You know something's wrong with Ottawa when the biggest news story of the week involves stepping on a plush toy.
Maverick Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish, who appears to seek the limelight by trying to look as ridiculous as possible, has done it again, stepping on a George W. Bush doll for the TV cameras of the CBC satirical show This Hour Has 22 Minutes just days before the U.S. president's visit to Canada.
It's clear that Parrish has a healthy audience of admirers for her antics, not just in her Toronto-area riding but across Canada - and probably a few solidly Democratic states down south, too. Why else would she repeat her asinine behaviour?
The first time she came to prominence for her comment on hating "those bastards", it was at least inadvertent - she claims not to have known there was a live microphone in the vicinity. But since then it's been clear she likes the limelight.
We as Canadians pride ourselves on our politeness, our courtesy, our fair-mindedness and on beingwell, not American. Parrish has proved several times over that those traits can be mutually exclusive.
Disagreeing with the U.S.'s choice for leader is one thing. But if the best form of protest you can come up with is name-calling and doll-stomping, you really need to re-think your argument.
But the only thing that's getting more tiring than her one-note anti-American sideshow is the chorus of indignation from the Conservatives, including local MP John Reynolds, who's leading the charge to have her thrown out of the Liberal caucus for her latest stunt.
Hold on, John. For starters, 22 Minutes hasn't been funny since Rick Mercer left.
More importantly, the Conservative howling every time Parrish opens her mouth only gives her more press at home and abroad. You're giving her exactly what she wants, needs and doesn't deserve to have - publicity. Bad press is press just the same.
What Carolyn Parrish needs is to be marginalized and ignored, not made a martyr for every angry would-be Democratic voter in Canada.
In short, Carolyn Parrish doesn't need the Conservatives' help to look like an idiot; she's doing just fine on her own.
