Blue Like You

Liberal MP Andrew Telegdi has succeeded in embarrassing himself, as well as every constituent who voted for him:

If it is possible to lower the standard of political debate in Canada below its already abysmal level, Andrew Telegdi has done the job. In a truly bizarre outburst this week, the Kitchener-Waterloo MP compared the recommendations of an expert panel working for the federal government to the mentality that imposed the notorious Chinese Head Tax and the equally obnoxious Chinese Exclusion Act in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The sin of the panel to bring such abuse hurtling down on their heads? They want to cut the number of times the Maple Leaf flag is lowered on the Peace Tower in Ottawa. For pity’s sake, Mr. Telegdi. Show some proportion. Show some sense. You’re turning an anthill into one of the Rockies…

That editorial is in his hometown newspaper, The (Liberal) Record. Hopefully the riding will wake up and see that Andrew Telegdi has passed his best-before date in politics.

Yesterday’s Post editorial exposed more of Telegdi’s ridiculous rhetoric to the whole nation:

…Today the House of Commons is scheduled to vote on a nonbinding motion by MP Andrew Telegdi, who wishes — against the advice of the protocol panel — to restore the policy of lowering the flag for every dead soldier who returns from Afghanistan. Mr. Telegdi’s motion defines what is meant when someone is accused of “wrapping himself in the flag.” He suggests that the Conservatives are trying to “sweep” Afghanistan combat deaths “under the rug,” as if nobody would take notice of them if they couldn’t check the Peace Tower for the latest vexillological casualty report every morning.

Perhaps it is fair to say such a swinish thing about one’s electoral opponents, or at least inevitable that such things will be said. But does Mr. Telegdi mean to smear the members of the panel with the brush of his conspiracy theory? They were brought in as legitimate experts to research the issue in good faith; it would be a shame if Parliament subjected them to that kind of abuse.

The world’s Top Intelligent Community should think twice before re-electing this man.