Striving Against Opposition

Paul Martin begins to Obfuscate about a SSM Election

Unsurprisingly Dithers after taking what appeared to be a surprisingly clear if stupid position about being willing to go to the polls over SSM, is backing away from that now and claiming "he'd only do it if Stephen Harper made him do it." Or something along those lines, well if that's the case I think Stephen should sit down at the clerks table and arm wrestle Paul Martin for the decision on SSM, if Harper wins the legislation gets shot down and we have an election. If Martin wins he proves that only his policy not his wriste is limp.

Of course Martin is trying to hide behind the charter and claim that he'd only hold an election if somehow Stephen Harper managed not only to lead to the defeat of the bill, but to pass an ammendment invoking the notwithstanding clause. Now even the optomistic estimates of how the proposed legislation will come down in a vote, are leaning towards a slim margin of victory or defeat considering between Paul Martin's uber cabinet of a ridiculous number of ministers and parliamentary secretaries, the NDP and BQ whom are all whipped, a very very substantial number of Liberal backbencher need to vote against the legislation to bring it down, about two thirds of them in fact.

I sincerely doubt that the suposed two thirds support of Liberal backbenchers could be carried forwards to the invoking of the notwithstanding clause. I've outlined in a few posts prior there are ways around using the notwithstanding clause, which either makes me more creative and Machiavellian than Paul Martin, or in the alternative simply less wedded to the Liberal's "the courts made me do it" alibi.

The reason why Martin is backing away from his previous outrageous remarks? His own caucus found it a ridiculous notion.

But Martin's vehement response was met with surprise and criticism even from within his own party.

The Canadian Press reported Liberal backbencher Paul Szabo as saying that an election on the issue would be "irresponsible."

And Liberal MP Pat O'Brien said Martin would be "rolling the dice, big time", The Canadian Press reported.

That's the sort of unity I like to see in the Liberal caucus. I'm hopeful that if the Liberals are given another year it will errupt in open interfactional warfare in a way it hasn't since Martin deposed Chretien.

posted by Chris @ 1/22/2005 10:19:00 p.m.