27 November 2012

Jerome’s Jawbone of an Ass #nlpoli

Last week Premier Kathy Dunderdale told the House of Assembly something that was patently not true.

She said that the public utilities board had endorsed the Muskrat Falls project.

She did not mislead the House, as some suggested.  To do that, Kathy would have had to know something the rest of the members didn’t.

In this case, they all knew the rights of it.  Kathy just frigged up.

Badly.

So natural resources minister Jerome Kennedy stood up in the House the first thing on Monday afternoon and accused NDP leader Lorraine Michael of providing inaccurate information to the House and, by extension, to the public. 

Lorraine used a particular report as a preface to a question during Question Period.  Lorraine said the report said one thing.  Jerome went on at length to say the report said something else.

Jerome claimed it was a point of order. Lorraine Michael just blew off Jerome’s jawboning for the noise it was.  A couple of sentences, a figurative “pfft” and she was done.

It isn’t a point of order.  Jerome just raised a difference of opinion as the Speaker will almost certainly rule.

What’s telling is the fact that Jerome is back at the same sort of foolishness he got on with during the last session.  Back then, early on, it might have intimidated the opposition.

But after Bill 29, and the change in the polls, Jerome’s performance in the House bears a closer resemblance to a jape than to any effective jawboning or persuasion.

A jape.

As in a prank.

Or a joke.

Something laughable.

Times have changed. Jerome would be well advised to change with them.  You see, if Jerome Kennedy keeps up this sort of performance, it won’t be long before people are laughing out loud at him every time he gets to his feet.

-srbp-