Blogs / Hillbilly highway
Playing Political Tiddly-Winks in Nowheresville
| 9/24/09
Well, it’s old news now, but Steve Harper’s Conservative minority government has lived to fight another day, thanks to the separatists and the so-called socialists. The NDP backed the Conservative’s employment insurance scheme, whereby folks who are unemployed can now qualify for longer insurance benefits. NDP leader Jack Layton lauded the changes as an “accomplishment for people,” and it’s hard to argue with the man’s logic, as much as I’d like to.
Liberal leader "Iron" Mike Ignatieff couldn’t have been happy, and its unlikely that the NDP will vote along with the Liberals, who’ve said they plan to bring a confidence motion against the Conservative government at their earliest convenience (Oct. 1). The NDP are keen to have the EI business pass through the House and onto the books before an election is called, which would effectively kill the plan. Indeed, the CBC reported that House Leader Jay Hill, from my home riding of Prince George – Peace River, said “work is continuing to determine how the legislation will proceed.”
Meanwhile, Jacko & Iron Mike are flexing their PR muscles, trying to out man each other in the public’s eye as the Next-Best Man, should an election be triggered. Frankly, I don’t know why Layton’s even bothering at this point. The Liberal party may be floundering about like a half-bright twit who somehow made it to the deep end of the pool, but the NDP haven’t accomplished anything of distinction in donkey’s years. Well, that’s not entirely true: they managed to lose my vote next time around by propping up a useless government for the sake of a doomed pissing contest with the Liberals.
And so we are back to where we were before summer: riding blind down the hillbilly highway, next stop Nowheresville, exit zero. The whole mess depresses me beyond belief. Canadians are out of work at home, dying abroad for no good reason, and twiddling our collective thumbs in the face of global climate change, but our elected officials are more concerned with playing political tiddly-winks than solving any of these, or any other, pressing problems. I need a cold beer. I’m fucking out.