Adult Assembly Required: The NDP and #Elbowgate

It is no surprise that in the past, I have been very NDP friendly throughout my discussions in this blog. While I have many reasons to provide Canada's third party with something that may resemble sentimental support, the recent events to occur over the past few weeks have really made me shake my head. If you have witnessed the infamy of #Elbowgate, you too most likely are shaking your head and for good reason.

The actions of Tom Mulcair and his overall reaction to a blunder of moves by the young Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are the very actions that not only turn people away from the political sphere, but also make a mockery of the political process in general.

While assault of any kind is not warranted and should never be, the over-exaggeration of a minor accident as assault brings shame to the party and also is a disgrace to actual victims of assault.

Personally, I believe #Elbowgate was nothing more than your average politicking that the NDP utilized to gain more media attention, but also direct the flow of a bill that would essentially hurt democracy as a whole. So while the event in and of itself is a mockery of the political process and politicians, the overall outcome can be seen as something very positive.

Our Liberal majority in the most general sense was working towards limiting the amount of time allowed for discussion in the House and while this may appear like an efficiency upgrade, it also greatly hampers the ability of the opposition to state their arguments and provide a proper counter point of view to the government. This is a big no no, since as citizens, we want our politicians to be yelling in discussion on our behalf in order to ensure that any bill that is passed is done so in a manner that has been thoroughly reviewed and revised. Any action that is implemented to deter this is in my opinion an act of tyranny against Democracy and no different than the actions witnessed under Stephen Harper ( The guy who recently stepped down from his position after conveniently waiting for the Duffy trial to end, which allowed him to evade questioning/legal action, but anyways).

To make matters worse, #Elbowgate has been plastered throughout the media countless times and so many people have had their say on how it made them feel. Media attention is something the NDP lacks greatly in Canada's political landscape, however it always seems very convenient that when something negative occurs with the party,someone from the media is close by and ever ready to showcase it to everyone. This further shows a bias in our media towards the political parties that represent us, which is bad thing as the media is one of our most important sources for information, which allows people to become informed, which then allows said people to vote and participate in the political process and impact our country as a result.

If the NDP is going to continue rebuilding after the last election and most importantly implement the Leap Manifesto, the party needs to really focus on coming together and refreshing its image and approach to the important topics of the day. The New Democrats are so Canadian in the sense that they have all of the elements needed for greatness and for real change, but when tasked to utilize these elements in order to create the necessary results, fall short of the goal and lose all momentum. Elbowgate is just another barrier to the party as it has not only created a negative media buzz, but also dislocated voters, who frankly may be on the fence in terms of who they vote for and just witnessed their party act no different than the Republicans do in the United States.

New Democrats, please remember that #Elbowgate has come and will pass, but that people are counting on you to remain true to your own policies and positions. The NDP are here to clean up the political mess that has derailed our country for too long and when I have to witness media coverage of an accidental bump become a discussion on assault and political slandering, I fear that my party of choice has fallen into the same trap that many others have, a trap that takes the focus on real progress and instead works on making us look better than them.

Until Next Time!