CFN – Stephen Harper finds himself in a strange quandary and one that will impact his legacy as a Prime Minister of this Great Country.
The Senate Scandal that has his own appointee, journalist Mike Duffy, at its centre clearly is pointing at his desk.
You can’t have a tight controlling PM not know what’s going on in his own office or involving such a hot potato as the mess that Mr. Duffy is at the centre of.
While the plausible deniability and missing conclusive proof may work in a court room as we’ve seen with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford the longer you drag out a lie; especially in politics; when the public clearly feels you’re lying the worse the impact when the ugly truth comes out.
The ugly truth in this case is that clearly the Duffy situation was handled at the highest levels of government office; ie The PM himself via Nigel Wright and Mr. Harper’s inner trusted circle.
That in itself isn’t as damning as one might think at some levels; but for a politician who rode into power screaming Adscam across the land and calling for cleaner and leaner government it’s a monumental hypocritical fail. The Senate scandal is far more partisan and abusive than Adscam and as for leaner government; well just look at our deficit.
Weaker industry; a tilting of the economy to the West and in particular to the Oil Sands which will ultimately be another mess to resolve sooner rather than later and one wonders what these last years of Harper rule were really about other than beating up Liberals?
The Blue faithful have many inward questions to ask; and as a party the Conservatives are on the precipice of falling on their own rhetoric.
Mr. Harper can also see that falling on his own sword might not be a solution after watching Dalton McGuinty turn over the keys of power to Kathleen Wynne who’s done such a bad job that Tim Hudak and even Andrea Horwath are starting to look like a viable option to some in Ontario.
If Mr. Harper wanted to show clear leadership he’d admit to the clusterpuck and move forward. It might not save the day; but it might also not lead the type of election results that occurred after Lyin Brian Mulroney fled Ottawa for Conservatives.
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While that probably won’t happen the Canadian public will wait until the hammer falls and caps the sordid senate scandal.
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Stephen (I knew nothing) Harper has dug and keeps digging quite a hole for himself. I’m guessing that before spring, he’ll decide he wants to spend more time with his wife and kids.
When the competition is a sixtyish dual-citizen hipster and a priveleged Nancy Boy this shit doesn’t matter. An election will allow King Stephen to finally act like a real conservative and perfect our broken society all the was back to the fifties when women stayed at home and Canadians were white people who went to church on Sunday.
It would be hard to pick who is the biggest liar Harper or Obama as far as leaders are concerned.
Honest politicians are hard to come by. I would take a guy like Ford who admitted he did wrong, sought help and is getting counselling to deal with his issues, even though he initially denied it, he came clean and admitted it . The same can not be said about Harper, he bold faced lied and to this day he is still denying that he knew about the payments.
420 you said it right indeed. Women have taken over mens work and all done by design I can assure you that so as the powers that be can collect more and more taxes and this women’s lib piece of crap was all designed to do just that. Gloria Steinam was hired by the Rockefeller family and most people do not know that at all but she was hired by the Rockefellers to do just that be a women’s lib spokesperson. The sheeple all fell for this gimmick and look at the situation of Canada, the US and the entire world. If a person who is in economics knows what is eally happening they would be shaking their heads in disbelief how people of high intelligence can do such a thing to an economy – well my dear sheeple out there (not you 420 because you are awake) but the rest of them out there who do not know what is happening and just laugh their heads off at me but I can assure everyone that I will be having the last laugh at everyone. We lived well back in the 50’s and 60’s and we never heard of people taking anti-depressants and the like unless they had mental illness. We lived according to our means instead of trying to keep up with the Jones’. We live in this little hovel here in Ottawa and sleep well at night not worrying that we will lose the house or whatever because we cannot make the humoungous payments. People are mighty unhappy because they look at Mr. & Mrs. Jones what they have. What people do not know is that many people who were in high tech here in Ottawa lost their homes, cars over 100K (no kidding) among many other things including their families. When we first came back to Ottawa we saw those cars and now they are down to everyday type of vehicles on the road and many have their homes up for sale and for rent from the top areas of town to the bottom as well as cars. Stores are pretty well empty and people cannot afford to buy anymore. I think that we are past the time for a good wake up call that is soon to come and I can assure everyone that it is going to wake people up out of their deep slumber.
@ Stella. Ford doesn’t need help. He needs a severe kick in the a$$. His wife and two little kids are the ones who probably need the help. The “man” is clearly unfit to be a mayor or a parent.
Harper is no Conservative, never has been what-so-ever. He was Policy Chief for his, Northern Foundation of 1989. Harper even had the gall to, hire Wolfgang Droege and his Heritage Front as, security for Preston Manning. The Neo-Nazis donated to Harper’s Alliance. Therefore, Harper doesn’t govern, he dictates.
So, don’t expect Harper to be, honest about anything. All Dictators lie, deceive, thieve, are corrupt, use dirty politics and dirty tactics. All Dictators, also cheat to win. Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini had very similar characteristics. Dictators are also sociopaths, paranoid and control by fear and threats. Sound familiar? It should.
@ adanac. A little harsh, but not too far off the mark. Harper has dumped, and sh!t on most of the people who got him where he is. He has no friends, just temporarily useful enablers and allies. What I find intriguing is that his political career is being brought to an end by a slime-bag and former ally like Duffy.
Adanac you are absolutely right indeed. Harpo is not a conservative but is of the extreme right party the Reform and they amalgamated with the conservatives because the conservatives bankrupted Canada as well as their own party. I remember my parents telling me that during the Great Depression of the 1930’s the Conservatives were in power during those years and were not good at all. The same holds true today except that they are not conservatives but Neo-Nazis. Harpo stole the election and I don’t know what is going to become of the next election but I can assure everyone here that not a single one of them are any good to hold the title as PM and not even as a dog catcher. The very same is true about Cornwall non of the above. About Mayor Ford of Toronto I feel sorry for the man because of his bad choices in life and could have done a great deal better and I feel sorry for his wife and kids who have to suffer through all of this and I said that before many times as well. One thing good is at least he is getting treatment for his addictions and hope that he comes out of this ok. As for Obama he is narcistic and is not made to be president at all. Obama’s ratings are going down hill and Ford is still on top compared to Obama but of course their jobs are entirely different. Obama has aged a lot since he has been in office just like all world leaders. It is mighty lonely at the top. Harpo has hair transplants or a mop on his head because he sure wouldn’t look like that otherwise.
@ Jules. I have it from a reliable source who wishes to remain anonymous, that Harper’s hairpiece is the same one that was issued to him at birth.
Furtz you are funny indeed. Harpo’s hairpiece looks like as if he skinned a beaver or a cat and had it to fit his scalp. LOL LOL. ROLF!
If you want to see Harper and his gang at their worst look no further than their deplorable use of two dead teenage girls
Everyone was shocked and horrified when these Canadian girls took their own lives after internet bullying.
Now I look on with shock and horror as our Federal Gov responds with cyberbulling law that includes so much new law hidden inside it is truly scary.
This law to protect our kids includes sections on wiretapping
And beyond the wiretap issue, Bill C-13 references everything from “streamlining” the process for getting warrants to intercept private communications, to terrorism, hate crime, stealing cable, fraud, organized crime, and hacking. It also allows service providers to hand over customer data, if police request it, creating an incentive for voluntary, warrantless compliance
USING these young women as a cover for getting his agenda ahead shows the character of the man
I suggest that anybody claiming rob Ford voluntarily admitted to his sins is equally FLAWED..this means u stellabystarlight ‘ Ford who admitted he did wrong, sought help and is getting counselling to deal with his issues”
Stella Ford still won’t talk about where or from whom he is getting addiction help but lets say when his physical trainers turns out to have a conviction for trafficking in Steroids..things will only get worse
@ Betrayed. Yup. The Honorable Vic (family values) Toews’ spirit lives on in the Reformatory Government even after he’s gone to spend more time with his kid’s babysitter, or whoever he’s hitting on these days. Interesting that people are so caught up in all the lying and coverup of Duffy’s scam that this managed to slip by with little notice.
It seems that Canadians can only follow one political issue at a time. Now would be a good time for Dear Leader to declare himself leader for life.
There is a good solution to all the problems with people running government into the hole as well as running Cornwall that way as well and that is the good idea that my husband told a friend of ours in Cornwall years ago and that was to replace the mayor and council with animals then the work would get done a great deal better. Not one person that I see are anything worthwhile. Just this morning we were talking about Justin Trudeau being one point ahead and I said that all the pot heads are the ones who will be casting their vote in the ring since they have no brains to begin with. I said well if there are no real brains to do the job then put in dogs, cats and anything in between where no harm will be done. We are so mighty sick of people’s corruption and nothing good to look forward to.
Politicians are like the rest of us, not perfect. The Liberals have lied to, cheated and scammed the taxpayer for decades and we have done nothing but reward them time after time. Jack Layton was a nice guy but the socialists have never figured out where the money comes from to fund all the programs that would enable the majority to just stay at home and enjoy life. Now the damn Conservative leader and Prime Minister of this country may have lied to get our money back for us.
Boy, do we know how to focus on the real issues facing this country. Sooner or later a nation wide debate will arise over the banning of single ply toilet paper and we can embroil ourselves in yet another story (yawn) of significance and urgency. We are an intelligent lot, aren’t we ?
@ David. Harper and his closest people in the PMO and Senate didn’t lie in order to return the stolen money to Canadians. They lied, and apparently committed some serious crimes in order to cover up Duffy’s scam, and to keep Duffy quiet, about what we don’t know yet. This wasn’t just a mistake made by one or two people in the PMO. It was a long and elaborate plan by several people in the PMO and the Senate to stifle an audit and bribe a sitting senator.
FURTZ let us be real here. The RCMP are investigating and no charges yet have been laid, right?
So until charges are brought forward everything is speculation pure and simple. As far as suggesting that it was a long and elaborate plan we are venturing into conspiracy territory with that statement. None of the auditors indicated under questioning that they had felt intimidated in any way (CFRA news today) and no one has been charged with offering or receiving a bribe.
So to be very real, perhaps all the facts are not yet in, in order to conclude this fiasco (distraction) but one thing is for sure and that is that most of the opinions here are based on fiction, at least so far !
@ David. You clearly haven’t read the RCMP court document, or followed the rather extensive news coverage regarding the Duffy bribe coverup. That’s your choice to ignore all that. Add to the Senate scandal, the ongoing Elections Canada investigation into robo-calls sending voters to non existent polling stations, and willful cheating on election expenses (Del Mastro), etc, and most will see a pattern of shady if not criminal activity.
On to a different but related issue… Would you suggest that Mayor Rob Ford has never appeared in public or at public functions while inebriated because he hasn’t yet been charged and convicted for public intoxication?
You are absolutely right no charges in the senate scandal or crackgate but the court of public opinion would have you believe that charges are not necessary to brand someone guilty. Ironic isn’t Furtz that is the shoe was on the other foot most would cry foul unless they had their day in court. Who said life was fair ?
As far as your Mayor Rob Ford question , if charges warrant they should be made and he should stand accountable. I simply cannot speak as to his guilt or innocence, I like you Furtz can only speculate.
As for the “extensive” coverage, if you call repetitious supposition, speculation and innuendo extensive news coverage you would be right.
I have followed the Federal Senate Soap Opera with mild interest only, no charges laid yet so nothing conclusive. Our country is weathering the world financial storm so my prime interest to be honest is the provincial arena and the financial ruin we have suffered at the hands of the Provincial Liberals.
@ David. The stink around the Duffy coverup gets more pungent each day. Today it is reported that the PMO has hired three of Canada’s most prestigious law firms (at taxpayer’s expense) to defend any current or previous staffers who might be facing criminal charges.
Re Ford… You say it’s only speculation that he is/was an out of control alcoholic who hung out with criminal gang members, and has admitted to buying and using illegal drugs since being elected mayor of Toronto? Alrighty then.
FURTZ you are aware of what Rob Ford did for a living prior to becoming mayor so you understand why he would even know criminals in the first place. Furtz you know that a fact is not speculation so why the sarcasm ? Yes he has admitted drug use and yes he has admitted to purchasing illegal drugs and he has acknowledged that he has a problem with alcohol. I have no problem with facts I simply grow weary of the media trying to create the news instead of just reporting the news. Like I said previously supposition, speculation, innuendo, boring.
As for the news about the law firms. Confirmation of this occurrence would strongly indicate that charges are on the way otherwise there would be no hire taking place. Now I am more than mildly interested.
Betrayed before I read people’s posts I wanted to say that since the internet there is no privacy and the governments of Canada, the US and other countries have been monitoring what we say as well as our phone calls. You may have heard of NSA and others so nothing is private at all. As for the young girls who were bullied and then committed suicide there is so much of this going on and I would appreciate the government getting tougher on this cyber bullying. In the past I was bullied at school and I didn’t want to go to school at all. Many people today are going through much worse because of the internet. The net is good for certain things and a downfall for other things.
Furtz and David about Rob Ford he isn’t the only politician or someone in important jobs that have been taking drugs and working while intoxicated. Rob Ford should not have been involved in any of this but he was. Rob Ford did his best to keep Toronto’s taxes down as much as he could and was good for Toronto. Rob Ford screwed up and we don’t know what the outcome will be but don’t forget Washington DC’s former mayor Marion Barry who did crack and was voted in again. It is crazy indeed and people’s brains must be cracked as well. You would be surprised about the feds on the hill and what they do on the side. All of them (at least the vast majority of them) have things to hide until things really come out in the open. We see them all as liars, thieves, corrupt to the core, etc. I wouldn’t vote for any of them at all whatsoever. As for Duffy, Harb, Brazeau and Wallin these are just a few and wait until the investigation goes through on all of them and see how many others are involved in this scam. We haven’t heard any thing yet and this is a major soap opera in the making. Once the investigation is complete we will know a great deal more and I smell a rat stinking up more than those four individuals. There are many who are covering up for these scoundrels and we just have to wait and see the outcome of it all.