A comment left by a reader got me to look for this clip from Question Period. Robert Thibault, the Liberal MP for West Nova, is demanding a full-blown public inquiry on the Brian Mulroney controversy.

Beside Thibault is seated Garth Turner. Garth Turner was first elected as an MP in 1988, running under the Progressive Conservative banner for then incumbent prime minister Brian Mulroney. Since then, of course, Turner switched sides, and spares no effort in villifying Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

But watch Garth Turner in this clip. Robert Thibault is trying to put the Conservatives on the defensive. As he speaks, his fellow Liberals nod their heads. As he finishes, his fellow Liberals clap enthusiastically.

Except for Garth Turner. He rolls his eyes. He sits stock still. He looks down in his lap. Did Robert Thibault even realize who was seated beside him as he went on about Conservatives who served with Mulroney being uncomfortable?

Maybe Thibault didn't care how Garth Turner felt about it. Maybe the Liberal Party in general doesn't care about Garth Turner. Maybe he's just a desperately needed vote and a good piece of propaganda.

I wonder if this realization is dawning on Garth Turner in this clip. To borrow a phrase from Warren Kinsella, Garth Turner looks like he'd rather be baking cookies**.

Garth Turner has to remember he's a Liberal now. Stephen Harper is the enemy. Joe Clark was the enemy. Kim Campbell. Brian Mulroney. All enemies. And each one of them is fair game for the Liberals in their effort to make conservatism in all its flavours, from Reform populism to Red Tory pseudo-liberalism, an unacceptable choice for Canadians. Conservatism must be eliminated as a philosophy that can be used to guide the way society is organized.

I know those thoughts would make me uncomfortable if I was sitting in Garth Turner's seat.

** Consider this footnote my preemptive apology to people who like cookies, who bake, and for that matter, an apology to the Keebler Elves.