Towing the line

There's a lot of talk right now in Alberta about the Conservative provincial representative from Fort McMurray (Guy Boutilier) being yanked from caucus due to public comments he made about his constituents being concerned regarding the delay of health care dollars being spent in their riding.
The Premier's office claims their decision was fair and necessary to set an example that public comments out of line with official party policy will not be tolerated. I feel the Premier's pain. He's trying very hard to control spending and has his sights set on health care dollars. His party members have to be seen in solidarity or his very unpopular stance begins to look weak. Right?

I'm not an experienced politician, so what I'm about to say may be naive. I've always had a problem with party members having to strictly tow the party line. It's a problem across the political spectrum and an issue I'm sure that cannot be easy to solve. It's also a double edged sword. On the one hand as a representative, you want to support the party's policies and leadership. But on the other, you also need to put forth the views of your constituents. What do you do when your party has a platform and you and your riding disagree with one or more of the policies? If you're quiet and tow the line, you might keep leadership happy, but the next election could see you voted out by your riding. If you are too vocal about differences with party policy, they throw you out of cabinet, caucus, perhaps even the party.

Can't a politician have or represent a view and not be judged for it? Sometimes a difference in opinion helps balance policy objectives. Are our political structures so vulnerable that they can't survive a little disagreement? Wouldn't leaders be able to make better choices if their followers were free to speak their minds?

I think that if I were to belong to a political party, I would want everything open to discussion. All opinions are valid. The leader still has to make a decision, but only after considering all voices on a matter. One has to wonder, if a leader insists that a government has to reign in health spending and the public think the health system is falling apart and a few representatives are objecting to cuts..... maybe the whole reigning in idea was bad and everyone else is too scared to say anything.