End of a bad week

It's been a while since any party in the province experienced a week as bad as this one. Certainly I can't remember one in the last 20 years. The current activities and the future direction of the Liberal party has enjoyed more media (press, radio, web) attention and public discussion than any party has for a long time.

Turns out there is such a thing as bad publicity.

First there was the debacle of the deferred election in Grand Falls-Windsor Buchans on Tuesday and the sparkling candidacy of John Woodrow. The fact that his selection as candidate was publicly rued by 1/3 of the elected caucus as being worse than no candidate at all demonstrated refreshing honesty and was a perspective well-received and obvious in this corner.

Then there was the final pronouncement that Gerry Reid was laid-off by the people of his district. This was on top of the story that the final court recount process was officially completed without anybody from his party there to perform or even witness the final rites of washing and wrapping the political body.

Surely that final respect deserved to be performed. Gerry did yeoman's service under difficult circumstances in stormy times; his political career deserves better than an unmarked grave in potter's field.

Capped off the week was a scathing editorial in the Telegram. A penetrating insight into the obvious, it says:

There's only one thing the province's Liberals should be thinking about right now: cleaning house. Cleaning house completely.

Somewhere out there in Liberal-land, there must be someone with enough skill, smarts and sense to run a capable opposition.

Here's a message to the Liberals. Hurry up and find that person. Right now, you're a political joke.

Yes. There is. And we know.

The challenge now is in how to act on that.