Sun Newspaper:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=1e797bd2-4ad0-4830-820a-8fd7bd88f098&k=71383.
SO, the situation is this: The people of Vancouver Kingsway overwhelmingly voted for a Liberal, and ended up with a Conservative. The pro? We're one of the only ridings in a major city (read: Toronto, Vancouver) to have representation in the federal cabinet. The con? a mochery of the democratic process!
If the people of this riding voted in a Conservative, then fine, they voted in a Conservative. The will of the people and all that. But they didn't--nor have they been anything but Liberal for the past 50 years--and now the locals are all kinds of angry.
This past weekend saw a few protest rallies in front of Emerson's riding office, there was a town hall meeting with local NDP MLA David Chudnovsky to discuss what's to be done about Mr. Emerson, and in general, the neighbourhood is in a state of disgust over the whole thing.
Emerson can't see what all the fuss is about, and doesn't understand why his kids are getting harrassed on the school grounds ( okay, so that part isn't cool. Quit bugging the kids, eh?). Emerson has said the move the move wasn't premeditated, and Conservative party leader Stephen Harper's offer of the cabinet gig came after the election.
so which pill is harder to swallow?
A) no premeditation was invovled, and Emerson's decision to switch parties was knee-jerk and totally inconsiderate of his constituents, or
B)It was a premeditated move, and Emerson ran his entire campagin under totally false pretenses.
Either way, I think there's something stuck in my throat.
The fact of the matter is that 82 per cent of our riding voted liberal. And now 82 per cent of our riding is asking for a recall and by-election.
I know that there have been times in my life when I haven't been the most honest person; flip-flopped on some issues and ticked some people off. But once I realize what a complete and total tool I'm being, I'm happy to make an apology.
Mr. Emerson, we're waiting for yours.
