Turner Turfed

In a move everyone has seen as inevitable for months, maverick MP Garth Turner has finally been suspended from the Tory caucus.

I know Turner is a bit of a cult hero to many bloggers but I personally never cared much for the man. His criticisms of Harper's Cabinet selection rang a bit hollow given that they came after he had been left out of Cabinet himself. And while I certainly didn't object to him going to every conceivable news source in the country to voice his opinion, I know that if I were a Conservative, that would piss me off to no end. As for Garth's constant musings and speculation about upcoming announcements, I think Scott Brison has learned the hard way why it's not wise for people in government to do this.

And finally, there was this John Ibbitson article a few months back which really annoyed me:

For Mr. Turner, however, the little guy is the bleeding upper middle class.

Halton, on the edge of Greater Toronto, is full of them: Mr. Turner chronicled their plight in his speech.

He recalled talking to a man whose house "was worth maybe half a million - modest for his neighbourhood. He told me it felt like his life was being squeezed now from all sides. Property taxes, income taxes, GST...'All I've got is this' He kicked the bricks at his front door."

Then there was the woman who decided to stay at home and raise her kids. Her husband makes six figures, but "our friends who have two incomes make a lot less, and always have more money to throw around. The system is killing my family."

I wouldn't consider myself a communist but it rubs me the wrong way when someone considers families making six figures the "little guys".

So, yeah, there's no major point to all of this except to say that I never really cared much for Garth Turner and the Tories are probably better off without him.