I think Carolyn Parrish is too honest to be a politician.
Politics involves tact, compromise, choosing your words VERY carefully, and balancing all sorts of concerns in order to navigate the right path. Honesty � blunt, cold, crystal clear truth � is a rather awkward characteristic to have as a politician, and Ms. Parrish is suffering because of it.
A cynical assessment? Certainly. But the aura of truth surrounding it is unmistakable.
If I were the Prime Minister, I'd be just as angry with Ms. Parrish's comments about joining a "coalition of the idiots" in regards to the missile defence program. She has every right to have an opinion on the issue, and the Liberal caucus is deeply divided over how far Canadian co-operation should extend on the American ballistic system. But there is a time and a place for MP dissent, and a public demonstration does not make an ideal stage. Just ask Cheryl Gallant about her abortion comments...comments that helped stick a dagger in the back of the Conservative Party.
What's doubly ridiculous is that Ms. Parrish should realize just how delicate a minority government situation really is. Is tearing apart her own party, and ruining any chance of co-operation with other parties, the best way to begin the most difficult Parliament in 25 years? Does she want another election so soon after the previous one?
And do we need more fodder for the "I hate Canada" branch of the Fox News machine?
And why wasn't her previous brush with infamy � calling Americans "bastards" � enough of a lesson? She begged reporters not to use her "coalition of the idiots" comment...which is like asking the sun not to set in the west every night. She is a forthright woman, make no mistake, but she is a public relations disaster for the Liberal government. She behaves more like a loonie-left NDP protest leader, and even Jack Layton wouldn't be in a rush to embrace her front-page, foot-in-mouth publicity.
Ms. Parrish, you belong in some activist NGO, not in the Canadian Parliament. You have every right to speak your mind, and your opinion is as valid as the next person's...but, to quote a favourite writer of mine, you have all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop.
Let's phrase it in a more pop-cult format: this just isn't your bag, baby.
