Imagine putting in 12-18 hour days for anywhere from four to eleven years as an elected MP representing your party through good and bad days, being at PMO’s beck and call throughout those years, given up 100s of hours of family time, only to be ignored when it should matter. And that is not counting the last election campaign which wasn’t an easy one for any Conservative candidate.
To arrange a post-election caucus meeting without defeated MPs present to discuss what happened to them is insulting and yet one more example of the heavy handed attempts at message control coming from the out-going folks at PMO. This is really rubbing salt into a wound.
I can’t think of one good reason for defeated MPs not to be there. Will they be upset- probably and rightly so? Can they contribute positively to any discussion of the campaign- certainly. Refusing permission for them to attend the caucus meeting is an ill thought out decision designed to protect a few or perhaps one person from hearing in the words of their own MPS how they saw the campaign unfold.
This is just one more dumb move that helps to illustrate how out of touch the centre has become. I hope defeated MPs show some backbone and turn up anyways. They have a right to be there and they should be there.
This is an excellent opportunity to ask each individual who wants to be interim leader whether or not they support our defeated MPs attending the caucus meeting. It will give the new caucus a chance to see what type of backbone the potential interim leader has and we will get to see if they are inclusive and serious about changing the way the Conservatives operate.
Hopefully someone will intervene or have second thoughts and right what is clearly a wrong-headed idea.
Harper and his thugs at the PMO are determined to remain rotten right to the bitter end. What a sweet relief to see this nasty bunch given the boot.
Well, should anything else be expected from Stephen Harper and the gang in the PMO?
Bizarre. Not a peep about the victorious party, which made history leaping form third to first and a decisive majority. Sour grapes?