It didn't have to come to this. Riding out what is becoming known as the "Robocon Scandal" was not the only option open to Stephen Harper. He could have vowed to get to the bottom of it. He could have decided that discretion was the better part of valor. But, when you wave a red flag in front of Stephen Harper -- particularly a Liberal red flag -- he becomes a bull in a china shop and goes on a rampage.
Harper chose the path of sound and fury. And all the hot air simply fanned the flames. But it did more than that. When Charlie Angus rose in the House yesterday to announce that the Conservatives were confused about the names of two North Dakota call centres -- Prime Contact Group and Prime Contact Inc.-- he was simply continuing the process of pulling back the curtain on the prime minister and his party. Getting their facts straight has never been the Conservatives' strength, even though Harper insists that the opposition get theirs right.
Harper's challenge to the opposition parties to "Prove It!" has encouraged them to do just that. And, as time goes on, they keep pulling back the curtain. Canadians are beginning to see that The Wizard -- so good at generating smoke and thunder -- is really a small, mean spirited man who lacks both discretion and valor.
Just a quick note. My wife and I will be away for the weekend. But I'll be back at our keyboard on Monday.
10 comments:
"A small, mean spirited man" is one of the most concise and apt descriptions of Harper I've read in a long time. I suspect that is also what makes him so dangerous.
I don't think he'll get away with this.
Have a good weekend.
You're right, Lorne. Small men should not be dismissed. He's also dangerous -- because he's mean spirited.
Your call for an inquiry, thwap, is a call for truth and justice.
I don't expect either from Stephen Harper.
But I do hope you're right. He should not be allowed to get away with this.
Hey Owen. Before you go, here's the latest on Vic Toews. Anonymous claims that, while married to his wife of 34-years and while knocking up his Ottawa assistant, Toews was also bedding a Manitoba provincial court judge who he proceeded to have elevated to the Manitoba high court. Harper then found out about it and shuffled Toews out of the justice portfolio to dodge a scandal. That's what's alleged. True? Who knows?
That's really interesting, Mound. If it's true -- and Harper's part in the play pans out -- this could turn into a real Bonfire of the Vanities.
Have a lovely weekend. Just in case you did not read it over the weekend, you might be interested in this article by Gerald Caplan,
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/second-reading/gerald-caplan/exactly-how-dangerous-is-stephen-harper/article2357089/
He teases us with his comment that he has learned from insiders that the problem is much bigger than we are aware of.
The echoes here of the Republicans is unnerving, if nor exactly a surprise.
We've seen this movie before, Chris. And it's getting tiresome.
Thanks for the tip, Philip. I've had time to take a good look at Caplan's piece. I think I'll simply repeat what Caplan said:
In fact, I’m informed by a former Conservative operative familiar with both the party and technology that there’s far more to be revealed in this saga. This is said specifically to involve close ties between the Harperites and American Republicans who have been constructing a terrifying, full-blown voter suppression machine, as The Nation magazine, among others, has well documented and CBC Radio’s The Current has noted. I have no idea if this will be found to be true, but based on the record, it is surely not implausible.
A paragraph to the wise.
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