by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
June 4, 2004
a Liberal is a Liberal is a Liberal. That’s what they always say. But like everything else that the Natural Governing Party says, they only say it when it suits their purpose which is to gain or hold power. and right now, as the polls indicate that they are running neck and neck with the Conservatives in Ontario, a Liberal is seemingly not a Liberal. Prime Minister Paul Martin is doing his best which is not really saying a lot to distance himself from Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and his May 18 budget.
When it comes to the Province of Ontario, Paul Martin is, as they say in political circles, in deep doo doo. Dalton McGuinty angered a lot of his mushy middle Liberal voting constituency by promising that although he wouldn’t raise their taxes, "I won’t lower them either". Then came the budget where McGuinty imposed a hefty new health tax and failed to fool the masses by calling it a premium. Voters are taking their anger out on the federal Liberals and Martin is trying to pretend that the two parties have nothing to do with each other.
The parties of course are not as separate as the PM would like us to believe. His election co-chair and close confidante, David Herle, grabbed a contract through his Earnscliffe Group under somewhat dubious circumstances to advise the provincial Liberals on their budget. It’s possible that they rejected Herle’s advice not to bring down the budget that they did in which case his contract was just an ordinary run of the mill Liberal rip-off of the taxpayers. But the more likely scenario is that they accepted Herle’s advice that Ontarians would happily accept McGuinty’s lies and deceptions and blame the actions of the integrity challenged premier on the previous Conservative government. David Herle probably thought that the electorate, to paraphrase folksinger arlo Guthrie, would pin a medal on Dalton for being so brave and honest. Either way, Herle is responsible for a lot of trouble that Paul Martin is having as a result of the party’s provincial cousins.
Martin is trying to distance himself from the provincial government by promising that he wouldn’t lie. He pointed out that everything that he had promised to do he had done. He cut taxes when he said he would cut taxes, eliminated the deficit when he said he would and abolished the GST when he said that he would abolish it. Uh Oh! There’s that pesky GST again. abolishing the GST was part of the 1993 Red Book that set out the Liberal’s policy. The book was drafted by Chaviva Hosek, soon to be the subject of a "where is she now" column and one Paul Martin Junior. When Martin became Minister of Finance he never did abolish the hated tax. His reasons why he couldn’t get rid of the GST--darn, we just can’t afford it. My oh my, that’s the same excuse that Dalton McGuinty used for not carrying his election promises. The federal and provincial Liberals aren’t cousins--they’re joined at the hip.
Yep--Paul Martin lied about abolishing the GST. Much like Martin remembers the successes in the Department of Finance but has no knowledge of the frauds and kickbacks that took place under his watch, Martin seems to have trouble recalling the GST promise.
at least Dalton never promised to tell the truth and then lied after making the promise. and deep down McGuinty reneged on the promises that he made to the citizens of Ontario because, as he is fond of saying, "it was the right thing to do". He had nothing to gain politically by his blatant dishonesty. Dalton McGuinty was not only in over his head, he knew he was over his head and took the easy way out. The only reason that Paul Martin has for lying is that he had to keep the job that he was preordained to have. as Conservative leader Stephen Harper said, there is something pathetic in a politician having to promise that he won’t lie. Promising that he will tell the truth showed the PM at his weakest.
Martin can huff and puff all he wants, but the voters are not fooled by the connection between the Federal and Provincial Liberals.
after all, a Liberal is a Liberal is a Liberal.