Statement From Dean Del Mastro

I didn't say what I just said.  Anyone who says I did, is lying.

How Do You Refute Claims That You're Just Buying Votes In Que.?

...buy a few in Sask.

Sarah Palin Busted For Embezzlement?

Right Here.

My prediction for the media week ahead: Michael Jackson who?

PS. More details here.

Girls On The Run! TPA On Chow On Raitt!

Olivia Chow is adding to current Minister of Natural Resources Lisa Raitt's troubles this afternoon by pointing to a purportedly confidential letter written by four directors of the Toronto Port Authority, where Ms. Raitt used to be CEO, to Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Minister John Baird on March 30, 2009. In the letter, such wrongs as mis-managing TPA finances and cronyism are alleged.

Keeping the old pot boiling, the TPA has fired back with a news release:

Many of the items referred to in the Letter are both picayune and stale, having been already widely reported in the Toronto and Ottawa media and often undermined in this earlier coverage. Once you discard the half- truths and defamation in their Letter, one is left with little more than a transparent attack by a subset of the Board, two of whom are seeing their terms expire in ten weeks' time. Their retirement present to the rest of us is to "burn down the house" on their way out the door, as they now recognize that they will not be reappointed to the Board for a second term.

The TPA is right in that allegations of impropriety have been levelled against Raitt and the TPA since at least 2006 (by Chow particularly). Also notable, of the TPA Board's current makeup:


Mr. Jeremy Adams: 1/14/09 - 1/14/12
Mr. Chris Henley: 8/23/06 - 8/22/09
Mr. David Gurin: 12/4/08 - 12/4/11
Ms. Michele McCarthy: 7/14/04 - 7/13/10 (two terms)
Mr. Mark McQueen: 8/23/07 - 8/22/10
Mr. Sean Morley: 12/19/08 - 12/18/10
Mr. Douglas Reid: 8/23/06 - 8/22/09
Mr. Craig Rix: 2/2/08 - 2/1/11
Mr. Colin Watson: 8/23/06 - 8/23/11 (two terms)

...three--Adams, Morley, and Rix--are Conservative Party members on either the federal or Ontario level.

The Ballad Of Steve And Brian

Grit-Girlesque, with an historical account of the long, somewhat complicated relationship between the two men.

Lets just say that if there had been same-sex-marriage 15 years ago, it wouldn't have worked out for them.

More Georganne Burke Connections

Kinsella has been harvesting information on the Grinchess that almost stole Chanukah . One of the facts to emerge is that Ms. Burke sits on (or sat on) the BOD of the Canadian Coalition for Democracies. These guys were founded by Conservative MP Peter Kent back in 2003. In addition to engaging in some hard-core Muslim bashing, the CCD, whose mandate says nothing about Canada's abortion laws (or lack thereof), recently appeared on a list of organizations supporting the Canada Family Action Coalition complaint to the Judicial Council (.pdf here) re Henry Morgentaler's receiving the Order of Canada.

I contacted CCD President Al Gordon via email about how that happened, but all he did was regale me with with vague threats of what sounded like legal action. Given Mr. Kent's pro-choice views, it is difficult to imagine that he would have gotten behind this effort. The most likely hypothesis is that one of the other members of the CCD Board of Directors gave CFAC the nod.

FWIW

Conservative Stratergizing?

Why did the CPoC's chief campaign strategist Doug Finley arrange to have his butt tossed from of today's Ethics Committee hearings into the In And Out Scandal? Well, it did get him at least a few headlines. Maybe he was hoping those headlines would crowd out these ones.

What Else Is In Those Boxes?

"You don’t just send Ian Brodie into the middle of what is a bit of a crime scene for capricious reasons. You don’t just send him lightly.'

And why did Brodie turn up?

'The fear is no longer about the in-and-out stuff,' the official said."

Conservatives party operatives and those in government interviewed for this story said they are trying to determine what classified material Elections Canada might have seized — and worrying that it could be released in a court case.

After two days of unfettered access to the party headquarters, Elections Canada made replicas of all their computer hard drives, carted off 17 boxes of documents and copied all of the party’s e-mails, Tory officials said.

How Much Does Bourque Charge To Keep Your Story Out Of The Headlines?

Notice anything? No mention of yesterday's disastrous Tory press conference at all. First time in ages Bourque has done anything more than cop the from page of National NewsWatch.

Maybe Bourque was on the private guest list.

They Scuttled Down A Fire Exit

The Wonderbabe (yes I have actually been given permission to call her that) has the story here. Watch them scuttle here, although "scuttle" suggests lean and bone-y and all the Conservative Ops you see in the video fleeing their own press conference seem on the soft, puffy side.

"Scubble", perhaps?

By the way, how surprising is it that Mike Duffy should be on the Tory list of "tame" journalists?

Tory HQ Raided!

RCMP are conducting a raid on Conservative party headquarters in Ottawa on Tuesday in connection with an investigation into spending on election advertising.

Oh that I should be alive to witness such a glorious day! Rumor has it there's video of Harper doing the perp walk in an orange jump-suit.

H/T

Update: More detail from CTV.

Exploiting The Cadman Scandal

Steve, whose calls for an immediate election have become strident and feverish lately, recovers nicely with this post re the Cadman controversy:

Why I hesitate, in adopting Turner's "pull the plug" advice over Cadman, it is just too opportunistic to be credible. Last week, Liberals spent their entire time trying to develop clever ways to avoid an election. This scandal breaks, and then suddenly, Liberals have found a solid spine, it's time to go. The chronology is too cute for words, and I doubt Canadian voters would be overly impressed with the obvious motivations. No, the Liberals have made their bed, the opportunity has passed, the optics of a reversal are dreadful.

Exactly. The Libs should not lean on this as the sole trigger of an election call.

Now, what if the NDP is working on a non-confidence motion in regards to the scandal? Then I would say the Libs should NOT support it on the grounds that it is premature, because:

1) It is premature. Let the RCMP do their job.

2) It is in the Libs strategic interest to have this hanging over the government as Parliament progresses. Whatever the final outcome of any investigation (guilty/not guilty) the very process will generate any number of Tory-negative media stories. For example, what will Dona Cadman do? Can she still run Conservative? What will the CPoC do with Dona Cadman? Can they afford to keep her now that she's accused the Party of bribery? It is hard to see an end to this that makes Harper and co. exit looking good.

Now, a few have speculated that it might be possible to use the Canadian Wheat Board Issue as a cover for going into an election over the Cadman Affair. That might work. But if this scandal still has legs in April, when the CWB legislation is due to arrive, then it is unlikely that the government will make it a matter of confidence in the first place.

The Liberal Party could then claim credit for sinking the measure and quietly go about the task of getting their shit together for the fall. That would be the best result

Daughter: Dona Cadman Should Run As Independent

"If it was such an indecent proposal, how are you in good conscience running for that particular party?"

Tough spot for the Tories. We can assume that if Mrs. Cadman leaves the party Surrey North is a write-off for them, and if they're ex-candidate is running around saying Stephen Harper tried to bribe my husband, it will have national implications. I don't know how her campaign manager Bill Zemianski can argue that:

"The prime minister supports her 100 per cent and she supports the prime minister 100 per cent."

"We have, like any family, a few disagreements, but this will not in any way impact on her running as a Conservative candidate."

Well, but one of the disagreements is that Dona Cadman has used the term "bribe" to describe the actions of Stephen Harper's Conservative Party, and he has essentially called her and/or her late husband a liar:

[James] Moore, a B.C. MP who repeatedly referred to Cadman as a dear friend, made denial after denial in the Commons that an insurance policy had been offered.

[...]

"The prime minister made a recommendation to him that he rejoin the Conservative party, as he was previously a member, so he could be a candidate for us in the coming campaign," Moore said.

This is just ruminating on Garth's part, but I hope some back-room Libs are taking it seriously.

The Upside Of Floorcrossing

Let them prosecute this dirty Tory to the full extent of the law!













SCANDAL!! SCANDAL!!!

Will Tories Attempt A Cover-up?

From this morning's Star:

The federal Conservative government's decision to grant Karlheinz Schreiber a two-week reprieve from extradition amounts to little more than political chest-thumping, the controversial German-Canadian businessman said yesterday.

And if he is extradited to Germany where he faces criminal charges, Schreiber said he would be hard-pressed to co-operate with a public inquiry into his business dealings with Brian Mulroney.

...which is fine, if Harper et al want the whole affair to drag on forever. What kind of inquiry can you have without Schreiber's cooperation? And how d'you think Mulroney will feel if he is cheated of his day on the stand? Who knows what dirty Tory secrets he is still in a position to reveal. And d'you think the opposition parties will stop pounding on this day after endless day in the HOC until the Tories yearn for the home, for the corn-fields of Northern Alberta?

No. My advice is to pull the band-aid off now, take your lumps, and try to salvage something of an agenda that has been derailed and stomped into mush by this latest scandal.

The CPOC Race Car: At The Back Of The Pack

So everybody knows by now that The Conservative Party of Canada is sponsoring a car driven by news aggregater extraordinaire Pierre Bourque in the Nascar Busch East Series. But not everyone knows that, as of June 11th, out of a field of 46 drivers, Bourque stood 31st with a grand total of $1,650 in winnings. Now, it also looks like he placed lucky 13th in this weekend's race at Mosport, so he might have earned a bit more in the way of pocket change. But clearly he's desperate for a slice of those Conservative millions.

This result goes with his rousing 14th place finish at the Featherlite Coaches 200, a 26th place finish at the Minnesota 150 where it doesn't look like he finished a lap, and a 33rd place finish at the Greased Lightning 150, where ditto.

Looks like my Grandma could outrun this car without her crutch, in other words.

And there was an interesting quote in the Globe article on this this morning:

...all well and good, but David Docherty, a professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., offers a few caveats.

"What happens if it runs out of gas down the stretch? ... Or it crashes?" Dr. Docherty asked. "This might be one of those things that's too cute by half. It's a great idea and then, 'Oh, what were we thinking?' "

What happens if the driver can't even get his engine to turn over?

Conservatives Cut Programs, Invest In A Big Ole Racin' Car

From the Surely You Fucking Jest department:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 17, 2007 OTTAWA - The Conservative Party today announced a partnership with Whitlock Motor Sports unveiled at the Mosport Race Track in Bowmanville, Ontario.

The partnership will include the Conservative Party of Canada logo being placed on the hood and front side panels of car number 29 in the Canadian Tire NASCAR Series.

Not satire. Some of the folks at Free Dominion have received the e-mail, and The Wife says something was on CTV. And since space on a race-car don't come for free, I imagine this is another example of "your tax dollars at work".

While the planet burns... while the health care system deteriorates... isn't it nice to know that middle-aged white men are pushing hot-wheel cars over a tile floor making VRROOOOMING!!! noises. Isn't it nice to know that one of them is your Prime Minister.

h/t to The Wife.

March For Life Scandal Erupts; Campaign Life Organizers Respond

But not to the major newspapers, at least as far as I can tell, because the folks at the Edmonton Sun say:

Rally organizers, the Campaign Life Coalition, could not be reached for comment.

Instead, my favorite SoCon Suzanne at Big Blue Wave (whose Youttube video of the march launched the whole controversy) pulls the scoop from 570 News:

However, Jim Hughes, head of Campaign Life Coalition, said the annual protest against abortion has never received federal funding and that the government was in no way involved in this year's event.

Hughes couldn't say how the Canada logo made its way onto the banner, likely created by a volunteer. But he said the banner has been used for the past five years without a problem.

...which last statement causes Suzanne to write:

Only now, with a Conservative government in power, did someone notice. What a coinkedink.

That last word is not a typo. I am assuming it is some kind of SoCon approved foul-language substitute. In any case, Suzanne, the fact that problems arose now is probably more a result of the fact that march attendees were encouraged to post youtube videos of their experience. Also, five years seems a long time for organizers to remain ignorant of what seems a pretty basic feature of Canadian copyright law.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hughes seems to have been partaking of the holy vodka bottle, because his estimates of the crowd size at last Thursday's March For Life are about double those of anyone else at the event. While Mr. Hughes produced a figure of 7,000, one police officer put the number at about half that, and CBC National News estimated a crowd of 1,500.

1,500? That means March for Life drew fewer souls than the "Save the Slime-Mold" protest I once attended, or the "Hop of the One-Legged Lesbians".

Conservative Pleads Guilty

Remember this guy from the 2006 election?

SURREY, B.C. (CP) - Former federal Conservative candidate Derek Zeisman has admitted to trying to smuggle more than 100 bottles of alcohol over the Canadian border.

Zeisman pleaded guilty to one count of smuggling in a Surrey court today, while five other charges have been dropped against him.

The original story broke during the midst of the 2006 campaign, and I always hoped it would cancel out the whole Adscam thing. It didn't, but Mr. Zeisman might be at least partly responsible for the fact that we don't have a Conservative majority today. Thank you, Mr. Zeisman

Tories Put The Sex Back in Essex

As I wrote here, a series of alleged death threats, trials, and nomination battles have roiled the Windsor-Essex Conservative riding association. But I could not have imagined the depths of depravity to which this intra-mural squabble seems to have sunk. Luckily, Richard Warnica of The Tyee is ready to wallow in the filth so we don't have to.

In brief, the case involved death threats apparently uttered in 2005 by Tory operative Nick Kouvalis against Tory MP Jeff Watson . The alleged threats were made before two witnesses, a pair of buxom young female volunteers for the Watson campaign.

However, the credibility of one witness was called into question when it became clear that she bore a grudge towards Mr. Kouvalis. She had recently ended an affair with Conservative caucus chair Rahim Jaffer, and Mr. Kouvalis had warned her to stay away from Peter MacKay. Furthermore, nude pictures of both witnesses turned up in emails to the local press, and this tended (in the judge's eyes at least) to further detract from the persuasiveness of their testimony.

This raises all sorts of questions, like: how many women can Peter MacKay chase at one time? Secondly, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought only Liberals were allowed to have sex. NDPers study the issues; Tories get drunk, ride out on horses, and shoot the heads off chickens.

Or are these guys what they used to call progressive Conservatives? If so, I don't know if I'd ever vote that way, but Jeff Watson might be in line for a suit-case full of adscam money from my personal stash.