Belinda's Jagged Pill Still Hard To Swallow

Today my wife took an extended lunch to attend the Women of Influence Luncheon at the Chateau Laurier where guest speaker Belinda Stronach pitched "Earning Influence". In the description on their website, Stronach was to talk about "how she makes tough decisions, sets priorities and tries to get things done."

Not one paragraph in and I've already hit a fork in the road. I'd could go in a number of directions from here, most of them unflattering toward Stronach, so perhaps I'll pull over and check my moral compass again.

My big question would be, was she earning influence or outright buying it when she two-stepped across the floor to tip the scales just enough to pull Paul Martin's fat out of the fire?

While I may be grateful for Stronach's part in engineering the Alliance/PC merger to repair the damage to our democratic fabric, it's questionable now just how much political will was she responsible for exciting and how much of the influence she wielded was simple financial clout, seeing as she substantially supported both parties, including Peter MacKay's PC Leadership bid - reportedly to the tune of $100,000. To me, that's not earning influence. That's waving it around in tens and twenties.

For Belinda Stronach to have any lasting influence in politics, crossing the floor as a fledgling MP was a big rookie mistake. Selling your vote is, again, not earning influence. It's whoring it. There, I said it. Now I feel dirty.
But, whatever her moral argument, be it that she A) didn't like the direction of the Conservative Party or that B) the Government had a workable budget (a: Very moderate policy for her out of Montreal and b: Not after Jack Layton got a hold of it) she would have kept her integrity intact by merely sitting as an independant. Instead, she chose the motherlode. Ironically (as you may choose to view it), she can forever enjoy the title of the Honourable Belinda Stronach.

And, while my wife had economic pie for dessert, Belinda served up a leftover (insert Ginger Rogers high-heel joke here) speech and I was catching up on shows that I had missed this week, including This Hour Has 22 Minutes. It featured Stronach regurgitating a pre-fed Viagra joke aimed at Stephen Harper. And, yes it was pre-fed. The placement required a contrived set-up and it was stiffly executed. See for yourself here and then ask yourself, "who choked on the pill?"

Perhaps I'm being too harsh. Comedy is a complex file.