Yes, we could all see how ‘shocked’ Ed Fast was by out spring election.

Mr. Fast was caught so unprepared by the election that he wasn’t able to get his election signs up until several hours after candidates were first legally permitted to put up their campaign signs.

The more cynical (longer term observers of political games and gamesmanship?) among us, observing that it took the NDP two days to get signs up and that the Liberals had to select a candidate and still haven’t begun polluting the cityscape with political signage, might well suggest that the Conservatives were so well prepared and fast out of the blocks because they knew, even before it was unveiled, that their budget would be defeated and a spring election called.

Again, the more jaded observers of the Conservative Party’s fear mongering election tactics, observing Mr Harper’s current election boogeyman – ‘a coalition government’ (as if the minority Conservative government had not been a coalition government) – and recognising that this strategy would be more viable if the opposition parties (coalition parties) ‘got together’ and brought down the government might suggest that Mr Harper formulated a budget he knew the other parties could not support.

Speaking of the budget Mr Fast wrote ” ….with a clear timeline for returning to balanced budgets by 2015″.

In the budget the Conservatives still refuse to tell Canadians how many billions of dollars they prison building boondoggle will cost Canadians – or where the money will come from. In the budget the Conservatives still refuse to tell Canadians how many billions of dollars their purchase of the shiny new fighters will cost Canadians – or where the money will come from. In the budget the Conservatives promised plenty of election budget goodies for Canadians……but failed to tell Canadians where the money to pay for these goodies would come from – but then Canadians were not told how many millions? hundreds of millions? a billion? billions? those election budget goodies would total.

With multibillion dollar black holes in the 2011and immediate future budgets how could anyone reasonably claim to have “ a clear timeline for returning to balanced budgets by 2015″?

The more jaded political observers (or more cynical) would argue that since these promises of election goodies were intended to entice voters to vote Conservative in the election the Conservative’s budget would trigger, and as the election goodies would never be part of a post election budget and thus never have an actual budgetary effect or existence, the failure to include a total was not a financial mistake but laziness.

“It’s one of the more irresponsible things that I’ve seen in my political life,” Mr Fast said in reference to the Opposition parties rejecting the budget.

No, the Conservatives presenting a budget containing multibillion dollar black holes is irresponsible. Presenting a budget with a multi – millions? hundreds of millions? a billion? billions? – black hole of goodies to curry favour with the electorate is incredibly irresponsible.

The Opposition refusing to support a budget that contained these multibillion black holes was responsible. It would have been irresponsible not to defeat the budget.

“It is incomprehensible that the opposition Coalition would take such reckless action,” said Fast

Defeating the Conservative government was not reckless, it was necessary given the reckless and unacceptable action the Conservatives took in getting involved in the Libyan civil war and choosing to support the rebels without knowing who and/or what the rebels were. Although recent news reports have made it clear that the rebel forces include those who are members of what the Canadian government labels terrorist organizations.

“I’m shocked that the opposition parties would send us into an election that Canadians do not want.” [Ed Fast]

The fact that Mr Fast, as a member of the Conservative caucus, thinks that decisions should be based on popularity, rather than the situation is yet another reason the opposition had to say No.

In the face of reckless military adventurism, gaping billion dollar black holes in the budget, holes the Conservative government refused to provide information on and irresponsible promises that would add significantly to the deficit it would have been a dereliction of their duty of care if the Opposition had refused to act responsibly simply because it was unpopular to behave responsibly.

The decision to bring about an election should be based on the need for an election, not the popularity of the decision.

I would have been shocked and dismayed if the Opposition, in light of the Conservative action, had acted in a manner other than defeating the government.

I would like to say I was shocked at Mr Fast’s vitriolic hyperbole but…….that is, sadly, what politics has come to be.