Saturday, March 20, 2010

Justification for "10 percenters"

Here are some quotes from letter I received from Guy Luzon, National Conservative Caucus Chair and MP (Conservative) for the Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry riding in eastern Ontario. This was sent to me after I had sent emails to several Conservative MPs about "10 percenters" I had received back in 2009. Apparently, I ruffled some feathers!

"Part of being effective members of Parliament is communicating with people from across the country. All parties in the House of Commons engage in distributing mail-outs and all members are permitted to do so. The opposition employs this practice and they too express their specific political opinions."

"Everything that the Conservative Party and its members distribute to Canadians is in keeping with the rules established by the House of Commons. It is out of their budget that members send you these mail-outs."

"As the party that Canadians elected into government, it is our responsibility to represent all Canadians and not just the people who reside in a Conservative riding."

Notice how he justifies the use of "10 percenters" as a means of communicating with ALL Canadians, not just those in Conservative ridings. He also justifies the practice by informing me that ALL parties employ this means of communication (although he neglects to mention that the Conservative MPs send out well more than half of the "10 percenters").

Apparently, he didn't listen when his mother admonished him that "...just because everyone else jumps into a lake, doesn't mean you have to jump too..."! Nothing like sticking to the Party line about "10 percenters" no matter whether the practice is right or wrong.

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