You Are Suppoese to Read Your Own Press Releases

Saskatchewan Conservative Mps have often been accused of having a bad case of foot in mouth disease. From Gerry “the cracker” Ritz to Tom ”A team” Lukiwski the Saskatchewan Tory team of lightweights never fail to amuse and infuriate us.

The latest fool on the Hill is the little known Garry Breitkreuz from the Yorkton-Melville riding.. Garry doesn’t like gun control and the Tories have launched an orchestrated campaign to ridicule Ignatieff's decision and to try to bring pressure to the eight Liberal MPs, who supported the bill at second reading, to stick to their guns when it comes up for a final vote next month.

A big team player Garry jumped on the bandwagon and issued his own press release about the matter this week. Unfortunately for Garry he had to apologize for what some suggest was urging Liberals to beat Michael Ignatieff “black and blue” in that release.

Breitkreuz was quoted calling Ignatieff's attempt to head off elimination of the registry "an act of desperation that insults the intellect of Canadians." That Ignatieff is "a bully who may well be committing political suicide." The release goes on to say. "His true colours are showing and, if his caucus has any integrity, those colours should be black and blue."

He also called the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police to task for saying that the registry helps save lives. Describing the association he said "It's like a cult that is led by organizations of police chiefs who pretend the registry helps them do their jobs. They should be ashamed."

Liberal MP Wayne Easter, one of the MPs the Tories are trying to court, called it "a tirade that's unbecoming of a member of Parliament." Easter, who broke ranks and voted last November to scrap the registry, said the release was "off the wall" and called questioned whether Breitkreuz might have inhaled too much air on the Hill on Tuesday, which was heavy with the smell of marijuana during a protest against restrictive pot laws. "Was he out there talking to the wacky tobacco groups or something? I think he must've got too much of that smoke up his nose and it affected his brain."

Reminiscent of an incident of a Saskatchewan Party MLA who recently claimed to have been misquoted in her own press release, Tuesday afternoon the MP is reported to have said that he did not write the release, which was issued under his name earlier in the day. Mystified by it all Breitkreuz is quotes as saying "I want to apologize for the language in the news release. It was over the top," he said in a phone interview from his office. I don't know how that got out of here."

It must be a bit frustrating for the Yorkton MP after 15 years in the House of Commons and he finally got his name in the big city newspapers, for looking like a fool.

A bit of advice Garry. You are supposed to read these releases before they go out under your name.