I have written about Jason Kenney's outrageous collaboration with the shadowy Con operative Alexandra Constantinidis
How he used her secretly taped recording to go after a Liberal candidate.
How he refused to apologize after it turned out to be the wrong guy.
And instead delivered this crazed diatribe...
But now he has finally ran out of hot air, or been sedated, and has been taken to the woodshed by the Globe and Mail.
There shouldn’t be any place in Canadian politics for the penny-ante dirty trick pulled by a Conservative operative this month. And it’s disturbing that Jason Kenney, the Minister of Employment and usually one of the party’s more thoughtful leaders, would give this pathetic behaviour a seal of approval.
Compared to his hero Richard Nixon...
It’s one thing for low-level partisans to indulge in Nixonian chicanery; it’s another thing altogether for a person of Mr. Kenney’s stature to associate with it.
And given a brutal spanking he will not soon forget.
When you double-down on a penny ante, you only have two pennies. Why a cabinet minister would want to be involved in such small-change politics is baffling, but the fact Mr. Kenney has done so gives this cheapening of Canadian politics the blessing of the government. There is a price to be paid for this.
And of course this couldn't be more embarrassing.
It is perfectly apt to point out here that Michael Sona, who was sentenced to nine months in jail this month in the robocall scandal in Guelph, Ont., was a 22-year-old Conservative Party staffer at the time the offence was committed. Some young Conservatives seem to think anything goes. Is Mr. Kenney telling them they’re right?
Especially since Michael Sona is planning to appeal his sentence.
So the story of the Con Tricky Dicky gang isn't going to go away. It will hover like a stinky cloud over the election campaign, along with Duffy and Del Mastro.
And now Jason Kenney, who would pose as Mr Clean, is going to find himself right in the middle of it.
And not only that, forever linked in the the public's mind, with the bizarre Con Mata Hari Alexandra Constantinidis...
How ironic eh?
And how damaging.
Because Constantinidis looks a lot like the little girl in Poltergeist...
So people won't easily forget her.
And of course all of this is VERY bad news for Stephen Harper, because he's been desperately trying to buff up the image of his sleazy dirty trick government.
For that cloud of corruption probably explains why despite finding himself on the right side of what is still a popular war...
His polls are not as good as previously advertised.
Have the Conservatives really caught up to the Liberals in national voting intentions, as one recent poll asserts? While the margin between the two parties has certainly narrowed in recent weeks, it does not seem to be the case that the Conservatives are the ones on the move.
Canadians simply will not embrace him, because they don't trust him. And Kenney's caper will only make matters worse. And make the Harper Cons look even more corrupt, sinister, and dangerous. If that's possible.
Golly. The Lord does indeed work in mysterious ways eh?
And thank goodness for small mercies.
Kenney may replace Harper, because one does resemble the other...
But his image has been fatally compromised.
The Cons have no future.
And he'll NEVER be Prime Minister...
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15 comments:
This indeed does look pretty bad for Kenney particularly if the Con brand is so rock solid, why resort to pettiness with an obscure liberal candidate. What do they really have to gain? The liberals may save themselves thousands in attack ads if the harper gang sets out to destroy their own brand, they will have done all the heavy lifting themselves.
"And of course all of this is VERY bad news for Stephen Harper, because he's been desperately trying to buff up the image of his sleazy dirty trick government."
Exactly Simon...
I would propose that Kenney was setup and hung out to dry by the pmo. Harper is not leaving and just put the pretender to his throne in place.
Of course I have been binging on House of Cards this week.
hi bcwaterboy...yes I think Kenney just made a very bad mistake, bad for him and bad for his party. And the only explanation is that the stress of running all out for Harper's job, and he is REALLY running hard,
finally got to him. And I think he knows he has made a mistake because even his prolific Twitter feed is quiet as a mouse...
hi mogs...yes the timing couldn't be worse, and when someone like Kenney is seen to be consorting with shadowy Con operatives, it can only further taint the image of that morally corrupt government...
hi WILLY...As is said above I think that Kenney just got carried away. Remember he has had to fight very hard to get that income splitting scam through. Harper is said to have had his doubts, the late Jimbo Flaherty was on record as thinking it was a bad idea. And so intense was that battle that if you remember Flaherty and Kenney almost came to blows in the House of Commons. But yes, one has to wonder who exactly is giving Alexandra her orders? And since relations between Kenney and Harper have been noticeably chilly, particularly during Harper's recent visit to China, I wouldn't rule out some kind of set-up....
It's also interesting to speculate about why the Globe & Mail editorialists, who have no problem with endorsing the harpercons after they lied to Parliament, were found in contempt of Parliament, and who now support them despite their election fraud, have decided that THIS particular action on the part of Kenney, is so objectionable.
Maybe it's a momentary lapse of their usual insanity, or maybe they're taking harper's side in this.
A recent nomination meeting in Ontario featured one candidate favoured by Kenny vs one favoured by Brian/Ben Muldoon. It appears that old lyin Byron , not a Harper fan, doesn't like Kenny either. I took this information as an indication that he wants control of the party so he can anoint Ben before he dies.
Does Mulroonie have an in with the editorial staff of the old Groat and Flail?
Unfortunately, the voters won't even be that aware of it..the only thing that seems to activate their ire is money exchanging hands, as in the Liberal payoff scandal of decades ago..
Find something the taxpayer can sink their teeth into..this is hardly Watergate, no matter Kenny's adoration of Dirty Dick..I grew up in Nixon country, and can remember my father sneering that after he lost the governor of the State election, that " Nixon couldn't get elected dog catcher"..well, he was sadly so wrong..
As for questions re the Gloat & Fail's editorializing, perhaps, like Chretien with Martin, Harper doesn't want Kenny to undermine his authority just yet...
Heavens help us, not Ben Mulroney! Egads, just what we need - the battle for best coiffed and buffed PM.
hi thwap...I must say I always feel uneasy quoting anything the Globe Editorial Board says. But on this occasion they laid into Kenney in excellent fashion so I don't feel too bad. It's hard to say why they should choose Kenney, or now to come down hard on the Cons. But it was a cheap little act, and maybe they're afraid that Kenney might actually become Prime Minister for a while at least. I personally would welcome that because there is no way that freak is ever going to win an election....
hi rumleyfips...that's very interesting, and it would be great if the Progressive Conservatives could make a comeback and evict the old Reform gang. But please not Ben Mulroney, one Mulroney was enough...
hi Beijing...but can he sing as well as his father? Because if he can, well that would make all the difference... ;)
hi mizdarlin....I'm not suggesting that this latest scandal alone would be enough to topple the Cons. Although I hope we get more episodes of Alexandra Con Agent, because that would definitely help. But it's the cumulative effect of all those scandals that can do the real damage, and in that regard the Cons have a heavy burden to bear...
What is disturbing is that it doesn't seem to matter how much corruption & illegal campaign tactics the Conservatives are involved in, they never seem to suffer for it in the end. They always seem to hold onto a core 30% vote. They're very difficult to keep down. Many Canadians seem willing to give them a pass. Even though Del Mastro & Sona have both been convicted this year, the Cons just continue on their merry way. When is something going to stick to Harper and make him accountable with voters for once?
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