Who Elects These People?
I've been thinking this morning about politicians.
More specifically about politicians who do absolutely nothing measurable and yet keep getting elected and re-elected and then elected again.
Why is this?
Gary Lunn is the Federal Minister of Natural Resources for Saanich-The Gulf Islands.
Years ago, folks on Salt Spring island appealed to Mr. Lunn for his help in making good community use of an empty RCMP building. He was hopelessly ineffective.
He's in the news today because he has vigorously defended the federal budget in a presentation to the Board of Trade. That must have been an exciting lunch.
To my knowledge, there is not one thing to which Mr. Lunn, elected in 1997, 2000, 2004 and 2006, can point to with pride and say, "That's real and that's my contribution."
Hedy Fry has been sucking up the air in Parliament since 1993.
I'm a simple guy. Can someone explain these phenomena to me?
Is this all that politics offers? Don't even poltiicians want a personal sense of accomplishment and contribution? Is getting elected and waving your hot air about all they need in this life?
Can't we do better?
3 comments:
In every position there are 3 types of people:
1. Those who do good or even great things.
2. Those who do pretty much nothing.
3. Those who cause harm.
A person can strive for #1 but that often involves making changes, which always causes controversy and risks getting fired. #2 is much safer: Just keep your head low and don't get in any trouble.
Sadly, #2 seems to be option of choice for most Canadian politicians.
I think in the end, our federal confederation is the problem.
BC and Alberta are significantly under represented in Ottawa. BC and Alberta combined have a larger population than Quebec. Yet Quebec has 75 seats in the House of Commons and BC/Alberta have only 64.
On a cost benefit analysis, where would you spend the money on votes?
Good points, Walter. Plus, as Norman Spector has often pointed out, BC'ers don't tend to vote en masse when favours are handed out, like Quebeckers or Maritimers do. In fact, one could make a strong argument that if the Feds showered us with such gifts, that the voting patterns would not change at all or maybe even go in the reverse direction! In one sense I'm proud of this independence (ie. we can't be bought) but knowing it exists, we shouldn't be surprised.
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