It's not just the $140,000 in illegitimate expenses -- which Stephen Harper is on record as saying are "comparable to any parliamentarian travelling from that particular area of the country." It's not just that Wallin's tab is considerably larger than Mike Duffy's tab. It's that she doctored her records ahead of the audit. It would appear that, like Bev Oda, Ms. Wallin feels free to alter official documents.
And, of course, there is the matter of scale. John Ivison points out in The National Post that:
Lest any of the senators currently in the spotlight have forgotten — which is unlikely — [Senator] Lavigne was sent to the big house for using a mere $23,000 for personal use — at least $10,000 of which was for travel expenses for trips taken by his staff.
The Harperites roared into Ottawa full of outrage, claiming the moral high ground. They promised a new age of accountability and righteousness. What they offered instead was self righteousness and no accountability.
When historians write about the Harper years, they will link the prime minister's name with hypocrisy. For, if Stephen Harper stands for anything, it is hypocrisy. It is who he and his acolytes are -- hypocrites.
2 comments:
Wallin does not go to jail. She is trying to portray herself as a victim on a confusing set of rules and too much paperwork. She was milking the system for all she could get. She offers no apology or asking for forgiveness. Begrudgingly paying back the money does not erase the crime. If that were the case we would have a lot fewer petty thieves in jail.
Conservatives -- particularly these Conservatives -- rage about our culture of entitlement, Philip.
Clearly, we are faced with a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
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