Lust for power does strange things to people.
Some become even more firm in their convictions.
Others, like Stephen Harper and the federal Conservatives, are prepared to abandon just about anything they once stood against just to get the keys to 24 Sussex.
Canadian Press is reporting and the local Telly has it on the front page. Harper and the Cons (sounds like a punk group - in Utah) have decided the Kyoto Accord is something they can get jiggy with. For those of you not interacting with 20 somethings and the younger set on a daily basis, that means they think Kyoto is peachy keen.
Only a few short weeks ago, Stephen, Blarney the Dinosaur (his Newfoundland lieutenant) and every other Con supporter were screaming that the Kyoto bits of Boll C-43 had to be separated from that big bill. That would let the Cons vote for the rest, including the new Equalization money from the offshore.
Now they love Kyoto.
And the Cons have decided that the offshore stuff now has to be split off from C-43 so they can vote for that. Without Kyoto stuff, all that's left is money for seniors, toddlers and of course Nova Scotia and this province.
Premier Danny Williams wants the offshore money bill passed quickly. Quickest way to pass it is the present form. What's the problem Stephen?
Well, it's really hard to know what the Cons really want - or really stand for - any more. They keep abandoning positions. At the Big Weekend, they just sat around and bored people to death. No one with an opinion was allowed to speak on anything of substance.
We can sort of figure out what they are against - individual human rights, for example.
And up until yesterday and the latest polls, they were opposed to environmental measures like Kyoto.
Hmmmmm.
I am starting to wonder if deep in his heart, Stephen Harper is really a Liberal. I bet he used to have PET pajamas with feet in 'em, kept the Collected Works of Louis St. Laurent by his teenage bedside and then later, when he was outwardly espousing radical economic philosophies he would go home every night and read 1970s budget speeches.
Conservatives used to attack Liberals for the maleability, for the willingness to stand for whatever was expedient, for whatever would win votes.
Well, those Conservatives are likely gobsmacked with the party they support these days.
Meanwhile, in southern Ontario today, Stephen Harper will be talking about how Ontario gets shafted by Ottawa and doesn't get a fair shake on Equalization or other federal transfers.
As I thumb through my copy of The Sayings and Wisdom of Brian Mulroney, I come across some reference to elderly practitioners of the oldest profession.
I concur, Brian. I concur wholeheartedly.