In the era of Conservative minority governance, scandal management operated according to three basic principles: (1) deny, obfuscate, delay, repeat as necessary; (2) nobody cares about this crap except journalists and lefties; and (3) the Liberals were worse. It was nothing if not effective.
The Conservatives successfully faced down everything from the prorogation backlash to the long-form census debacle, Afghan detainee abuse, Helena Guergis's supposed airport meltdown and her husband Rahim Jaffer's Busty Hooker affair, and Bev Oda's "not" of disputed parentage.
None of these issues concerned corruption, at least. The overall impression, correct so far as we know, was of a relatively clean and law-abiding government. And it was certainly true that the Liberals, at the time the only real alternative, offered a less than compelling remedy.
Some commentators have puzzled over the Conservatives' behaviour in majority governance. Instead of mellowing, they seemed to have lunged out of their shackles, clutching a list of grudges. Parliament is more sour than ever.
When it comes to controversy, they seem to be getting bolder. Consider Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan's astonishing defence of a poll, commissioned by his party, which insinuated to voters that Liberal MP Irwin Cotler had stepped down, or was planning to step down, thus leading to a by-election in his Montreal riding.
Normal people would call this "lying." But for Mr. Van Loan, this is a matter of our fundamental freedoms: "To say that one cannot speculate on [Mr. Cotler's] future, that that form of freedom of speech should forever be suppressed, is to me an overreach that is far too great." This bold defence of BS has not gone unnoticed. Former Conservative strategist Bruce Anderson called it "wrong on every level," which is about right.
Last week, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney responded to accusations of patronage appointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board by producing a longer list of past Liberal patronage appointments. This is standard practice from the minority days, but surely, in a majority situation and with the Liberals in third place, this line must be losing steam - especially among the party faithful. Younger readers may not remember, but it is true nonetheless, that Mr. Kenney's partners in politics used to oppose patronage, full stop.
But the G8 spending debacle is the most worrying item on the Conservatives' scandal sheet. As Postmedia's Stephen Maher has illustrated with particularly devastating clarity, Tony Clement quite obviously chose which communities in his riding would receive $50million worth of gazebos, public toilets and other amenities under the (dubious) guise of the 2010 G8 summit in Huntsville, Ont. Against all the evidence, he insists he did not choose them. If he had chosen them, he said last month, "I'd be resigning right now and turning myself into the local police office." But he did choose them, he hasn't resigned, and he hasn't turned himself into the local police. Instead, he's in charge of the Treasury Board.
This bold defence of BS has not gone unnoticed either. Dead-obvious pork and sadsack denials of pork tend to rise above partisanship and upset everyone. Ditto Peter MacKay flying around in a search-andrescue helicopter against the sage advice of the military, spinning a web of half-truths about it, and getting busted cold. This isn't arcane trivia. It's the sort of thing that has always gotten Canadians' blood boiling, and always will. There is no reason to believe a Conservative Sponsorship Scandal lies ahead. But with the sense of entitlement apparent in these big-name Tories, mere months into their majority, is there any reason to believe the G8 spending fiasco will represent rock bottom?
If Mr. Van Loan's remarks are any indication, the new damage-control philosophy at Conservative headquarters is something like, "Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?" Or, roughly translated: "For me, I put pepper on my plate." Remember the APEC affair? The Liberals thought that was a minor scandal, too - they had a scapegoat all picked out. Ditto Jean Chrétien's golf course. Now they're part of a well-known folklore of Liberal corruption. If there's anyone left among the Conservatives who wants to write a different story, now would be a great time to speak up.
Origin
Source: National Post
The Conservatives successfully faced down everything from the prorogation backlash to the long-form census debacle, Afghan detainee abuse, Helena Guergis's supposed airport meltdown and her husband Rahim Jaffer's Busty Hooker affair, and Bev Oda's "not" of disputed parentage.
None of these issues concerned corruption, at least. The overall impression, correct so far as we know, was of a relatively clean and law-abiding government. And it was certainly true that the Liberals, at the time the only real alternative, offered a less than compelling remedy.
Some commentators have puzzled over the Conservatives' behaviour in majority governance. Instead of mellowing, they seemed to have lunged out of their shackles, clutching a list of grudges. Parliament is more sour than ever.
When it comes to controversy, they seem to be getting bolder. Consider Conservative House Leader Peter Van Loan's astonishing defence of a poll, commissioned by his party, which insinuated to voters that Liberal MP Irwin Cotler had stepped down, or was planning to step down, thus leading to a by-election in his Montreal riding.
Normal people would call this "lying." But for Mr. Van Loan, this is a matter of our fundamental freedoms: "To say that one cannot speculate on [Mr. Cotler's] future, that that form of freedom of speech should forever be suppressed, is to me an overreach that is far too great." This bold defence of BS has not gone unnoticed. Former Conservative strategist Bruce Anderson called it "wrong on every level," which is about right.
Last week, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney responded to accusations of patronage appointments to the Immigration and Refugee Board by producing a longer list of past Liberal patronage appointments. This is standard practice from the minority days, but surely, in a majority situation and with the Liberals in third place, this line must be losing steam - especially among the party faithful. Younger readers may not remember, but it is true nonetheless, that Mr. Kenney's partners in politics used to oppose patronage, full stop.
But the G8 spending debacle is the most worrying item on the Conservatives' scandal sheet. As Postmedia's Stephen Maher has illustrated with particularly devastating clarity, Tony Clement quite obviously chose which communities in his riding would receive $50million worth of gazebos, public toilets and other amenities under the (dubious) guise of the 2010 G8 summit in Huntsville, Ont. Against all the evidence, he insists he did not choose them. If he had chosen them, he said last month, "I'd be resigning right now and turning myself into the local police office." But he did choose them, he hasn't resigned, and he hasn't turned himself into the local police. Instead, he's in charge of the Treasury Board.
This bold defence of BS has not gone unnoticed either. Dead-obvious pork and sadsack denials of pork tend to rise above partisanship and upset everyone. Ditto Peter MacKay flying around in a search-andrescue helicopter against the sage advice of the military, spinning a web of half-truths about it, and getting busted cold. This isn't arcane trivia. It's the sort of thing that has always gotten Canadians' blood boiling, and always will. There is no reason to believe a Conservative Sponsorship Scandal lies ahead. But with the sense of entitlement apparent in these big-name Tories, mere months into their majority, is there any reason to believe the G8 spending fiasco will represent rock bottom?
If Mr. Van Loan's remarks are any indication, the new damage-control philosophy at Conservative headquarters is something like, "Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?" Or, roughly translated: "For me, I put pepper on my plate." Remember the APEC affair? The Liberals thought that was a minor scandal, too - they had a scapegoat all picked out. Ditto Jean Chrétien's golf course. Now they're part of a well-known folklore of Liberal corruption. If there's anyone left among the Conservatives who wants to write a different story, now would be a great time to speak up.
Origin
Source: National Post
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