And is the collollary that it is acceptable to hurl any insult you want as long as you apologize immediately afterwards? (Check out comments at The Politic)
Apparently there are some that would say yes. David Akin seems to think there is no story here as well. No "legs" - only hair.
I can just picture the chaos ensuing from this judgment call, as if Question Period wasn't wild enough already. Anyone can now shout whatever they want at any time, as long as they rise up immediately afterwards and apologize. Get in your witty slams and then look like a hero as you retract them. Just what we need - more phony political posturing and wasted time on the backs of the taxpayers.
I agree with Devin from Maxwell's House that they should "grow up", but for the sake of peace and decorum I have another suggestion. If you clowns can't help yourselves from dishing out the dirt in the heat of Question Period, at least refer to the recipient of the insult by their parliamentary title.
Hence, the offending remark from Salongate would have been phrased as, "The Honourable Member from Edmonton-Spruce Grove is too busy at the hair salon to do her job", or something to that effect.
And David McGuinty's original taunt at Peter MacKay would have been, "Minister of Foreign Affairs and Honourable member from Central Nova, what about your dog?"
Obviously some of these clowns are unable to keep their mouths closed and to only address the Speaker, so my suggestion would go a long way towards slowing down the insults. By the time they remembered their colleague's title, the moment would have passed and the brain would have kicked in.
Even if they did manage to spit it out, it would be less likely that an offensive comeback would ensue, as some of them ponder the fact that they are supposed to be in a position of honour and respect.
Or maybe we should start right here in the blogs, referring to Members of Parliament by their title instead of stooping to insults. Lead by example.
Nah, we're not getting paid enough for that.
22 comments:
Joanne:
Then I assume you also believe Peter MacKay should have said "You already have the Member for Newmarket Aurora". My point is that, regardless of partisanship, the decorum of the Liberal and Conservative parties in the House is an embarassment.
Devin, yes, that would be the appropriate alleged response.
My point is that, regardless of partisanship, the decorum of the Liberal and Conservative parties in the House is an embarassment.
I agree, and I believe I included that fact in my post.
Relax, Devin. Just trying to add a bit of levity here. Obviously not succeeding.
The Simpson's is an embarassment but I still watch it lol..
Joanne:
No I get it. I was just trying to extend the joke a step further and let you know that a lack of decorum is not an exclusively Liberal affliction.
Ah, yes. I get it now. And frankly, I still agree with you.
Sara, the Simpsons is certainly more family-friendly viewing than Question Period!
The members of Parliament ...ALL of them have been consistently devolving into a bunch of schoolyard types for a long time.
It's become more widely know since the advent of TV cameras in the house.
Some would argue that the presence of the cameras has increased the tendency.
The bottom line is that Canadians are paying for the juvenile behaviour and as you and I are paying for it we have the right to demand that these people behave themselves. Send an e-mail to the house and to your MP...tell THEM what you think of it!
David Akin may think there is no (hair) story here. However, I do believe there is definitely a double standard in how the media generally treats silly comments from conservative and liberal sources. As the Nov. 8 Globe & Mail editorial states:
«Hairy patter
Rona Ambrose has great hair. There's nothing wrong with saying so. But when an environmental coalition mocked the federal Environment Minister's tresses in a news sheet it distributed at a climate-change conference this week in Nairobi, its words were puerile and belittling. In short, sexist. But that's okay, goes the thinking. A sexist jibe is fair play when the target is a conservative politician.» (Full text not officially online)
The same applies to MPs and their antics.
• To begin with, why did David McGuinty ask about Minister MacKay's dog in the House, especially while Minister Ambrose was trying to be heard above all the noise?
• Why was Marlene Jennings not criticized for calling the Minister of FA a coward in a scrum?
• Why was Denis Coderre not criticized for referring to Minister Ambrose as a pretty picture vase or something similar?
Liberals say what they want, and IF they are castigated for it by the press, which is seldom, they either "humbly" apologize or use diversionary tactics, e.g. turning the dog incident into a slur against ALL women by ALL conservatives. Conservatives tend to stand their ground, rightly or wrongly (MacKay).
Maybe instead of Question Period, it should be called Insult Period. Or maybe the Speaker should impose severe fines for "unparliamentary language", like some teachers do for children who have potty-mouths.
Yes, good advice PGP!
Thanks for that, Gabby. I missed the Globe editorial. I think they should all take a time-out in the corner.
On the other hand, there is a kerfuffle about windbag Ralph Klein insulting Belinda. The Domi jab was a cheap shot, but the bone comment was hilarious. It fit the background, and implying that Belinter had sex while dating is hardly scandalous.
L.S. - Yeah, hilarious, but crude. Yikes!
Gabby:
It seems you've missed the point of this post. Both the Liberals and Conservatives are out of hand in the House. If you put your partisanship aside for a moment you will see that we all agree here.
Mmmm... That avatar makes me want coffee!!!
Joanne:
Yours makes me want to go skiing...weird.
For whatever it's worth, I though Klein's joke was priceless.
b/c: thought
lol! Devin, blame my niece for that. She designed it. Maybe some underlying desire there.
Red, yeah, I must admit I laughed when I heard it. But I still can't believe he said it!
Bill Doskoch covers this quite well, with links to a report where, surprise surprise, Belinda had apparently roasted Klein before, with references to his weight and flatulence!
So maybe it was payback time. ;)
Red Tory:
There are alot of things that are clever or hilarious that shouldn't be said in public -- especially by someone in public service. I admit I laughed too, but there is a time and place for everything. I don't think Ralph understood that.
What's really funny to me is that Ralph used to be a Liberal. He must have lots of Conservative bones in his body to convince him to switch over.
"The Simpson's is an embarassment..."
Sacrilige!
I see today that the Ralph Klein Belinda / Bone remark is still getting full play in the MSM!
Ralph made a mistake. He should have said "Sorry Belinda, it was just a joke at my roast, nothing more" and claim the spin high ground. Because the two spins in this are a) you people are insensitive and b) you people are prudes.
Because it was actually a good joke, unlike the dog business (Peter still looks like a fool, fully explaining why he is single), and the hair nonsense (they lost the chance to put the focus back on to government inaction)
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