Letters to the Editor

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Letter of the Day

Badmouthing politicians is lazy

Posted: 12/15/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Enlarge Image

Santa visits Premier Greg Selinger's office during open house at the legislature Dec. 8.

Send a Letter to the Editor

The Free Press welcomes letters from readers

To send a letter for consideration on our Letters page: Fill out our online form at the link above, or Email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or Fax (204) 697-7412, or Mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Jae Eadie has got it wrong (Can't you dig into why they're so lazy?, Letters, Dec. 13). It seems to me that Free Press reporters should do some reporting on how our 57 MLAs actually spend their time out of session. Manitobans should understand that MLAs are engaged in other important facets of their job during those months. MLAs do much more for their constituents than sit in the legislature debating and passing budgets and legislation.

So I'm wondering why Free Press legislative reporters couldn't dig a bit into what an elected official's job actually consists of. They could write an article or two that might help inform Eadie and other like-minded individuals that our MLAs (of any political stripe) are not lazy. Perhaps even the editors of this newspaper might be stirred by the constant badmouthing of our public servants to write an editorial or two as to why the public holds this view and the effect of completely devaluing these positions in our society.

We need politicians -- a label with an overwhelmingly negative connotation -- for our representative democracy to function. Being an MLA or other elected official is hard work, and more than just thankless, it's disparaged. I'm often amazed that we can convince anyone to run for office since it likely entails them going from being a respected professional and active community member to a lazy, incompetent bogeyman.

Who wants to work under these harsh conditions of public disdain?

Surely to goodness improving awareness of the meaningful work of our public officials is more important and deserves more space in this paper than unfounded commentary and gossip based on negative stereotypes. And when concerned citizens are in the mood to be critical, there are plenty of legitimate debates to have about policy choices, budget decisions, conflicts of interest, election commitments, etc.

LINDSAY STORIE

Winnipeg

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 15, 2012 A16

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Letters to the Editor

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.