It's tough to argue with the sentiment behind the Vote Out Vellacott movement, and more than a few bloggers have picked up on the effort. But while there's plenty of reason to criticize Vellacott's positions on the issues, the site's focus on Vellacott's woeful attendance record in Parliament is misguided on two levels.
First, remember the context of the current Conservative campaign, which is apparently operating on the principle that you can't make a fool of yourself if you don't show up. For those with any inclination to vote Con, Vellacott was the poster boy for this year's campaign theme since back when the party was known as the Alliance...and that makes him more likely to be seen as a visionary than a truant.
Second, consider that the Cons are likely to win at least a minority government, which in turn would inevitably lead to at least a few free votes on issues which should have been long decided. If that's the case, then the best hope for same-sex marriage and abortion rights may be for Vellacott and his ilk to sleep through a key vote...so why send the message that his constituents will punish him for doing so?
Sure, I'd love to see Vellacott voted out of Parliament. But there's no indication that either his constituents or the Conservative Party sees his sleep-based strategy as a bad one...and as long as he's all too likely to win, best to encourage him to keep up the nonexistent work.
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