I’ve
seen plenty of groan-inducing politicians in my lifetime — from liars,
numbskulls and shifty charlatans, to self-absorbed meatheads and arrogant
pontificators.
I
don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone quite so hapless, quite so anxious to avoid
anything even resembling scrutiny and quite so ill-suited for a job as Peter
Penashue is in the position of Labrador MP and as the Newfoundland and Labrador
representative in the federal cabinet.
The
guy just doesn’t have it.
Last
week he promised he would be speaking publicly (okay, so he said he would be
speaking to his constituents – a nice little verbal sleight of hand that I’m
sure he’ll use later today to justify his actions) about the potentially
illegal campaign fundraising that took place during his run at the office, and
also about his seeming inability to go anywhere on the taxpayer dime as a
NATIONAL cabinet minister but directly home to NL.
Turns
out Peter isn’t talking to the media today.
He’s
actually hiding away on the coast of Labrador. Read the story HERE It has
been some kind of spectacular flameout for the Labrador MP.
Look,
it’s true we don’t know if the guy did anything wrong or illegal as part of his
campaign. It’s also true there may be some perfectly legitimate reason why
Penashue doesn’t ever go west of Ontario in his job as Minister of Intergovernmental
Affairs.
But
it’s hard to give anyone the benefit of the doubt when they won’t talk.
Unless
he’s reading a prepared statement or having someone else speak for him, he’s mum
to the max.
It’s
sad really. Penashue wasn’t always like this.
Yes there
were some questions around things that happened at the Innu Nationa when he was
in charge and since he’s left, but nobody could question whether or not he was
running the ship.
The
man was a renegade leader for the Innu Nation, a man who stood at the foot of
military runways in protest. A man who helped put the Labrador Innu on the map
and helped build their profile nationally and internationally. A man who drove
the agenda to ensure the Innu people got things like better infrastructure,
better access to services, and even a new hockey rink.
That
man is no more.
He
has been replaced by a man who merely parrots whatever he is told, takes the
stands he is told to take — even when his constituents are screaming for him to
take a different one — and blankly goes about doing his business like nothing
is out of sorts. He's a political Stepford Wife.
Peter
Penashue shouldn’t quit because he’s done something wrong, because nothing of
the sort has been proven at this point.
He should
quit because he’s just not right for the job.
Give
the voters a do-over.
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