Angry in the Great White North

Did the Liberals pull a fast one? Yes they did. What they did with the Thursday vote was legal, as was promoting professional Barbie doll Belinda Stronach to cabinet in order to get her to cross the floor. But legal is not always right, as everyone knows.

Are the Conservatives justified in being mad? Of course. First, they can be mad at the other parties for ganging up on them not in forum of debate in the House, but out in the hallways and in secret meetings without the courtesy of facing them. And second at themselves for somehow letting it happen.

But this is politics. That means two things. First, dirty tricks will happen. Next time, the Conservatives might have a chance to pull a fast one. And second, there are no votes in emotion. No one will vote for the Tories because they feel sorry for them, even if they believe that the Tories were treated shabbily. They can frame their anger in terms of being frustrated at the "undemocratic" display, but no one is going to be fooled. Everyone will know that the Conservatives are angry, and "angry" is not a political platform or public policy.

So my advice to the Tories is to work through this as quickly as possible. Like right now. Save any more anger for closed caucus meetings, or better yet, in the privacy of their homes. Swallow it, and start fighting the Liberals on something they can't hide behind procedural tricks -- their record, their policies, and the quality of their governance and leadership. It may take time to trigger an election, so use the time to highlight Tory strengths and Liberal weaknesses. Keep the anger under wraps, and let it fuel your speeches and keep you focused.

Remember the words of Yoda: "Anger leads to frustration, frustration leads to foaming at the mouth, foaming at the mouth leads to bad photos splashed on all the dailies, bad photos lead to a short political life on the opposition benches."