A "Gaffe", Eh? Part Nope

The whole Nanos poll is here.  I think I like it better when Alberta is polled separately and not as part of "The Prairies".  Split it off and I bet the NDP looks far more competitive in Saskitoba, as they do in the recent Forum survey.  Either way, its pretty obvious that Mulcair has a strategy and, for the moment at least, its paying off.  Apparently, get reamed out by both Conrad Black  and Brian Mulroney isn't a career breaker these days.

Mulroney Says Torys Should Bury Hatchet, But Not In His Head

Musings on The Chin's upcoming wing-ding.

Who's coming, who isn't. Maxime Bernier's going to be there. He's bringing his father along as chaperone. So I guess he's available.

This bit is esp. interesting:

A cabinet minister in Mulroney's government, Charest's decision to co-host the event has some speculating he might seek a return to federal politics, perhaps as Harper's eventual replacement.

If true, we might almost be getting to the point where I could vote Tory on the federal level again.

(I remember hearing his shift to Que. provincial politics being analysed 10 years ago as follows: "Well he must know he'll never be PM")

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.

A Moral Compass, Pointing To HELL

Not sure which is more appalling, the fact that Stephen Harper is the guy ultimately behind last week's "Mulroney Not A Tory" stories, or the fact that the CPoC is demanding Mulroney pay them for the privilege of rejoining:

"The Conservative Party of Canada has no lifetime members," [Conservative party president Don] Plett told the news service.

He said the party would "absolutely" accept Mulroney back as a member, provided he ponies up the $35 for a five-year membership.

You know, if Mulroney is having trouble with this, I hear Iggy's been raking in the cash. Could the Liberal Party of Canada spare a few bucks to make Mulroney a CPoC member again?

Blame Mulroney For World Food Crisis

Because one of the driving forces behind the Harper bio-fuels plan is the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (the CRFA), who helpfully ran pro-ethanol ads for the Tories back in early 2007(*).

Because the CRFA is nothing more than the front group for a consortium of agri-businesses, numbering Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) among their members.

Because on the ADM Board of Directors is one M. Brian Mulroney.

All makes sense now, doesn't it?

(*) And whose executive director, Kory Teneycke, quit the CFRA last November to become the Tory's head garbologist.

Just as an aside, environmentalists have always looked askance at ethanol. It has been embraced by governments because it allows them to multi-task, giving them a green sheen and throwing a bone to an established, powerful constituency (farmers) all in one fell swoop.

Mulroney Comes Through (For Liberals)!

CTV has a "statistical tie" between the two major parties, with the Libs actually up a couple:

OTTAWA -- A new poll suggests Stephen Harper's Conservatives have lost their big lead over the Liberals, plunging six percentage points in popular support in just one week.

The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey puts the Tories at 30 per cent support, in a statistical tie with the Liberals, who are up four points to 32 per cent.

The Bali disaster and the Chalk River isotope disaster are also cited in the Tory plunge.

Can we call the Harper government "embattled" now? I wanna call them "embattled".

And, by the way, can we all agree now that Dion's going to Bali and looking reasonable, while John Baird was out back somewhere catching a few zzzs during negotiations, turned out to be a net positive?

Here is a link to a more detailed breakdown of the results. As Kingston notes in the comments, the results from Atlantic Canada, or their interpretation by The Star, seem a bit odd.

Ripe For Re-gifting

Industry Minister Jim Prentice took his staff out to Hy's Steakhouse in downtown Ottawa last Monday, Dec. 10, for a holiday gathering. Between 30 and 35 people were there, and Mr. Prentice asked everyone to take turns talking about the high and low points of the year over dinner, which was followed by some generous gift giving. Among some of the gifts that Mr. Prentice handed out was, you guessed it, copies of Mr. Mulroney's new book, Memoirs.

Betcha the people he didn't like got two copies.

Zamboni In Flames!

Way more fun than watching the leafs these days. In any case, and without any evidence, I blame Brian Mulroney.

ScandalGate!!!

Mulroney's been caught in another one! Specifically, the Registrar of Lobbyists is trying to figure out whether his discussions with industry minister Maxime Bernier re Quebecor and the opening of the wireless industry to competition constituted illegal lobbying. You see, at the time, Mulroney was NOT registered as a lobbyist and

"Secret lobbying is a recipe for corruption, waste and abuse of the public interest," [said Duff Conacher, of the public ethics advocacy group Democracy Watch].

Corruption, baby! Corrrrrrrrrrrruption!!! Its rank odor pierces the cold Autumn air. An investigation is surely in order and, indeed, The Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists may soon launch one.

PS. What happened to the Tory agenda? Has anyone seen it? Is that it, sad thing, plastered flat under the mud and goo, and covered in Mulroney fleas? I hear the Harper Tories are down to hassling Muslim women again. How proud they make me as a Canadian!

PPS. Is there a non-racist term for "tar-baby" that I can use in these posts?

And He Was Lazy Too

Karlheinz Schreiber surprised a Parliamentary committee Thursday by saying the $300,000 he paid to Brian Mulroney was supposed to be $500,000, but the former prime minister didn't do the work that was expected of him.

Its easy to sympathize with Mr. Schreiber. In the 1980s, Canadians hired Mr. Mulroney with the expectation that he would work to strengthen the nation. Instead he spent ten years rolling the dice with it.

National Post Wants to Aid And Abet Tory Cover-Up

Kelly McParland, their politics editor, says the Liberals want the Harper/Mulroney Scandalgate inquiry to:

...be able to scrounge around at will in the PMO’s mailbox in hopes of finding something incriminating the Liberals can use against the Harper government.

...which is not true. Dion's letter, setting out the boundaries he would like to see set around the inquiry, makes very specific requests of Professor David Johnson, and I suspect that these fall well within what Bob Rae would consider a "focused mandate". So there is no point trying to use Mr. Rae's words to suggest a "split" within the Liberal party as to how much of the truth of the Mulroney/Schreiber/Harper affair it is fit to uncover. It should all come out, no matter what Mr. Schreiber's motives might be. Justice demands it.

Well Of Course

...any public inquiry into the Brian Mulroney-Karlheinz Schreiber affair should examine the actions by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government. What did Harper know about those letters and when, and if he knew nothing, why is that too?

Dion lays it out in a letter to David Johnston, the academic appointed to review the affair. The inquiry should cover, among other things:

The management, follow-up and response to correspondence sent by Schreiber to Harper, his staff and members of his cabinet;

The Department of Justice's decision not to proceed with an internal examination into the possibility of setting aside the Government of Canada's settlement with Mulroney;

The possibility of conversations or correspondence between the current Prime Minister or any of his staff or cabinet ministers, and Mulroney or his representatives, relating to this file; and

The possible politicization of the process surrounding Mr. Schreiber's extradition case.

Damn,Dion gives good letter. Maybe he should text his questions to the House during QP and have Iggy read them out.

Meanwhile, the consensus among Blogging Tories seems to be to aid and abet a Tory cover-up. But, luckily, Brian Mulroney won't let it happen. Harper's dissed him and now he's feeling vindictive. He wants a full inquiry and nothing less will do. And when Mulroney perceives a slight, he never, ever lets it go. By the end of this affair Conservatives will hate him as much as everyone else.

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.

Majority of Canadians Want Mulroney Probed

And this is the probe most would prefer to see used.

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.

Front Group For Brian Mulroney Praises Stephen Harper

Red Tory wonders why the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association is running ads promiting ethanol as a green fuel and at the same time providing "free advertising", as RT says, for the Harper government. Well, Red, that's because, as you say, the CRFA is a "consortium of leviathan agri-business" like Archer Daniels Midland, and if you look at ADM's BOD, you find the name M(artin) Brian Mulroney. Does that name sound familiar?