‘Sad to see’

In the middle of QP yesterday, Rodger Cuzner tweeted the cruelest of all criticisms: pity.

Sad to see well educated,respected professionals check their integrity at the door by reading inane Tory attack statements #canpoli

— Rodger Cuzner (@RodgerCuzner) October 3, 2012

Shortly before Mr. Cuzner’s tweet, the NDP’s Matthew Dube stood during members’ statements to state his pity for MPs on the government side of the House.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to express my pity for the members opposite. I am being sincere. I look at them and know that it must not be easy to live their working lives. Every day before question period, they get a new assortment of pathetic stories to instill fear in people. Their obsession with imaginary taxes is a strong contrast to reality, where drivers are paying every day for the Conservative government’s inaction. Every day, my Conservative friends robotically recite pathetic lines written by staff of the Prime Minister’s Office, employees who are counting down the days before they can become lobbyists or be appointed to the Senate.

But there is a solution. I invite my Conservative friends, and especially the next member to speak, to look up from the Prime Minister’s memo and tell us what is really going on in their ridings, talk to us seriously about concerns with respect to service cuts. They have a choice: they can continue to serve as PMO puppets or they can do what they should be doing, which is representing the interests of their constituents. The ball is in their court.