Tuesday, April 22, 2008

He Came to Change Ottawa, Not in the Way He Said Though

During the last election, Harper made great claims of change, should he take government. He said he was going to clean things up and of course we all now know how that has gone.

The thing is, he didn't come to Ottawa to clean things up. He came to Ottawa to tear it apart. The big hint was when he claimed that he would be kept in check by all of the Liberal institutions that were part of Ottawa. He said it with a smile on his face but behind his back he had a stick that was searching for the hornet's nest.

The change he spoke of to the country was one of honesty, transparency and clean government. Since taking power there are too many instances of dishonesty, obstruction and dirty government tricks to mention coherently.

No, the change he was focused on were the institutions and government practices that he had derided for years. The Senate, the Judiciary, the Civil Service, Arts funding, media access to government, Immigration and Elections Canada, to name a few.

He's often cited as being a great strategist. I beg to differ. He's slick but spinning a situation into an unrecognizable state does not constitute good strategy in my books. It's a temporary method to divert attention but when it is used in each and every situation that calls for accountability, it loses it's effect. The recent communications strategy employed last Sunday? Idiotic.

Today when asked about the In and Out scheme in New Orleans, he again diverted and said this.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the Conservatives followed the spending rules in the last election — but if the official interpretation of those laws changes, the party will adapt as well.
“This is the same story as before,” he said. “We always follow the law as it has been interpreted.”


The prime minister said if the agency's reading of the rules prevails, then the Tories will change their spending strategies.
But he said all the other parties will have to follow suit.


Cute don't you think? He suggests that the court might rule that the interpretation of the law might change. Uh, no. If the court rules in Election Canada's favour it would mean that the Con's misinterpreted the law and according to the affidavit, EC are suggesting that they did that knowingly or that they should have known.

He also says that if the ruling goes that way, the party will change their spending strategies. Well someone should tell that twerp Poilievre that he's contradicting his boss. For days he's been saying that of course he'd spend the same way in the next election. After all, a bunch of bureaucrats have no right in telling them what the content of their ads should be. If you missed him this morning on Canada AM and you can stomach it, here you go. To be honest, I burst out laughing listening to him.

It would appear that Poilievre, Van Loan and Harper are going to continue to divert and distract. They will stay focused on the civil suit and ignore the fact that they are charged with overspending nationally. And btw, if I hear one more commentator tell me how complicated this is and don't all the parties do it anyway?, I think I'll scream. It's not complicated and the other parties did not do what the Con's did...full stop.

Harper wanted to gain power in Ottawa for one reason and one reason only. He wanted to change it to fit his ideology, plain and simple. If he is ruled against in this civil suit, I expect he will find a way to continue his attack on that institution. He's point men have done everything but say outright that EC marches to a Liberal drummer. In fact, it could be argued that Poilievre crossed the line in the interview I provided above.

I don't know what body oversees the ten percenter's, but given that the Con's appear to have overspent there as well, I do hope that too receives the light it deserves.

Harper came to change things alright, but he lied as to what he wanted to change. The hidden agenda claim is derided by almost all media now, yet it's being unveiled before their eyes. Weird that.

I suppose the phrase 'can't see the forest for the trees' might be apt, but to me, 'if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear, does it make a sound?' seems a better fit.

10 comments:

ottlib said...

I would not worry too much knb because the changes he has made have all been transitory.

Nothing he has done so far cannot be changed when he is finally relegated to the dustbin of history.

It is true that the Quebec Nation motion and the GST cuts will not be changed but the next government will be able to get around them. Everything else he has done can be changed quite easily.

In fact, it will be interesting to see how he reacts when he sees his "legacy" so easily dismantled after he loses the government.

And make no mistake, this recent scandal is a government killer. Canadians who did not give him much of a vote of confidence in 2006 are not very likely to give him a bigger one after this scandal.

The Conservatives have created the conditions for their defeat now it is just of matter of waiting for the right time Mr. Dion to deliver the coup de grace.

wilson said...

o/t and I apologize, but, just wondering how you felt about James' version of Ezra on MDL.
By your comment, it seemed you watched it.

When asked by Scott if it was about Elections Canada, he said yes. Well it was about Brenda Martin.
He said Ezra talked over everyone. Well, Ezra was last to comment, he talked over no one, was silent until his turn.

Karen said...

I suppose you are right ottlib but I wonder just how normalised Canadians are becoming to how he runs government.

The way they spin is unbelievable, making everything so complicated. I thought the way Ignatieff handled the in and out was good. Of course it is more complex than what he said but reducing it to they over spent their legal limit made good use of the KISS principle.

Boy, moral among the public service must be low.

Karen said...

wilson, I commented at James' place but I remember McGrath making one last comment, I think prompted by Taber and that is when Levant started yelling about swat teams and breaking into the prison.

Indeed, it was about Brenda Martin, not EC.

Sorry wilson, I have always thought Levant to be an egotistical boor. Not because he's conservative btw. It's just his manner that grates.

penlan said...

Steve & his goons can spin all they want. It worked before but it isn't any longer. Too many scandals now & more & more is being revealed about their breaking the law & rules & the follow ups that are now being carried out by ethics commissioners, EC & who knows what else, that they can no longer hide behind spin. They have done this one too many times & the straw has finally broken the camels back. About time!

The general public is FINALLY not buying it!

Bring on the election...

Fabio Van Manly said...

A CPC ten percenter went out yesterday in West Nova and another tomorrow. They are in a panic to get their message out regardless of any consequence. Hell, I guess once you've bilked millions to get elected, using money you don't have to mail out your propaganda is child's play.
You have to just love the aroma of desperation, don't you?

Karen said...

penlan, the Lib's are holding a press conference tomorrow, apparently exposing more of the affidavit.

While it feels like election now, I'm not convinced that patience might be our best friend at the moment.

The one thing I don't want to see is hidden immigration bill pass. If we can keep that active while the Con's endure the slow drip, I think that will serve us well.

Could that take us to the Fall? Yes and I'm not yet convinced that's bad.

It always feels like the time to go...because how could it get worse?

Well it has become worse.

I think the next couple of weeks will tell the story.

Karen said...

sconed...yes desparation is in the air.

Brodie and others in the party are apparently worried about what EC might have.

Not that they would be illegal mind you, just embarrassing and pushing the line.

penlan said...

knb...Agree with you on that. The more details that surface on the many different scandals & maybe even more to be revealed, lies, & so on the better. More meat for "the Fall", as you put it. :)

And I, too, do not want to see that immigration bill passed.

My one concern is that the longer the Cons are in power the more they will take away from us & not just "our" money that they want to line their Party coffers with as in this In-Out Scheme. They have already done major damage to much needed programs by eliminating them or not funding them any longer. And Flaherty is making sure there will be no money for anymore social programs that are desperately needed by a fairly large portion of the population. They make such a lot of changes in secret that it's frightening.

But, yes, wait a little longer to let the negative become full blown.

Thanks for the info on the upcoming press conference!

Anonymous said...

Tomorrows 10 percenter (I've never seen three in one week) on offer for the eastern peoples proclaims: "Your $1,200 Child Car Benefit Keep it or Lose it". Of course the "lose it" stands beside that shrugging and helpless looking picture of Dion. You can check your preference inside.

The beat goes on.