First Ornges. Then Lemons. Now cherry picking?

PC leader Tim Hudak had a tough time in scrums this morning, explaining exactly his party’s position on the approximately $450 million the horse racing industry gets from slot machines.

When he was asked why his party supported horse racing, Hudak kept talking around the issue.

“Dalton McGuinty is not just cherry picking, he’s pulling big bricks away,” he said of the government’s response to the Don Drummond report. Except that wasn’t the question.

Quite apart from the horrible mixed metaphor, you’re left wondering if Hudak actually understands the issue.

The $450 million isn’t a subsidy. It’s shared revenue the racetracks get as part of a deal struck when the government allowed slot machines in to their racetracks. Now that the government no longer needs the tracks, they’re pulling the deal and leaving the gee-gees high and dry.

Why couldn’t Hudak just say so?