Yes this is amusing, but hardly startling. The Lib's were uncomfortable with this guy and it's not the first time his practices were considered fishy.Now, he's a Con with Harper's blessing. Watch Harper distance himself even more than he already has.
Does Khan speak in the House? Rarely. I imagine Harper saw through this guy with his first report and that's why it was not released.
A seat was all Harper was concerned with. How is that working out?
Khan conned and now he is a Con. Perfect!
This one can not be swept under the rug, pun intended. He adds to the list of other Conservatives being investigated by Elections Canada.
Oh, and the sanctimonious NDP are not off the hook here either.
The NDP of course love to bash the Lib's and the Con's, but when your Whip comes under this kind of scrutiny...I'd suggest that Jack and wanna be Jack, Mulcair, cool their jets.
Will something come out against the Lib's? Perhaps. At the moment however, there seem to be an awful lot of pots who don't have an eye for non-colour.
It's not the most pressing issue, but a fun one that all at once exposes how craven Harper truly is.
30 comments:
Yes, this should be amusing considering he was a Liberal candidate in 2004, using a Liberal Campaign Manager provided by the Liberal Party.
knb:
Don't forget if this is true it has happened under the Liberal banner
in 2004 not the Conservative banner.
But of course all of you Liberal pundits are going to try to make this a Conservative issue just the way they are trying to make the Mulroney / Schreiber a Conservative issue in which the Canadians are not buying.
Going back to Mr.Khan he has already said that he will be sitting has an indepedent MP. He has also offered our PM is resignation as his Special Advisor for Middle Eastern and South Asian Affairs.
I'm just curious how you and the rest of the Libs are going to try to make this stick to the Conservative,impossible in my opinion.
Long time Blog Reader first time posting.A voting age Conservative Married with kids and darn proud of it.
Mary B.
The Lib's were uncomfortable with this guy and it's not the first time his practices were considered fishy.
Could you please post some proof of this statement. Please point us to one reference where a Liberal is stating that they are uncomfortable with Mr. Khan before he left to join the Conservative party. What a load of hooey.
Relax my conservative friends.
I'm fully aware that Khan was a Lib when this happened.
I have no interest in pushing the matter because I've always thought the man was quite empty and opportunistic.
Mary B.: He has also offered our PM is resignation as his Special Advisor for Middle Eastern and South Asian Affairs.
I missed that. Do you have a link?
Thanks, sincerely, for reading this blog though. I'm always grateful for a reasonable different point of view.
Anon @ 1:36. I'm going by memory and it'll take research to dig up what you ask.
As I said, this is a fun story, perhaps not a surprising one, but hardly worthy of deep research.
Look, I'm not going to try to make this stick to Harper, it's just one of those things that will though. He brought this man in with great fanfare. That is in the public memory.
To be frank, the NDP story shocks me more. I always thought that Godin was quaint, but I didn't think him dishonest.
Oh but don't forget that these questions have been asked of him well before he crossed the floor. Harper knew he had the credentials to fit in well with his silent choir, flip-flopping funds back and fro.
Yep, he was a Liberal back then. But he's a CON now in more ways than one.
You get what you pay for, I guess...
KnB: the nDp link didn't work, just gave me more Khannnn! stuff with a quote from Pat Martin, hardly something to make the socialists squirm.
Thanks Burl. It's fixed now.
KNB:
"Mary B.: He has also offered our PM is resignation as his Special Advisor for Middle Eastern and South Asian Affairs."
"I missed that. Do you have a link?"
Yes I do KNB right here!
Please let me know knb if it works and seen it thanks I appreciate it.
KNB: I forgot to mention
it is me on the post of 10:30 am.
Mary B.
Burlivespipe:
"Oh but don't forget that these questions have been asked of him well before he crossed the floor. Harper knew he had the credentials to fit in well with his silent choir, flip-flopping funds back and fro."
If this was known long before why wasn't he kicked out of the liberal party then?
The last time I looked the Liberals were in power in 2004,and 2005,and he also was part of the official opposition in 2006 I'm I wrong?
Burlivespipe:
I'm sorry I keep forgetting to sign my post. The 10:48 am post is mine. Mary B.
Mary B.
Yes Mr. Khan was a Liberal when he won his seat but he was welcomed into the Conservative fold with great fanfare and given a rather high-profile position. If any Conservative believes Canadians will ignore that fact and focus on what he was when he won his seat they are dreaming.
It would say it will result in a very slight advantage to the Liberals. They will not really be able to use it against the Conservatives.
However, now Mr. Khan is no longer available to help the Conservatives in Toronto. A place the Conservatives need to break into to guarantee an election victory let alone a majority government.
Not much for the Liberals for sure but elections are won and lost on less.
Mary B:
The Mulroney/Scheiber Affair has barely even began so I would not make any conclusions about its impact on the Conservatives just yet.
As I stated in my own blog a couple of weeks ago, the current Conservatives and their media cheerleaders have been working hard at making their party seem more like the old PCPC than the old Reform Party. They even took the nickname "Tory".
If there are some damaging revelations about a form Tory PM at this inquiry many Canadians will not make the distinction between that Tory and the current "Tories".
Ottlib:
"If there are some damaging revelations about a form Tory PM at this inquiry many Canadians will not make the distinction between that Tory and the current "Tories".
Keep dreaming Ottlib. I usually don't comment on polls, but I have to on this occasion here.
Also just read this section from the poll very important to your phony argument:
"Anderson said the poll found that Canadians aren't convinced that the Harper Conservatives are the same as the Mulroney Conservatives, and voters don't connect Harper with the scandal".
"Asked whether the Conservative party today "is essentially the same as the Conservative party led by Brian Mulroney or pretty different," 60 per cent of respondents said pretty different".
So Ottlib your argument doesn't hold water.
Now Ottlib lets go to your next argument here.
"However, now Mr. Khan is no longer available to help the Conservatives in Toronto. A place the Conservatives need to break into to guarantee an election victory let alone a majority government".
Ottlib the Conservatives have won an election without Toronto remember they are in power right now.
Mr.Khan was elected under the liberal banner. The Conservatives really never had that ridding.
I don't know if the Conservatives would win a Majority or not,but I do know they can do it without winning Toronto. All they have to do is increase their seats in Quebec in which poll after poll have said that the Conservatives would make big gains.The Conservatives have only 11 seats now in Quebec. The Conservatives are running neck and neck with the Bloc. The NDP has surpassed the Liberals in some of the polls in Quebec.
Even a Conservative minority would work just fine for me. They could work as a majority just look what is happening right now.
The Liberals would certainly be looking for a new leader again and the Bloc maybe to.
This would mean that the Conservatives could be governing has a majority for about 2-3 years.
Mary B.
So Ottlib Dream on!
Mary B.
Thanks for the link Mary.
Tell me, what is it about Harper and his cadre that you like so much?
Knb:
"Tell me, what is it about Harper and his cadre that you like so much"?
Polices in general!
Example:
Lets take womens pressure groups,and pressure groups in general.I don't agree that governments should be supporting these groups with our tax $$$. I have nothing against them. I think that these groups should ask or found raise for their $$$ not
sit around and wait for handouts from our government.
If environmental groups such has Greenpeace for example can make it without government handouts why can't these pressure groups do the same?
I think that federal governments should stay out of the Provinces affairs or jurisdictions.
I could go on but it would be to long. I think you know where I'm coming from with this.
Mary B.
KNB I have a correction
to make I meant to say
Policies not Polices;)
Mary B.
This man is the Ultimate Con Man
I am sure a kid would push him AWAY by instincts ,,,,lololo
I would not be surprized if he is reporting to Some of those Middle East Countries he seems to be so familiar and knowledgable with...
By the way knb your choices with the pictures is telling even more then your great essays..I must compliment on that!!
Mary:
As I stated in my comment the Mulroney/Schreiber affair has barely left the tarmac. There is still way too much to come to draw any conclusions about its final outcome on the Canadian political scene.
As well, one poll does not a trend make so concluding Canadians will not draw a parallel between the current government and a former Tory PM is also premature.
Weeks or months of Brian Mulroney in the spotlight may just remind alot of folks why they voted against the old Progressive Conservative Party in 1993.
You also have to remember that if some negative revelations come out of this inquiry about Mr. Mulroney the opposition will be trying their damnest to link him with Mr. Harper. Which would not be that difficult considering, up until two weeks ago, they worked very close together. Will they succeed? I cannot say and neither can you.
In short, there are way too many variables to predict its impact on the political landscape going forward. However, it will have an impact and it is the Conservatives that are in the most exposed position to that impact.
It is true that Mr. Harper won an election without Toronto but it was a small minority government. For the next go round, many in his party are expecting a majority and anything less will be unacceptable. If he fails to win that majority many questions will arise about him and his leadership. Particularly, since such a failure would be against an opponent who is perceived to be weak.
So he is going to need to make better inroads into the GTA and the 905 belt to win that majority. That is around 75 seats Mary, the same number as in all of Quebec.
As well, for someone who does not comment on polls you certainly depend on them for the basis of your argument.
Indeed your whole argument about the inroads Mr. Harper will be making in Quebec are based on them.
I would remind you that the Bloc Quebecois was sitting at around 50%in the polls when the writ was dropped for the 2006 election. They were poised to take 65 Quebec seats. At least that is what the polls were telling us and they believed it which was why they helped to trigger that election.
They learned a valuable lesson in 2006 which Conservatives like yourself should take to heart. Do not plan an election strategy around Quebec voters. They are the most fickle and unpredictable voters in the country.
So Mr. Harper's strategy of writing off the GTA and the 905while banking on greater support from Quebec has great potential for disaster.
Which is to say I do not want Mr. Harper to change strategies. By all means focus on Quebec and ignore or alienate the rest of the country. As well, Mary you and other Conservative supporters keep supporting such a strategy. It is very risky to say the least and its potential downside is greater than its potential upside, which suits me just fine.
Ottlib:
"Which is to say I do not want Mr. Harper to change strategies. By all means focus on Quebec and ignore or alienate the rest of the country".
Get over yourself please!
About another Conservative minority government,guess who will be in another leadership convention again the liberals and all the division that,that would bring.
Now about the inquiry into Mr. Mulroney. Here is the situation it was the Liberal government that paid him the cash remember. Even Bob Rae said that the inquiry should be narrowed to Mr.Mulroney, Jean Chretien has recently said that public inquiry into the affair isn't a good idea now why would he say this hmmm.
For the Liberals trying to win the next election they would have to be doing much better then what they are doing in Quebec good luck with that.
I live here in Quebec the (Laurentian).
Remember the big hoopla
of the Afghan detainees of last winter the Liberals were not able to do anything with the Canadian people now were they?
Remember there will be another budget this spring with another big surplus that means more
good news for tax payers lets see them vote that down.
Nice to dream Ottlib;)
Mary B.
Ottlib
I also forgot to mention
when the election comes you can bet that Jack Layton will start to campaign against Dion Liberals.He has already started.
The NDP will not form the next government,but they will do damage to the Liberals its where they can get votes from.
Mary B.
Mary:
As I stated before and I will state again there is no predicting how the Mulroney/Schreiber inquiry will play out so yes stuff could stick to the Liberals.
However, the Conservatives are still the ones most exposed to the political risk of that inquiry. That is why Mr. Harper only called it when he was forced to and why he has put off the actual inquiry until the new year.
So living in Quebec you should agree with me about the fickleness and unpredictability of the Quebec electorate and the high risk of making it the centre of your election strategy.
As for the Liberals and their problems in Quebec. In 2006 the Conservatives were in single digits when the election began and they were written off in that province. Look where they ended up. The Liberals are just under 20%. So they are in much better shape than the Conservatives were.
The Afghan detainee issue caused the Conservatives to scupper their plans for a Spring election, probably the last real chance they had of easily winning a majority government. Who do you think raised the issue in the House of Commons? That's right the Liberals.
Mary, budgets do not have the effect on the electorate people believe they have. The Liberals put forward a budget in 2000 that handed out $100 billion in tax-cuts and billions more in spending. Then they came within a hair's breadth of losing their majority just weeks later, despite facing Stockwell Day as their chief opponent.
The Conservatives and the media have so lowered expectations of Mr. Dion that if he manages to hold Mr. Harper to another minority government his job will be quite safe. It would be Mr. Harper who would need to look over his shoulder in that case. He is now EXPECTED to win a majority. If he fails there will be consequences.
Of course, if Mr. Harper does win a majority the Liberals will have four years to sort themselves out so Liberal leadership after the next election will not be an issue.
Mr. Layton will need to be careful in the next election. There is a growing desire amongst progressives in this country to get rid of Mr. Harper. If Mr. Layton spends to much time focusing on the Liberals he will probably cause many of those progressives to go to the only party that has a realistic chance of defeating the Conservatives; the Liberals.
As well, you speak about Mr. Layton going against the Liberals. You as a Conservative should be more concerned about Mr. Duceppe. Whether he will be able increase Bloc support and win more seats than he already has is an open question but he will be focusing almost exclusively on the Conservatives as they are going after the same voters as the Bloc. That could limit any gains the Conservatives might get in Quebec, which will be real bad news since the Conservatives seem to have written off vast swaths of Ontario and the Maritimes.
Mary B. you are a breath of fresh air in these dank Liberal forums. We all know the facts. Dion polls in the single digits in Quebec and not much better elsewhere. The latest party polls have the Cons at 36 and the Libs at 28. The Liberal party has zero cash and has turned to YouTube in order to solicit funds for Mr. Thibault to carry on his slander campaign on tv. The analysis is in after Dion's first year as leader and it is all negative. Chantal Hebert openly calls him a loser. Everyone agrees the Libs have slipped to the lowest of the low by becoming cell-buddies with KH Schreiber. Seriously, what a thing to tie your party to. All in all, the Liberals do not pose any sort of a threat in the foreseeable future.
Mary:KNB I have a correction
to make I meant to say
Policies not Polices;)
Freudian slip me thinks.
Thanks Marta. It's a fun part of the process for me. They do make it easy sometimes, ;).
anon @4:04. I'm all for Conservatives, politicians and their followers, keeping up the level of arrogance you demonstrate. I suspect it will be your demise.
Chantal Hebert! LOL, as if anyone would expect her to support Dion. For the record, every prediction she has ever made has been dead wrong.
Oh and anon @4:04: The Liberal party has zero cash
Absolute BS. The Lib's do not have as much cash as they would like, but you do know that there are spending limit laws in place during an election right?
The Lib's have that limit so they will be on par with the Con's.
anon 4:04, I happen to agree with you that Mary is a breath of fresh air.
She is a Conservative supporter who actually argues in a reasonable fashion and Mary you do not know how much I appreciate that.
Most of the time when I find myself arguing with a Conservative supporter they wind up like this anonymous Conservative troll, spouting Conservative talking points and then resorting to insults, presenting strawmen and engaging in other tactics when you try to address the merits of their arguments. I gave up trying to debate them a long time ago as it is a colossal waste of time.
I believe we fundamentally disagree with each other but I appreciated your tone in disagreeing with me and your points of view and I thoroughly enjoyed our debate.
Although Mary, I do have to take you to task for preventing me from beginning my Christmas shopping. :-)
Anon 4:04 pm:
There will be another confidence vote before the Christmas break that will take them until the last week of January.
I read this past week that the Liberals are going to try to make the government fall before the Conservatives can deliver their budget in which we are going to see another big surplus where the government can spread $$$ around. It would be risky for the opposition to vote against it. The only thing they would have left is opposition days where they can propose a none confidence motion.
Let me say one thing here people the Liberal party has to many lose lips among them to go to the media.Not all Liberals wants to go, so they would be split once again.
Don't you think that the Conservatives didn't see this same thing on the internet? All they have to do the Conservatives now is to push those opposition days right after they present their budget.
Then if the government falls they the(opposition parties)would be campaigning against tax cuts. Bit risky for the opposition don't you think?
If the government survives the budget,we have to look that we may have a Quebec election in the spring you think that the Bloc would want to go into an election at the same time as Quebec? Risky there too in my opinion.
But stranger things has happened before.
Mary B.
Ottlib:
It is useless to call people names,because it gets us nowhere. I'm only giving you and everyone else my opinion.
I don't expect that people are going to switch sides because of what I say. This is the internet.You will not convince me and I nor you.
Ottlib I accept your complement thank you and happy shopping take care:)
Mary B.
Well I may not participate here with a Competetive argument,,, I just have a deep and all consuming feeling for the liberal's role In Canada they are not the Saints of this Nation without sins but overall they Created the Canada we have now and we must keep it this way.
I Found your "positives " about Harper's policies very shortsighted and narrow and kind of selfish.
and what about the future?? are you NOT worried at all??
And a question to Mary....are you sure about this Mary thing??
I am Marta and it is a sure thing..
marta...I'm on to it.
This poster fails to realise how you can track where people are posting from.
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