Talking to Politicians

When I was a little girl, Mom used to joke that she was never sure that she had brought the right kid in the house until she scrubbed off the mud. I'm afraid it is much the same even now whenever I've been playing in the garden.
I live on the edge of the woods, which in realspeak means that if I'm to be at all comfortable outside I am never without long pants and shirt and my Dad's old Tilley hat with its ever so lovely bug net. While the dogs were having their afternoon nap ( as opposed to their post breakfast/prelunch snooze or the siesta that follows the after supper stroll) .... I was out digging and pulling and yup .... getting so dirty only my faithful friends would know who I was.
It seems to be a law that the dirtier I am, the better the odds that I will have unexpected company. So I shouldn't have been surprised to see my (liberal) MLA, Leo Glavine, pull into the yard five minutes before I was hoping to hop in the shower.
But .... I'm a fifty four year old grandmother, not a beauty queen, and I definitely had been waiting to talk to him about the Liberal responses to the
ARPO - Advocates for Responsible Pet Ownership survey .... particularly their response to question # 3 ( see survey in post below). When Lloyd Hines first tossed his hat in the ring, my MLA was quick to try to assure me that Stephen McNeil wouldn't tolerate any hint of BSL coming from anyone in his party.
Well .... apparently 'special interest surveys' like this that are sprung on the leaders during an election are never answered by them, rather they are filled out by staffers. Hmmmm.
I honestly cannot say that I'd be more inspired to vote Liberal on the suggestion that their leader simply doesn't know what people are doing or saying on his behalf. That's the thing about leadership ..... its important to know what the 'troops' are doing if you expect them, and everyone else to follow
( The subject of how Stephen McNeil was apparently completely unaware that one of his staffers was circulating topless pictures of the NDP candidate, who happens to be an actor, in one of the most conservative ridings in the province, is a separate rant for another day)
In this riding, our MLA is such a popular fellow that he would likely be reelected even if he ran for the Marijuana Party. But if he is hoping to have more company in the House with his fellow Liberals this time around, the Liberals as a party need to understand the animal loving community are not a 'special interest group' but rather are the warp and woof of the fabric of this province.