[Curtman]

OnTheIce wrote:

Harper is our Prime Minister, that's why he misses so many votes. He's travelling all over the World throughout the year.

Perfect. That's Iggy's excuse too. Looks like the Prorogue issue is the only thing that made these two show up every day. Good work Steve!

[PublicAnimalNo9]

Iggy's excuse is that he's the PM?

[Curtman]

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

Iggy's excuse is that he's the PM?

Iggy says he was listening to Canadians. You say Harper was globe-trotting?

I think you were closer with this one:

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

See, it's all about leadership. And sadly, none of the bobble-heads have that quality.

[Curtman]

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

My leader???? When the fuck have you ever heard me give support to Harper? Jebus Curt, I didn't even vote for Harper. Hell, the first year I was here my siggy said, "DON CHERRY 4 PM". Hardly a ringing endorsement for ANY of the so-called leaders. Look at my siggy now. Does that indicate I have faith in ANY of the party leaders?
So yes, you are a partisan hack. Just because I called Iggy out in a thread about him making excuses, does NOT mean I support Harper. Get a grip dude.

Alright, alright.. My bad.

[OnTheIce]

Curtman wrote:

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

Iggy's excuse is that he's the PM?

Iggy says he was listening to Canadians. You say Harper was globe-trotting?

I think you were closer with this one:

PublicAnimalNo9 wrote:

See, it's all about leadership. And sadly, none of the bobble-heads have that quality.

The Prime Minister has national and international obligations to attend such events.

Ignatieff does not, especially considering his "tour" was within Canada. He has the option of being an MP (He was rarely in his riding, too) or touring the Country trying to build up his name heading into an election.

Don't even try to compare the two.

Ignatieff is not one to lecture anyone on democracy. Not only was he rarely in the House, but he was never in his riding.

[Curtman]

OnTheIce wrote:

Don't even try to compare the two.

Already done. If you want to be the guy defending Harper go ahead. I was hoping it would be Martin.

martin14 wrote:

That's the highest vote-absentee rate of any federal leader.

Did Harper not have any worldly duties immediately following the prorogation?

[OnTheIce]

Curtman wrote:

OnTheIce wrote:

Don't even try to compare the two.

Already done. If you want to be the guy defending Harper go ahead. I was hoping it would be Martin.

martin14 wrote:

That's the highest vote-absentee rate of any federal leader.

Did Harper not have any worldly duties immediately following the prorogation?

Perhaps he didn't, I really have no clue.

Comparing Jack Layton and Michael Ignatieff is the more fair comparison.

They're both sitting in opposition and neither are Prime Minister.

[Curtman]

I wish the howdtheyvote site had some stats on the 38th parliament. I want to know how many days Steve missed as opposition leader.

This is getting pretty silly though.

[PostFactum]

Ignatieff reminds rather priest in church than politician before elections.

[Khar]

Curtman wrote:

I wish the howdtheyvote site had some stats on the 38th parliament. I want to know how many days Steve missed as opposition leader.

This is getting pretty silly though.

I don't think it's just the fact that Ignatieff missed so many votes that bothers me as much as it appears to have been a trend with the entire Liberal party. I was very happy to see that Layton, who spent a good deal of time performing various tasks and speaking to Canadians, did act as a good role model by managing excellent attendance for a man in his position.

I was also happy to see that in general, the NDP did not have many who were routinely absent, and that most were about as present or more so than their party leader. I was not impressed to discover that the top of the list for those absents was dominated by Liberals (many who are simply backbenchers).

Nor am I sure how I feel about the mass dissension present amongst the Liberal representatives in Parliament. While I like politicians who listen to constituents, I also like the person I vote for to follow what the party represents, since that is an important aspect of why I am voting for that person.

Both of these trends concern me greatly.

I sent off an email to parliament staff to see if I could get voter lists for the first session of the 38th parliament. I have to admit, though, that while interesting to read, I personally have a distinction between seven years ago and yesterday -- if I vote for a party, I expect that those party members will represent me as often as possible unless they have significant duties above and beyond showing up in parliament. The NDP and Conservatives have recently shown a good trend of doing just that, while the Liberals do not.