Reports: Emerson Has Floor Crossing Remorse

David Emerson, the former Liberal turned Conservative Party cabinet minister who sparked a huge uproar and protests for switching sides so soon after he was elected as a Liberal in the Vancouver-Kingsway riding, apparently has floor crosser's remorse.

My buddies at Cowboys for Social Responsibility think we should send flowers to cheer up poor David. I'm willing to send a bouquet of dead roses with an "I told you so" note.

From Today's Star:

His main complaints are that the government is too partisan and too tightly controlled under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the ex-aide says.
[...]
Jay Epworth, Emerson's legislative assistant when he was industry minister in the Paul Martin government, said Emerson recently told him he has been shocked by the Harper government's fierce adversarial approach.

"Behind closed doors, the Conservatives are worse partisans than the Liberals ever were," Emerson said, according to notes Epworth wrote after his conversation with the minister.

"They hate the f---ing Liberals and they're doing everything they can to screw them," he quoted Emerson as saying.
[...]
"He was telling me what Harper was like in cabinet," Epworth told the Star. "His words were that Harper's a hard-ass, that he is incredibly focused but has no people skills and that, if in the cabinet meeting he disagrees with the opinions of one of his ministers, he makes it perfectly clear that he believes the minister is wrong and that his way should prevail.

I don't know where Emerson was the past decade or so, but everybody and their dog could have told him what Harper and the Conservatives were like. It's amazing that Emerson could be shocked at what he's found in the Conservative ranks.

Then there's this revelation:

“He said he would have quit by now but his wife wouldn’t let him,” a source who chatted with the minister over lunch told Torstar News Service.

Geez.

That's about all I'll say about that.

Father Dearest™, of course, says that none of this is true. But then we all know we can't exactly trust what daddy tells us since he has promised to excommunicate any party member who dares to speak against him in public.

Perhaps the Campaign to De-Elect David Emerson will be handed Emerson's head on a silver platter once Harper is through with him. That would certainly put an end to this sorry mess.