A Marriage of Convenience or Harper's Latest Hissy Fit

When the Bloc was willing to help the Conservatives bring down the government, the Bloc, according to Stephen Harper, was fine. When the Bloc is willing to help the governing party pass controversial legislation, it, according to Stephen Harper, is the devil. The rhetoric is getting tired and I'm wishing that the legislation would be passed now but it's fun to read about all of the dumb things Harper says. Like this little gem:

I think it [the same-sex marriage legislation that the Bloc supports] will lack legitimacy for a lot of Canadians. The truth is, most federalist MPs will oppose this legislation.

Will the Conservatives ever be this much fun again?

Yes, they will. Harper's little barbeque spree should be good for a couple more groans and giggles.

ETA: A story featuring reactions to Harper's assertion that BQ support for same-sex marriage undermines its legitimacy. There are quotes from the gang, Jack Layton, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, and BQ MP Richard Marceau, among others.

My favourite bit is from CPC MP Ken Epp:

Blacks in the United States [during the civil rights movement in the 1960s] never asked to be called white. They just wanted the same rights.

And so I ask the question in this struggle for so-called equality for same-sex couple, why do they want to use the word that describes heterosexual marriage and has for millennia?

Well, using Epp’s logic homosexuals would be asking to called heterosexuals, not demanding equal treatment before the law. If heterosexuals are allowed to choose between marriage and common-law unions, homosexuals get to make that same choice. That’s equality before the law. Everyone gets the same choices. I promise that the civil rights movement did not play around the then-thorny issue of equality before the law by asking for the same rights but suggesting that they be called something else. The US civil rights movement, Epp should be reminded, also firmly established that separate but equal is not equal.

I'm looking forward to this legislation passing so that I can get on with my life. I'm sure that members of the CPC also have lives with which they should be getting on.