Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Tory Support Stuck In Mud, Mulroney Fallout Yet To Come

Yet another poll, if we need one, to show that money can't buy me love for the Stephen Harper Tories:

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey put popular support for the Tories at 33 per cent - well short of majority government territory - with the Liberals at 29 per cent.

The NDP was at 17 per cent, the Green party at 12 and the Bloc Quebecois at eight.

(Note that the NDP is back in third place according to this one)

My favorite line in the survey, from Harris-Decima President Bruce Anderson:

"It'll be a while before we understand how many people are paying attention to this [Mulroney investigation] story, to what degree . . . the revelations and allegations raise concerns about the Conservative party and therefore render this issue a bit of weight around the Conservatives."

Believe me, they're paying attention. The name "Mulroney" makes Canadians sit up and look for pointy objects to stab things with, and I put the bemused response from various Blogging Tories down to their excessive youth. Presumably these guys were sucking mamas tit back in the late 80s when Lyin' Brian nearly drove this nation over a cliff. Despite opinion in elite Conservative circles, Canada hates this guy and, bitching aside, its good politics to tie him like an anchor (or a noose) around Harper's neck.

Thank you, Brian Mulroney, for existing.

PS By the way, you want a nice substantive tie between Mulroney and Harper? Here it is.

19 comments:

Paladiea said...

"Thank you, Brian Mulroney, for existing."

That was exactly my sentiment too!

Anonymous said...

let the mud slinging begin

Why didn't Cruton & Dithers launch an investigation when they were in power ?

They cash payments were known about.

Its going to be a good inquiry.

Which Liberals got the $10 million in bribes Shreiber paid out to get Air Canada to buy those Airbus planes ?

Ohhhhhhh ya, this is going to be sweet

Anonymous said...

OOOPSIE !!

Liberal cavorting with criminals !!

Who woulda thunk it

Oops! Liberals, NDP received Schreiber documents on Harper but didn't react
By Jennifer Ditchburn

"For months the government has known about very serious allegations concerning former prime minister Brian Mulroney. It received hundreds of pages on the whole affair. The Prime Minister even received personal letters from Mr. Schreiber,'' Liberal Leader Stephane Dion told the Commons.

"The government did nothing for months. Why?''

Schreiber has been in frequent contact with the Liberals, trying to find allies in his fight against extradition to Germany where he faces fraud, bribery and tax evasion charges. He has become something of a technical adviser to the party on the Mulroney affair.

Liberal MP Robert Thibault in particular has met with Schreiber for lunches and coffees in Ottawa to discuss his case, and spoke to him as recently as Tuesday morning about the ongoing controversy.

Anonymous said...

"The story gets interesting in 1995, with the letter to the Swiss, with journalist Stevie Cameron being a confidential informant for the Mounties, with the first exposé on the Fifth Estate.

Here's where the tape stops. Mulroney wants to add new players, "elected officials ... as well as journalists."



Ohhhhhhhhhhhh please have this inquiry.

Cruton, in the box, squirming like a stuck piglet. Now that would be worth the price of admission.
Now there's something for everyone in the political village to think about.

Elected officials. That would be Jean Chrétien and his chief of staff, Jean Pelletier, and his senior advise,r Eddie Goldenberg, and his director of communications, Peter Donolo, and the clerk of the Privy Council, Jocelyne Bourgon, and the then-Solicitor- General Herb Gray, and the former justice minister, Allan Rock, and all their officials.

What did they know about the Airbus hoax, and when did they know it. What were their motives, then and later? Was it a diversion from the fact they had almost lost the country in the 1995 referendum? How about Shawinigate, the Auberge Grand Mère loan files, and the naked abuse of power by Chrétien in the case of François Beaudoin?

What a show this would be.

But here's the kicker: "as well as journalists," meaning all the journalists, particularly from the Globe and Mail and the CBC's Fifth Estate, who have been working this story for the last 12 years, not just the reporters but their bosses. Mulroney would put them all in the box, and journalists and editors aren't allowed to protect their sources at commissions of inquiry"

Anonymous said...

If this is good politics had bothered to either read the full Star article or post the entire article, they would have been confronted with 2 points:

1) Contrary to the headline, even the Start had to admit the Liberals received a letter package about Nov 2 (count that - Nov 2). Geez, wasn't that about the time they started pressing for an inquiry. And - wait - they also sent the package to the RCMP! Wow, how incredulous! How downright, um, COMPETENT and PROPER of them. Drat those pesky Liberals.

2) Also, you'll note the Star explains that while Thibault had met with Schreiber, Schreiber had never explained the connection of Mulroney's arranged payments while he was still in office. That was made clear in the letters to Harper 7 months ago but not to the Libs, who received a package what was it . . . oh, Nov 2. See above point.

But don't let a few facts get in your way. That "whose cavorting with criminals" line is going to take you far in this affair. Please draw yourself a chart so you could see who was hugging the criminal, will ya?

Anonymous said...

I think the Liberals received letters and they forwarded them to the RCMP after they read them!

Anonymous said...

Interesting that Norman Spector, a former Chief Aide to Mulroney, is suspicious of Mulroney isn't it?

The Chretien - Shawingate, etc have already been dealt with.

Tiresome - blaming Liberals for everything - it's about Mulroney/Schreiber/CPC party - keep it simple stupid.

Tiresome - the sanctimonious NDP. They had Spudscam, O'Learygate, Bingogate and recent problems out west - cut the hypocracy NDP please.

Re: Chretien and Martin - the info that's come out now was not out during their time - and quite frankly the new stuff proves Mulroney lied under oath - anyone who lies under oath will lie anywhere anytime.

Mulroney's speech reminded me of Nixon in 1973 - "I am not a crook".

Or (Clinton) - "I did not have relationships with that woman" now for Mulroney - "I did not have relationships with than man".

Anonymous said...

Reform came about from the fallout of the CF18 contract, amongst other things. Mulroney was NOT a friend of reform, and he and Harper are not buddy/buddy. Nor is Harper and Bush.

It's funny how Liberals see buddy/buddy relationships where none exist, because their own elite leadership is so rife with it. Desmarais, Martin, Chretien, Strong, etc. They're all an inbred cabal.

Anonymous said...

"Tiresome - blaming Liberals for everything - it's about Mulroney/Schreiber/CPC party - keep it simple stupid."

You Liberals really need to make up your mind if the CPC is the crooked old-time PC party or the kooky, crazy Reform party. Let everyone know when you finally make a decision.

bigcitylib said...

Anon 12:17 wrote:

"You Liberals really need to make up your mind if the CPC is the crooked old-time PC party or the kooky, crazy Reform party."

Whay can't it be both? A marriage of old and new...

Reality Bites said...

BCL, I'm pretty sure they'd prefer you call it a civil union.

Anonymous said...

Drove our country over a cliff? Oh, you're thinking of the policies that the Liberals enacted, but left the next gov't the pay for, almost driving this country over a cliff. So we got the GST in order to pay for it, wherein Cretin prompty kept it, claiming it as his own.

PET was still our worst PM ever. Mulroney was the most 'green', correct, so how come you don't forgive him his sins because he was just trying to save the environment?

Reality Bites said...

Anonymous, did it ever occur to you you might have more luck with people who aren't aleady partisan Liberals?

And just some friendly advice, advice that even your uncle Stephen would give you if he ever spoke to you in real life and not just in your wet dreams: you will get nowhere by propping up Mulroney. Prop up STEPHEN HARPER if you want to help your party. Praise him for his actions in calling the enquiry and cutting him adrift.

Mulroney's out of office. He doesn't have to ever worry about getting elected. Harper does. And he really, really wishes you'd stop defending Mulroney.

Idiot.

Anonymous said...

The Globe and Mail is onto KHS

Mr. Schreiber's allegations have created this turmoil. It is possible that Mr. Schreiber may be sent off soon to Germany to face charges there of bribery and fraud. If any of Mr. Schreiber's accusations suggest illegal activity on anyone's part, the Crown and the RCMP have every ground to demand that Mr. Schreiber provide them with any documents in his possession that might buttress the allegations he has been making. Mr. Schreiber has boasted of his extensive files of past correspondence and hinted at "surprises" he has in store. These are boasts the police should be calling him on.

To be sure, Mr. Schreiber has been more cagy than forthcoming in the past. A senior Mountie who was quoted in a Globe story last Feb. 2 all but threw up his hands in the face of Mr. Schreiber's lack of co-operation - "You've got to say, 'Just what the heck [has] this guy got? How credible is it?' " - before saying it would be wrong not to send Mr. Schreiber to face justice in Germany after an extradition battle of eight years. "It's an awfully long time, and to be this close to the door ... and then to say, 'Sorry, we've changed our minds.' Countries just don't operate that way."

But countries have the right to operate that way if they genuinely believe there is something important at stake. In fact, since Mr. Schreiber has been a Canadian citizen since 1982, the extradition treaty between Canada and Germany states explicitly that Canada does not have to extradite him. (If citizenship were the only grounds for that decision, however, Germany could ask Canada to prosecute Mr. Schreiber in Canada on the German charges.) The question, surely, is whether Mr. Schreiber has evidence of wrongdoing that would make it in Canada's interest to delay his departure. If a lengthy and expensive public inquiry or a possible criminal investigation hinges on Mr. Schreiber's latest affidavit, it is the job of the Crown and the police to determine whether Mr. Schreiber truly has something to justify that inquiry.

Anonymous said...

"Whay can't it be both? A marriage of old and new..."

It probably is but it was the Liberals (and Joe Clark and David Orchard) who made a big deal about how the old PC party was dead after the merger and welcomed traditional PCs like Brison, and more recently Turner, into their party. I'm sure the PMO is digging up all the quotes from back then in case the opposition tries to tie them to Mulroney.

"BCL, I'm pretty sure they'd prefer you call it a civil union."

LOL. I like that one.

Anonymous said...

You think that's a 'substantive tie' between the two? Good God, you're delusional.

Ti-Guy said...

The con-trolls are fit to be tied over this.

Reality Bites said...

You mean they're fit to be tied over whether or not Mulroney is fit to be tried?

Anonymous said...

Why did Marc Lalone bail out KHS? Hmm?