On more than one occasion, Thomas Mulcair, the supposed 'star' of the NDP, has exhibited what we commonly term passive aggressive behaviour.He shows this on TV panels, at committee and in the House.
The current strategy of the NDP is of course to employ the 2 for 1 line. Bash the Cons then point out that they are just like the Big Bad Liberals, then sit back with a patronizing expression. His honesty is often belied by a satisfied smirk that is sometimes caught when he believes the camera is off him.
Well, he followed his predictable script today on QP, but stepped way over the line telling us clearly where the NDP will probably go during the next election.
He was on a panel with ankle biter Pierre Poilievre and Garth Turner, moderated (cough), by lightweight Jane Taber.
Of course the conversation was about the raid at CPC offices and the arrest this week of Benoit Corbeil.
Mulcair opened the the discussion by distorting the truth about Corbeil, insinuating that he was still involved with the Liberal party and that the arrest was part of Sponsorship. He referred to the "perp walk" of a senior member of the Liberal party.
Uh, he hasn't been in that position for 7 years and certainly is no longer a member of the Liberal party. Furthermore, he is charged with stealing from the Lib's and some shady land deal, but hey, those are just facts right?
Poilievre of course piled on with something like, 'He's not just any Liberal employee, he was the top Liberal employee' the key word being was, but he glossed over that to suggest that the Sponsorship scandal lives on. No, not really for most Canadians, but the regressive Con's live in the past so they mention it every day. Again, this particular charge has nothing to with AdScam.
Quite the tag team.
But Mulcair wasn't satisfied that he'd made his point strongly enough, so he had another go and when he gets going he has no problem in twisting the truth on it's head, if it suits his agenda. He came out with this:
The Liberal Party of Canada, set up an elaborate structure to bilk Canadian taxpayers of their money, use it for partisan political purposes and that's how the Liberal party have been winning elections.
That disgusting and disingenuous claim tells you much of what you need to know about this guy. He's not interested in the higher good as the NDP is always claiming. No, he's interested in getting votes even if it means lying.
This is a man that needs to be confronted. Taber wasn't about to do it, Turner tried but was told that he lacked class for his effort.
Lies must be called out, I do not care what party is telling them. It seems that they are never challenged now, especially in the media. Perhaps they are concerned with the phony free speech argument being pushed by the right?
Guess who is not being served well?
For the record, I'm happy to see Corbeil charged if he did what he is alleged of doing. If more charges come in the future against him or others that are related to Sponsorship, great. No one is for what happened but turning it into what it was not serves no one.
15 comments:
"The Liberal Party of Canada, set up an elaborate structure to bilk Canadian taxpayers of their money, use it for partisan political purposes and that's how the Liberal party have been winning elections."
I don't have any particular like for Mr. Mulcair either but what part of the above statement is a lie?
The sponsorship program was an eloborate scheme that redirected hundreds of millions of tax dollars to ad agencies for little or no work. Millions of these same dollars were funneled back into the Liberal party Quebec wing to help them pay for their election machine in the province.
That's not lies or spin, those are the facts.
trevor - didn't Gomery find the misdeeds were performed by a few select individuals and the party central was not involved?
trevor, what gayle say's is fact and beyond that, Mulcair is suggesting that the Lib's only won elections because they rigged them.
Yes, we all get that sponsorship was, (note past tense) bad, but it was not a 'plot' by the Lib's and for Mulcair to portray it as such is beyond disingenuous.
This is one of the few times I have to disagree with you. While Mulcair was a minister in Quebec, he did do the right thing for Quebec and stood up to that Neo-Con Charest...
"didn't Gomery find the misdeeds were performed by a few select individuals and the party central was not involved?"
Not really. Gomery was not allowed to draw any conclusions or recommendations regarding civil or crimminal liability of any person or organization. He was also not allowed to dig anywhere that there was already a crimminal investigation taking place. Anyone who honestly believes that Guite, Gagliano and a couple of Admen masterminded this whole thing has blinders on. What incentive did supposed criminal mastermind Guite have?
"Mulcair is suggesting that the Lib's only won elections because they rigged them."
I take anything Mulcair says with a grain of salt but there was some truth in his words. The Liberal campaign machine was assisted by the funds provided through sponsorship.
Would the Libs have won those elections anyway? probably.
The whole point is that the original blog post claims that it is all lies, I disagree with that.
Mulcair's maternal great-grandfather was former Quebec Premier Honoré Mercier, to whom he compared himself when he announced his return to politics: "My great grandfather was Honoré Mercier, so what else could you expect from me." [18]
His family background is bilingual. Although considered an anglophone by many, his preferred language of correspondence in House of Commons business is French.
...Honoré Mercier (October 15, 1840 – October 30, 1894) was a lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the Premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887 to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ).
He opposed the Confederation project as early as 1864, believing that it would be detrimental to French Canadians.
Mercier was Lomer Gouin's father-in-law and is an ancestor of Thomas Mulcair, the current member of Parliament for the Montreal riding of Outremont.
NOW here's the interesting part:
Political downfall
On December 16, 1891, he was dismissed by Lieutenant Governor Auguste-Réal Angers after a report concluded that his government had diverted public funds. He lost the 1892 election, and gave up the party leadership to Félix-Gabriel Marchand. He was brought to trial later that year and found not guilty when a second report concluded differently on the matter. However, his health had greatly deteriorated and his political career was over.
...don't you think Mulcair should be more interested in "truth" and justice than what he's trying to do now?
cherniak_wtf, I take you at your word and really have no knowledge of him before he entered federal politics.
I've watched him since then though and have seen a really nasty streak that always leaves me uncomfortable.
Trevor, it was not my intent to suggest it was all lies. Obviously AdScam happened and we know what happened there.
It was the way Mulcair put it. Lib's only win elections because they cheat.
He also said that because of that and what is going on with the Con's that voters were running to the NDP in droves.
Really interesting sandi.
Yes, I think all of them should be going after the truth. I simply grow weary of the uber-spin that is out there.
All parties spin, I get that. I just wish there was more intellectual honesty to the messaging.
This individual really has a hard-on for the Liberals. No matter the topic, he finds a way to bring the Liberals into the story. I've never liked him, and the more I see him the less I trust him. Reminds me too much of scabbers, Ron Weasley's rat in Harry Potter!
He seems To have a narcissic personality / metamorphosis included/ Not pathological But very odd driven and I am sure Jack is discomforted now with him too..
Somehow these types fell sooner or later..He is the one what is IMPORTANT.. not the party what he belongs to.
His attacking the Liberals and bringing up Adscam and past Liberal sins in Quebec makes perfect sense.
His chief opponent is going to be a Liberal and he will no longer have the whole of the NDP apparatus supporting him. It will have to spread itself around the country during a general election.
So his very political survival depends on making the Liberals look bad.
That does not mean he is not a nasty piece of work but it could also mean he realizes that he might have made a mistake hitching himself up to the NDP in Quebec.
Interesting points ottlib.
His attacking the Lib's is not my issue with him though. It's his manner. This was just one example but he really goes for the jugular.
marta I would agree about his ego/arrogance.
Indeed those attitudes do take people down eventually.
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