Casey’s case just an example

As an African American comic once said of a character, he’s so mean, he scares himself.

The matter of Bill Casey and the Tories has blown out of all proportion, with Tories in Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley divided – mostly, it appears in favour of Casey.

We’ve been through that sort of thing here in Kings-Hants in the early 1990s with Pat Nowlan – and survived, after a fashion.

Casey opposed the new equalization-offshore resource formula hidden in the 2007 budget.

Premier Rodney MacDonald refused to go ballistic, as did Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams, and worked with Defense Minister Peter MacKay to weasel a better deal – which he got.

Casey, who had voted against the 2007 budget, got the boot. Many hoped everything would turn out well and Casey would return to caucus after a deal was announced.

Nope.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is having none of that - and he isn’t fazed about any loss of votes.

The equalization-offshore formula situation is an Atlantic Canadian thing. We can expect no sympathy from anywhere (except for maybe Saskatchewan, hit by something similar).

Even as a long-time Maritime nationalist, I can’t help but see other Canadians could well seethe at our demanding equalization long after meeting national fiscal standards because of our offshore.

Let’s not forget Ontario, for example, is being hard hit by manufacturing and forestry sector downturns. The same goes for oil-rich and health services-poor Alberta.

On the Casey case, there is party division – albeit localized. Again, we’ve been through that here in Kings-Hants and, with Reform in the mix, it cost the 1993 election.

Harper doesn’t seem too worried. Last week, the Tories’ National Council, no less - and you can’t argue with a “national council” of anything - unanimously declared the party’s Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley nomination vacant. Council president Don Plett noted in a release sent to anyone who would read it the party’s nomination rules state the Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley MP – Casey – “is no longer a member of the caucus, so he cannot be the candidate.”

The council figures Casey joined Stephane Dion’s Liberals in their non-confidence in the Conservative Party of Canada.

The short of it, as Plett said, is “he made his choice.”

Are Harper and the party right?

As anyone who went to high school can tell you, the best way to get people to want to be in your group is to make it look exclusive. Booting someone out couldn’t get the message across better.

This is much deeper.

Garth Turner found out Tory party discipline isn’t to be flaunted. The NDP had better not get too snarky about the Casey case, because they have never minced words concerning party discipline. And don’t think for a minute the Liberals aren’t taking careful notes and plotting their own political future.