To the Calgary Herald: Are You New Here?

The Calgary Herald has a piece on Jack Layton's new MPs, The Little Dippers: 'Junior Jacks' raise questions of NDP credibility

They go after the competence of the "newly elected baby-faced NDP", especially those like Ruth Ellen Brosseau who did little to win their seats.

"It would be almost comical, if it weren't for the fact MPs are paid $157,000 a year to serve ridings of 100,000 people and deal with issues like helping constituents to find employment or bring family members into Canada, or decide whether Canada should send soldiers to Afghanistan,"

I guess the Herald forgets 1993, when a new crop of Reform MPs hit the Hill.

People like Darrel Stinson who challenged political opponents to fistfights, called the women of the NDP fem-Nazis and wanted us to tap into NAFTA, and send all our prisoners to Mexico.

And what does Brad Trost or Maurice Vellacott do to earn their pay? Jason Kenney, the worst immigration minister in history. Does he earn more than $200,000 a year?

Or Cheryl Gallant who reads passport applications and Diane Finley who loses them?

Maybe it's not right that these people are moving into high paying jobs when they didn't properly interview, but this is a democracy, so when people like Stinson and Brosseau get elected, their constituents believe they are worth it.

So let's give them a chance.