This article has gotten flack in some circles because backroom operators are speaking to the media. That's not the way things are done, say the old-school masters. Staff are to be neither seen nor heard.
Little niggling problem with that - they are being seen and are being heard, whether that's intended or not. Average Canadians know there are Mandarins in the shadows, pulling strings and working their Machiavellian stratagems. That's a big reason people don't trust politics, because too much of it happens behind closed doors. We don't trust politicians to some degree because we don't know what or who is informing their choices.
Now, I am admittedly biased - I have enormous respect for Katie Telford - but I'm also an absolute believer in the notion that people deserve to know what's going on and, when you hold yourself open to public scrutiny, the public helps keep you honest. It's like going to the doctor's office; when the practitioner lets you know what they're doing, you have more comfort in the process.
I also believe in the notion of Post-Partisanship, which is essentially about overcoming tribal differences and seeking common ground. There's a political cycle that happens with Left and Right tacks, with one wave constantly undoing the work of the last. It's inefficient. The wisest course of action is to collaborate and find solutions that will stand the test of time. That goes for backroom folk, too. Getting out and talking isn't about a moment in the sun, it's about engaging in a national, post-partisan dialogue that's open and transparent to all.
We can do this, if we do so consciously.
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