Turn, turn, turn #nlpoli

Dale Kirby and Christopher Mitchelmore shifted their desks in the House of Assembly on Tuesday from the independent or unaffiliated part of the chamber to sit with the Liberals.

They left the New Democratic Party last fall voicing concerns as they left about Lorraine Michael’s leadership and the lack of election readiness in the party that had, in 2012, at one point topped the polls in the province.

The news on Tuesday was probably the least surprising news of any that’s happened in provincial politics in the past six months, but that didn’t stop some people from  moaning about it.

Stagnation and Decay #nlpoli

The House of Assembly finished its spring session on Thursday after what appears to be one of the shortest sessions in the past 30 years.

The government presented only seven bills for debate, only a quarter of the normal load for the major sitting for the House.  That seems to be a record as well, and not of the sort any government would wish to hold.

For good measure,  the people of Newfoundland and Labrador could watch some of the most abysmal behaviour in recent memory, including a political lynching aided by a partisan and incompetent Speaker of the House.

What they are really watching, though, was nothing as trivial as a finance minister Jerome Kennedy’s second session of embarrassing  verbal attacks on other members.  People are watching a governing party that is in the advanced stages of stagnation and decay.

Tone, Standards and Political Suicide #nlpoli

The song from MASH was wrong.

Suicide is not painless.

And political suicide is more painful to watch than any other kind.

And there goes another one

Jim Baker, incumbent Conservative in Labrador west announced today he won’t be seeking re-election in the fall.

Baker claims he made the decision in 2007.  Odds are you’d have a very, very hard time finding anyone who voted for Baker or the Pavement Putin who can recall that they announced their intentions before polling day in 2007.

More importantly, though, Baker is another sign that the December deal is crumbling.  Back then, all the incumbents would have sworn on a stack of His Speeches that they’d run again. 

Now?

They are walking to the exit, one by one. 

Baker’s an interesting one though because he only has a few years in office.  He won first in a by-election in 2007 and then got re-elected in the October 2007 general election.  In other words, Baker doesn’t appear to be eligible for a pension.

- srbp -

Ah, that explains everything…

The Old Man, quoted in the National Post, describes his own political party’s philosophy:

We have a Reform-based Conservative Party which is probably ideologically more right-wing.

More right wing than what he doesn’t say, but that’s not the key bit.

But here’s a question:  how many Progressive Conservatives in the province, the ones that like to put weight on the progressive side of the ledger, knew that in 2001  they started supporting a “Reform-based” Conservative Party?

And on what the Old Man calls the “other side”, he just talks about how much money he spends:  “We’ve doubled our health-care budget. We’ve put a lot of money into education.”

There it is, though, straight from the horse’s mouth: Newfoundland and Labrador is currently run by a  “Reform-based Conservative Party.”

That explains a lot of things.

- srbp -

Ya got four years, Kurtis

Ralph won this one and he ain’t giving up the seat for  a second try.

Odds are extremely good, though, that this will be his last kick at the political cat.

Bide your time.  Brush up your pitch.  Get some experience under your belt.  Give it another go.

At least you aren’t recycling yourself at the school board.

Ya got four years, Kurtis: 

Use the time wisely.

-srbp-

They came by bus and car…but did they bring diapers?

It’s one thing to protest openly again a government, especially the current one.

It’s another thing entirely when people are willing to burn gasoline to do it.

Flower’s Cove, the early report via voice of the cabinet minister:

People arrived in cars and by the bus loads to protest proposed cuts to lab and x-ray services at a rally on the Northern Peninsula over the weekend.  NDP Leader Lorraine Michael was at the rally in Flowers Cove yesterday.  She says the overall attitude of the people there was one of anger and betrayal.

Anger and betrayal?

Might that have something to do with Danny Williams comments the night of the 2001 by-election when said he would never forget the people of the region for voting Tory?

Might that be one of the reasons why Williams and his office are tossing every obstacle possible to prevent the release of the text of his speeches?

or could it be lines like this one, recounting the lighter moments of politics in June 2001:

And another voter who wanted change in the Northern Peninsula told me that politicians and diapers have something in common: they both have to be changed regularly, for the same reason.

Yessirreee, the crowd protested and burned precious gasoline to do it. 

That’s a sure sign people are unhappy with the government.

But if they brought huggies and pampers, then watch out.

-srbp-