David Emerson: Turncoat Extraordinaire

David Emerson, recently elected Liberal MP of the Vancouver Kingsway riding, who is now a turncoat extraordinaire after having defected post haste and accepting the position of Minister of International Trade in the new Conservative minority government just 2 weeks after the election, appeared on CTV's Question Period Sunday and, looking very haggard, proudly proclaimed:

"I was not a political person. I am still not much of a political person, as perhaps you can now tell ... But I got into public life because I wanted to serve my community, and serve my riding, and serve my province and serve my country."

and...

"I am no different than any other aspiring politician."

Look, Mr Emerson: first of all, if you're not a "political person", you should have run as an independent. Your riding's Conservative party candidate only received 18% of the vote. Vancouver Kingsway has been a solid Liberal riding for a decade. How dare you use that advantage by getting elected under the Liberal banner and then, like a slimy snake in the grass slithering into the putrid Tory swamp, suddenly change sides?

Secondly, you are different from most other aspiring politicians. They actually have principles and stand by them by representing the party that best reflects those interests. You, on the other hand, railed against Harper's Tory policies and convinced your electorate that you had ethics - something they now know is very far from the truth.

Unfortunately, British Columbians who supported Emerson have no legal way to recall him after this fiasco. But, they've been out there on the streets protesting loudly every single day to have Emerson "de-elected" (true democracy in action) since this happened and they will push Emerson to resign sooner or later.

You'll never have lunch in Ottawa again, Emerson, once your constituents have their way. Not only that, many Tories who object to their dear leader's flip-flop on MPs changing parties mid-stream will also make it difficult for you to perform your duties. You're an outsider and you will fail. In the meantime, your portfolio is threatened at a time when Canada needs a strong international trade presence.

Thankfully, Canada is in yet another minority government situation, so this Tory dominance will be short and fleeting. The left will rise again and Harper and his cronies will be pushed into the history books as an annoying blip on the political radar screen.