January 15, 2011
At least they were sorry
If there is a silver lining to MLA Kevin Krueger’s ill-advised remarks on Friday, it’s that he apologized. In case you missed it, Krueger mused about NDP critic Adrian Dix being careful about sticking his head up because he might get shot. This was particularly insensitive in light of the tragic shootings recently in Arizona.
It took awhile, but Krueger finally saw the light and told Dix he regretted his words. The incident mirrors one in October where NDP MLA Leonard Krog likened Krueger to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels. In that case, it was Krueger who received the apology.
Both times, the politicians involved had the good sense to tone things down and try to bring the debate back to one of civil discourse. It’s refreshing to see this after all the finger-pointing that went on in the U.S. after six deaths in Tucson. Politicians there declared they had every right to be angry, and ratcheted the rhetoric up, if anything. On the day that President Barack Obama issued a plea for unity, Sarah Palin was spouted off about “blood libel” — a term she clearly did not understand.
So shame on B.C. politicians for speaking without thinking. But kudos for owning up to it and moving on.