In a surprise move last week, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau expelled all Liberal senators from the Liberal caucus.

To be clear for those fuzzy on parliamentary terms, these senators are still Liberals, but, in theory, no longer take direction from the party leader. And the party leader is no longer responsible for their actions.

As Maclean's Aaron Wherry reported, "according to Mr. Trudeau, 'as far as political operatives, these senators will no longer be Liberal organizers, fundraisers, activists in any form.'

And there's the rub, right? What was supposed to be a chamber of sober second thought is actually a tool parties use to pay loyal and influential supporters to stump for the party. And they're paid with your hard-earned tax dollars.

The interesting thing, of course, is that Stephen Harper came to power vowing to reform the Senate. Which is why the Mike Duffy revelations were so scandalous. It showed a Conservative party using the Senate exactly as it said it wouldn't.

Trudeau's move is receiving raves from unlikely sources. The National Post claims Conservative supporters would have hailed the move as 'genius' if the PM had done it. The Post also reported that a Calgary-based think-tank, Canada West, now supports Trudeau's approach over Harper's. This, to the Post, was "jaw-dropping."

In the past, people criticized Trudeau for an apparent lack of intellectual heft. Others, seeing his name, feared he'd toe the old-guard line (which essentially invented Senate patronage). But with this and his stand on marijuana legalization, Trudeau seems to be defining a unique identity.

So, it begs the question...