Ticks are blood-feeding parasites that are often found in legislative assemblies in little Tartan Republics such as Nova Scotia.

They live the shires where they will wait to attach to a passing tax-payer.

Helicopters are their preferred method of transportation, but they do allow their offspring to use their other favourite mode of transportation, the government-leased SUV.

Press releases and scripted announcements are the preferred method communication for ticks. And websites. Ticks love websites that they can control.

But sometimes they have to show up in public at the legislative assembly do their work and answer questions. Ticks would prefer not to do this and avoid this sort of contact with the public as much as possible.

Ticks do not jump but they do fly on helicopters. They sometimes drop from their perch and fall onto a tax-payer. This usually occurs at summer barbeques.

Changes in political temperature and potential increases in political salary and expenses are some of the factors signaling a tick to seek a host. Ticks can detect heat potential tax income or carbon dioxide respired from a nearby host.

Ticks generally drop off the host when they’ve been caught drinking and driving. But the best way for a host to get rid of the tick is during an election.

Some of the more common diseases that can be contracted from a tick bite include child trauma from driving ATVs, immigrant trauma from provincial nominee tick programs and general fatigue and loss of faith in the system.

Avoid ticks and protect your children from them.

But the big surprise in the Corporate Research Associates poll is that Rodney MacDonald has actually garnered 27 per cent support. After his less-than-stellar spring sitting.

Well done, you, Rodo!

True, you trail Darrell McDarrell with his NDP 38 per cent support and Stephen No-Beard McNeil with his 30 percent.

But they haven’t been in government, have they?

They haven’t faced the scrutiny that comes when ministers crash cars after a night out at the bar, or ministers’ son’s totaling tax-payer funded SUVs.

They haven’t had to deal with the finger pointing that comes from $300 million spending sprees in a province with a debt of $12.5 billion.

The Liberals and the NDP haven’t had to take the heat from the elimination of the eight per cent rebate on electricity.

The opposition doesn’t have to answer for a government minister who throws out the abused women and children with the scrap metal and the bathwater.

Nor do the Liberals and NDP have to explain why the ruling party of legislators chooses to spend so little time in the Legislature legislating things. Isn’t that what they’re elected to do?

You take the heat for all that, Rodo. And that is why you’re trailing the others.

Now, if you had a vision and the leadership skills to see it through, things might be different. You might set the agenda and get things done. And people would like that. And your numbers would go up.

But when your vision involves scraping through from one confidence vote to the next, and bumbling through one screw-up to the next, you’re not going to lead any poll.

But that 27 per cent is impressive given your record.

So again, Rodo, please accept our congratulations.

Update: the crashed SUV is a write-off and the cabinet minister is on the hook to pay.

After a cabinet minister’s son crashes her government-leased SUV causing the government untold embarrassment, Premier Rodo McDodo decides to get tough and take away all cabinet ministers’ leased vehicles.

We have to make it it look as though we care, McDodo was more or less saying. So turn over your keys.

McDodo and ten other ministers drive government-leased cars. They will now get $700 per month car allowance one gas mileage.

$700 per month?

Here at C of D, we’d like to see that money matched with receipts.

This isn’t the first boondoogle with government-lease vehicles. In late 2006, cabinet minister Ernie Fage rear ended another car with his government-lease. He was convicted of failing to remain at the scene of an accident.