To be perfectly honest, I’m a little grewaled out so I won’t even begin to comment on the latest bizarre twist in this saga. So, for the next little while, I’ll try and make this a “Grewal Free Zone” and I direct everyone to Buckets of Grewal for the ongoing twists and turns of “The Adventures of Gurmant”.

One guy who I do want to comment on is Pat O’Brien. I’m really tempted to give him credit for making a principled decision: This won’t get him a Cabinet position and he didn’t run around on his own little Alias mission. But, then again, Strom Thurmond was fairly principled too and it’s hard to give him credit for that. So, if nothing else, let’s just say that Pat O’Brien handled his departure from caucus with a lot more maturity than we’ve seen from most other MPs on Parliament Hill.

I don’t think his one vote is extremely important because I can’t imagine the Conservatives trying to force a July (or August) election when they’re down in the polls. Then again, I suppose his vote could mean something come next November.

What is important in this is that Mr. O’Brien is a lot more than one vote. Unlike Carolyn Parrish or David Kilgour, Pat O’Brien has a following in the Liberal Caucus and was leading a band of 10 or 15 “rebel” Liberal MPs on a crusade to deny gay people the right to marry. While it’s unlikely that many more would leave caucus, the potential of a backbench revolt is very real. And while I can’t stand these MPs or their political leanings, I think it would be deliciously ironic for Paul Martin to find himself on the receiving end of a backbench revolt.

With Gomery done and the Grewal story (hopefully) dying down, I think it’s extremely likely that we’re going to be hearing a lot about same sex marriage this month. The Liberals want the legislation passed before the House adjourns for the summer. The Tories and O’Brien’s disciples do not. I’m fairly sure this won’t be the last we hear from Mr. O’Brien.