Conservative Candidate Slams In and Out On Paper

Here are the Affidavits of Mr. Goudie, the former Conservative candidate in Newfoundland. He clearly thinks the Conservative Party duped him. When your own candidates begin to roll over on you, you can bet that Elections Canada are closer to winning this battle than the Conservatives are trying to lead Canadians to believe.

You Gotta Love Rex Murphy

Here's his rant from tonight. I couldn't open the video, so I'm posting the transcript.


Harper's PR
Rex Murphy's Point of View, Thursday, April 14, 2008
TRANSCRIPT
Elections Canada raids Conservative headquarters.

This is the headline out of last week, when Elections Canada and RCMP officers in plain clothes - showed up at Conservative Headquarters to seize documents and files.

Raid is a bit exuberant. I think of police raids from old movies and the Untouchables. Breaking into the illegal booze shops, or hitting the local bordello, or busting some drug ring. I'd say last week's "raid" was executing a search warrant, but "executing a search warrant" is hardly the language for Question Period, so the Opposition are very happy with "the raid."

Ralph Goodale, who should know better, calls the story "the biggest electoral scandal in Canadian history." Mr. Goodale has a very short memory. Last election the announced RCMP investigation into the income trust leak, in mid-campaign, may well have changed the outcome of the election was much bigger story. And, IF, politically motivated, a far more worrisome scandal than his one.

That said, if the Tories attempted and succeeded in defying the Elections Act, if they played the rules or broke the rules, and gave themselves a forbidden million dollar advantage in ads in the last campaign - they should be nailed for it. A government that ran on "accountability" and savaged the Liberals for their lack of it, have no grounds for crying now, if the magnifying glass is on their behaviour.

The Conservatives, like Mr. Goodale, have very short memories too. In Opposition they were relentless.

If the circumstance were reversed, the Conservatives - Mr. Kenny, Mr. Van Loan, Stephen Harper - would be grinding the Liberals with the same half-confected merciless glee the Liberals are now turning on them.

Their attempt to 'manage' this affair couldn't have been been more inept, more dismally wrong-footed - if they'd handed the file over to their enemies.

Last Sunday - Sunday mind you - they invited selected members of the press - for example, CTV but not CBC, the Toronto Star but not Canadian Press - to what were ludicrously called "private briefings." This was the public relations equivalent of standing at the bottom of a skyscraper and paying someone to drop a grand paino on your head from the 100th floor. Stupid is far too kind a word for it, although if you join stupid up with 'perverse', 'self-defeating', 'embarrassingly amateur', 'witless', and 'what in the name of God where they thinking', it begins to earn its keep.

Stephen Harper's much vaunted communications strategy is now in much the same state as Rome after the Visigoths, or to bring a nearer illustration, the Liberals after Paul Martin's post-sponsorship apology tour. Poking the press with a stick, it may shock the PMO to learn, is not actually a strategy at all: it is, actually, not much more than an improper use of a good stick.

This contest/scandal with Elections Canada episode reveals a government that that has lost its fundamental political instincts, is losing ground on the great theme of accountability that brought it to office, and is so weary after 2 years as a minority, that in some matters - let's brief half the press and bar the others out - it simply can't think straight.

For the National, I'm Rex Murphy.

Posted by The National on April 24, 2008 03:19 PM |

Bill 33 Grandparents Rights...Long Overdue

I'm proud to say Kim Craitor is my MPP. Kim has brought forward this cutting edge Private Members bill and, in my opinion, it is a long overdue piece of legislation.


Bill would give Ontario grandparents more rights
Updated Thu. Apr. 24 2008 6:14 PM ET

ctvtoronto.ca

A private member's bill that would give grandparents in Ontario better access to their grandchildren is one step closer to becoming law.

Bill 33, drafted by Niagara Falls Liberal MPP Kim Craitor, received second reading in the Ontario legislature on Thursday. The proposal will now go to a committee for further examination.

If passed, Craitor's proposal would require courts to consider the relationship of children to their grandparents as part of a custody case involving the kid's parents, or if a parent dies and the grandchildren are taken away.

The legislation would also guarantee grandparents court-ordered visitation rights.

"We often forget that we must speak for the grandchildren, and that's what my bill does," Craitor told the legislature on Thursday.

"Far too often, as many of you may know in this House, after a messy divorce, for example, access to children of the marriage has unfortunately been used as a lethal weapon.

"Spite, hatred, revenge and anger can be an awful thing, but no child, no child, should be used as a weapon."

Craitor says many seniors are on fixed pensions and don't have the money to go to court to fight for standing or rights.

The bill, the third time Craitor has introduced it, received support from all parties on Thursday.

"I cannot imagine being refused access to Olivia, my granddaughter, my own flesh and blood, and I hope that I never have to go through that," said Progressive Conservative MPP Joyce Savoline. "Grandparents bring so much to a child's life."

New Democrat MPP Cheri DiNovo asked why the bill wasn't introduced by the governing Liberals, instead of as a private member's bill.

About 75,000 grandparents in Ontario are denied access to their grandchildren, meaning more than 100,000 grandchildren have been cut off from their grandmother and grandfather, CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss reported.

Craitor says he has received thousands of emails, letters and phone calls from constituents in support of his bill.

He said similar laws to protect grandparents already exist in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Yukon.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss

For those of us that are or were close to our grandparents and who have children of our own that are close to their granparents, we know how important this bill is.

Al Gore for President...Again!

Laugh as you may, it's not a bad option for the Dems. With the support of John Edwards, it's not impossible for Gore to win. The Boston Phoenix writes about here (I don't share his Clinton opinion and the fact that $440 million has been spent on this nomination puts Stark on the looney list in terms of realistic scenarios).

Gore would win. Easily.

While Flaherty Spends $122k on a Speech, Canada Goes into Deficit

Nice. Some of us wrote about this after the GST slash. Economic forecasters never had a doubt in their minds. But, now, we start to hear in detail how the deficit is about to hit us.

So what does Maverick Jim Flaherty, the king of deficit financing, have to say about it? At lunch in New York today he had this to say. Adda boy Jimmy. No need to be alarmed people. Don't look behind the curtain.

Somebody is going to lost their seat in the next election...and I think Jimmy boy is that somebody.

Here's the Third Conservative Scandal in a Week

Third party advertising is a tricky little play during election campaigns. It's kind of another way of hiding funds under an election cap if it's done right. And, judging by Tom Flanagan's book, Conservatives tried to take advantage of every little loop hole imaginable in the last federal election.

Getting your friends to advertise anti-Kyoto stuff is a good way to counter the Liberal pro-Kyoto campaign.

So let's recap this week's Conservative air farce. In and Out schemes, Minister of Finance breaking tender rules, Ryan Sparrow and Doug Finlay alienating the entire Ottawa press corps and now this third party adscam.

Wilson is right. Time for an election.

McCain In the Catbird Seat

Talk about luck. John McCain's dream came true last night. An extended Democratic nightmare.

Earlier this year I made the case that the Dems would be going all the way to Colorado to decide their candidate, thereby handing an election over to John McCain in November. I also made a point that the two Dems left in the fight would have a tough time explaining their fight for the poor when they are about to blow $300 million on a nomination.

Well. I lied. How about the Dems are already over $400 million for a nomination. $400million!!!!

Joe-down-and-out in bumblefudge Indiana is going to have a tough time believing these people are going to get elected to help his plight and, while simultaneously bringing fiscal responsibility back to America. Man, if I were a Republican strategist I'd be getting the word out on a minutely basis that the Dems blow money faster then they do.

Barack Obama. Champion of the poor. Champion of the no-lobbyist-in-Washington fight. He's already spent almost $200 million dollars. Tell me, just how many foreclosures can you buy for $200 million? And how many people can get health care insurance with that amount of money? Hillary Clinton is no slouch either, buying in at $160 million.

To put this into perspective, the annual budget for the City of Niagara Falls just came out last week. The cost? A whopping $89 million. To run a whole city with 82,000citizens. The combined total raised to date by the two of them? $440 Million. Almost enough money there to run my city for 5 years.

Yes, my friends, change is in the air. Hope is in the air. A Republican victory is in the air.

So, back to John McCain. He wins. It's really that simple. He looks like the fiscally sound candidate of choice at a mere $80 million.

Thank God, in Canada, we have that big time donation cap of $1100 - which I reach by attending a convention of my own party. Maybe America will want to consider something like this in the future.

And Flaherty Admits to Breaking Rules

Adda boy Jimmy. First time I have to say I believe you. Conservatives breaking rules has nothing to do with being an open and more accountable government.

Really. Just ask them.

Ezra Levant: You're So Freaking Desperate

Hey Ezra, go freak yourself with a pitchfork!!! Is this the New Talking Head for the CONservative Party??? I thought they had enough of embarrassing media scrums this week. What a disgusting piece of shit you are Ezra. Jenke and Taylor should be appalled by this moronic appearance by this loser on Duffy Live Today. What an ass.

Boy It's Quiet at Blogging Tories

Not much written about this scam. Of course Steve has a new and exciting timeline for all of us to peruse. Then there is some anger here and there. Some wanna know what Dion is going to do now. And, other than Taylor supplying us with another copy of the warrant, that's it.

Weird eh?