Two Quotes Clear Up The Cadman Affair

From Mike Duffy yesterday:

Mike Duffy: “Can I share something with you, which I haven’t shared publicly until now? … And that is in private conversations with me, Chuck Cadman told me, that there was no way he was going to vote against the Martin government, because he was concerned of the potential impact it might have on the insurance settlement for his wife Dona. In other words: if he died while a sitting MP, Chuck told me, ‘that would double or virtually double the payout to his widow’ and he didn’t ‘dare take a risk forcing an election’, even if he was confident of being elected, for fear of some legal hassle involving an insurance payout …”

Duffy suggests that Cadman told him he would not bring down the government for fear it would affect his benefits as a member. Since Cadman was dying, the motive may have been selfish, but understandable.

The next quote comes from Stephen Harper in 2005:

When Zytaruk asked Harper whether he knew of the offer, Harper said: "I don't know the details. I knew that there were discussions, uh, this is not for publication?"

Zytaruk told Harper that the interview was "not for the newspaper. This is for the book."

Harper said: "I can tell you that I had told the individuals – I mean, they wanted to do it – but I told them they were wasting their time.

"I said Chuck had made up his mind he was going to vote with the Liberals. I knew why, and I respected the decision, but they were convinced there was financial issues ... but I said that's not going to change the decision," Harper said.

"I said `Don't press him, I mean, you have this theory that it's, you know, financial insecurity, and ... if that's what you say, make the case,' but I said `Don't press it.'

"We had all kinds of our guys were calling him and trying to persuade him, but I just had concluded that that's where he stood and respected that," Harper said.

Asked about the insurance policy, Harper said, "it was only to replace financial considerations he might lose due to an election, okay? That's my understanding of what they were talking about (emphasis mine).

Harper appears to confirm Duffy's story that Cadman was not going to vote against the government out of fears that he was going to lose his benefits (his government insurance policy) if he voted down the government. So, it looks like the Tories we going to offer Cadman a substitute policy to allow Cadman to vote with them rather than the government. With the event seemingly established, the only question to answer is, is this a crime? Hat tip to BCer in Tononto.

Update: The Liberals agree with me, which is scary. But, given the above two quotes, it is the only reasonable explanation. If the Tories have a better one, I am ready to hear it.

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Yawn

Ya know, they could find Stephen Harper naked in a choir loft and it wouldn't matter a damn. If the Liberals aren't going to bring down the government, who cares?

As a side note, frankly I think it is a greater offense giving away billions to corporations in tax cuts and looting the treasury to enrich "private partners" in public enterprises than to offer money to a guy to change his vote. Tossing away billions causes not a peep, but offer a guy a bribe and they come after you with pitch forks. Man, what a screwed up world.

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Way To Show Your Strength Stephane

From today's Globe:

“Every Liberal in the chamber will be voting against the budget,” Mr. Dion told his caucus Wednesday, according to an insider.

All three of them. Because there's no opposition like symbolic opposition. I mean, it's not like the Liberals are in any kind of position to really bring down this government. Right?

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Get Ready For Endless Ronald Reagan Biopics

News item: The government has announced it will no longer fund movies or TV shows it considers "offensive". I suspect there won't be any more "Prairie Giant" type projects.

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Pass Your Budget. Don't Mind Us

You know the old saying about politicians, "When you become a punchline in a joke, you are in trouble"? Well, I wonder what it means when you become a punchline in an elaborate production number?

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I Know, I Know

I said what I said this morning and I mean it. But, Stephane Dion is just such a dick head, I couldn't let his latest climb down pass without comment. To say I hate the budget but, yet again, I will not bring down the government, is irresponsible and completely lame. Dion is beyond weak. He will from now on, be referred to in these parts as Steve's Boy Toy.

Update: In other news, Steve's Boy Toy ordered Liberal senators not to make any amendments to the badly flawed Tory crime bill. SBT is the man who can't say no.

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Meh

I am not sure whether it's because its' snowing (again!!), or because we have a coalition majority conservative government, or because even though this government exists, the MSM can't help but sneer at any opposition (because you know, it is not enough to rule, you must crush the opposition). Whatever the reason, I don't feel much like writing about the shit that passes for politics at the moment. I am cynical, apathetic and ignored, just the way our elites like it. I am sure I will get over it, if for no other reason than I don't want the bastards to win. But for today at least, I am with Greg Staples, who always was at least one step ahead of me.

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Nik Na Knows

For those of you who love to look at every poll out there -- except the only one that matters, I present this as a public service. It shows what we all know. The Tories aren't rising above their base levels because they cater to that group exclusively, the Liberals can't get a clue because they have a weak leader who is easily manipulated by the blue wing of the party and the NDP can't buy a break because "they can't win".

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A Thousand Troops? Did We Say A Thousand?

We meant 2500. Really, if we only had 2500, then you'd see us kick some Taliban ass. Believe us.

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The Elites Have Spoken

We are in Afghanistan to stay. No change in direction, no discussion about strategy, no discussion about cost. While it is safe to say we have a "consensus" between the two biggest parties in parliament, I seriously doubt this "consensus" extends to a majority of Canadians. The only things the two big parties have going for them is the first past the post electoral system, which makes any alternative party or viewpoint uncompetitive and ignored and the unflinching loyalty of the corporate press. Canadians will rightly conclude that the game is fixed and retreat yet further into cynicism and apathy.

I am sure however about two things. Eventually, after we have sacrificed many more lives and enormous amounts of money on this adventure, someone in one of the two big parties will conclude it is a loser and will withdraw from Afghanistan. Second, the MSM will suddenly be flush with stories about how stupidly the whole mission was conducted and will congratulate themselves for their bravery for "telling a story that must be told". If nothing else, this affair proves Nietzsche was right about the existence of an eternal recurrence.

Update:Ya, what JimBobby said.

Update 2: Travers comes closer than most, in today's Star, to questioning the utility of our continued presence in Afghanistan. Then he gets to the last paragraph and says, in essence, never mind our international reputation is more important than common sense.

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That's Ok, I Believe In Santa Too

So, I'm sure it is just a coincidence that a Tory friendly pollster releases a wildly out of step poll, just before the budget.

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Some More Advice As Mr. Dion Tries To Make Up His Mind

If I had a choice between listening to Warren Kinsella or Bob Rae, about election timing, I know who I would choose. Hint: He was never a failed premier from Ontario, who backed down from a fight over provincial auto insurance, even though he had a majority.

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Ah, This Makes Sense

No wonder Psycho Steve has problems with the way Elections Canada does things. The Conservative Party in Alberta never has problems come election time. It makes sure of it. Steve is just used to living in a place where party and government are the same and I guess he wants to replicate this happy state of affairs, nationwide. It all makes sense.

Update: Alberta, what a strange and wonderful place it is. What's next for the land of the oil sands, DNA testing to determine who is or is not "Albertan"?

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Harper Practices The Vulcan Death Grip

This would be funny if it was not so serious. All the Liberals got for their cooperation with the Tories, is Harper latching onto Dion with both hands. No matter how much Dion struggles, Harper will not let go. No matter how many times Dion asks Harper to clarify the combat role post-2009 and to set a firm end date, Harper just shakes his head sadly and repeats the mantra "Our positions are essentially the same". It is obvious to anyone with one functioning brain cell, that Harper is now trying to run out the clock, lose the budget vote and then go to the people as the "man who tried to be reasonable" over Afghanistan.

I can hear Harper now, out on the hustings. "Oh Lordy, how we did try. We were so close to coming up with a joint position, the Liberals and us. Time just ran out. What a shame. I am glad the Liberals did, just this once, see sense and support our troops in their glorious campaign in Afghanistan." Harper will get to present himself as something other than a psychotic thug. Meanwhile, Dion will be running around the country saying, "No, no, we are very different from the Conservatives." He will look like everyone's little brother whining "Mom, Stevie's telling lies about me again!" No wonder Jack Layton can hardly contain his glee.

Update: Chantal Hebert agrees.

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Maybe If They Had Called It A Prayer Meeting...

Instead of a reception for Canada's Nobel Prize winning scientists, the PM and his merry band of fundamentalists would have shown up. I can understand it in one sense. This government sees science as a rival to its faith-based ideology and we all know how the prime minister deals with rivals. But, as Don Martin points out, the political optics of this petty attitude toward science, just reinforces the idea that the government is just completely out of touch. Now, I believe and have believed this for a long time. It is nice to see members of the MSM pointing out the obvious. We are being led by a group of pre-enlightenment thugs.

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The Liberals Make Their Move

If the Liberal motion is, as Radwanski hints, a way to trick Canadians into accepting an anti-insurgency campaign by calling it security, then I think both the Liberals and Conservatives are in for a world of hurt. If however, both the government and the military accept that they are no longer supposed to run all over the countryside looking for the Taliban, then it is something I can live with.

If this turns out to be a "too clever by half" measure to fool Canadians, then Iggy/Rae and Harper will have a lot to answer for. The question they will have to answer is, why are we extending the same mission for three years when things will not be any more secure at that point? Everyone knows this. What is so special about 2011, other than it is three more years to "save face"? If we are just hanging on to the same strategies in order to appease the war hawks in the Liberal caucus and make it easier on them when we finally do abandon Afghanistan, then I say we are condemning our soldiers to die for nothing, post 2009. I and the rest of the Canadian people will be watching, very closely.

Update:Well, it certainly does look like the Iggy/Rae have staged a bloodless coup and now run the Liberal Party. No big surprise there, really. It makes voting preferences pretty clear. Anyone opposed to the current direction of the Afghan war can't support the Liberal Party.

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Is Rosie DiManno Stupid?

Or does she have an agenda or her own? Read the following and you decide:

If Liberals are trying to spare Canadian lives – by venturing passively, ducking into calmer territory and promoting reconstruction in the absence of a secure environment – an anti-combat insistence is utterly without merit.

But it might get Canadian troops killed. An enemy that knows troops won't fight back, can't fight back because of political handcuffs slapped on half a world away, is an enemy given a blood-embossed invitation to attack at will.

Now I am no Liberal supporter, but this is such a gross misstatement of the Liberal position that even I have to gag on it. Did the Liberals ever say that our soldiers would have to stand in the middle of Afghanistan, without weapons, and allow themselves to be murdered by the Taliban? Show me a quote from any Liberal to that effect and I will publicly apologize.

There seems to be a lot of deliberate obtuseness going on in our press corps. They are pretending to be "confused" by a Liberal position (and you can say the same about the NDP position as well) which is quite easy to understand. All the Liberals are proposing is an end to active counter insurgency campaigns by Canadian troops. They are calling on the forces to be redeployed as security for development projects. Really, it is that simple. The press corps, would rather pretend to be "confused", because it fits into their own agreed upon narrative. Dimanno is just a particularly extreme example of this "confusion".

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When Is An Operational Detail Not An Operational Detail?

When your private polls tell you that Canadians don't believe your cover story as to why you are not informing them about prisoner transfers. So Mr. McKay, were you lying when you said that telling us would endanger Canadian troops, or are you now going to endanger Canadian troops?

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Baby, Take Me Back!

That was certainly a disgusting display. Harper was pretty busy fellating Charest last night, in a desperate attempt to atone for his affair with Dumont. I wonder if McGuinty will get the same "super speed" side deal that Charest got. Somehow I doubt it. Stephen seems to really, really hate Ontario.

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Thanks National Post

For publishing an honest account of what is going on in Afghanistan. It reads very much like the old saying about the road to Hell being paved with good intentions. And right now, Kandahar sounds like Hell to me. Who in Canada knew that there has been no electricity in Kandahar for the past two months? It is all well and good for our soldiers to after the bad guys, but if the rest of the development and other agencies can't make sure the people are taken care of with basic services, what use are we?

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Something To Ponder

If everyone knows you want to engineer your own defeat in a Commons vote (by, for example, creating confidence motions over bills not before the House) is that really very clever? I would think clever would be to engineer your own defeat without anyone knowing. To me, this is act of a very insecure mind, crying out for respect. It is amateur hour. It is vaudeville.

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Deconstructing The Motion

On Afghanistan that is:

Government Motion – Seeking to Continue the Mission in Afghanistan


That,

whereas the House recognizes the important contribution and sacrifice of Canadian Forces and Canadian civilian personnel as part of the UN mandated, NATO-led mission deployed in Afghanistan at the request of the democratically elected government of Afghanistan;

This is we call the "mom and apple pie" portion of the motion. Who would dare to hate the troops? Hell, the Tories love the troops so much that they are willing to sacrifice more of them in defence of a regime that tortures people and condemns journalists to death.

whereas, as set out in the Speech from the Throne, the House does not believe that Canada should simply abandon the people of Afghanistan after February 2009; that Canada should build on its accomplishments and shift to accelerate the training of the Afghan army and police so that the government of Afghanistan can defend its own sovereignty and ensure that progress in Afghanistan is not lost and that our international commitments and reputation are upheld;

This is the first of many finger wags at Stephane Dion. I guess that's what you get for abstaining on Speeches from the Throne. I like the last bit, which I call the "My penis is bigger than yours", statement.

whereas in February 2002, the government took a decision to deploy 850 troops to Kandahar, the Canadian Forces have served in various capacities and locations in Afghanistan since that time and, on May 17, 2006, the House adopted a motion to support a two year extension of Canada’s deployment in Afghanistan;

I am not sure the Tories want to remind voters that we started with 850 troops in Kandahar, have moved up to 2500 and are asking for a 1000 foreign troops on top. That sounds like a slow escalation rather than an improving situation, over time. The last bit is just a shout out to the Iggy/Rae.

whereas the House welcomes the Report of the Independent Panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan, chaired by John Manley, and recognises the important contribution they have made;

Why wouldn't the Tories support the Manley panel? They were hand picked to recommend an extension of the mission and dutifully complied.

whereas their Report establishes clearly that security is an essential condition of good governance and lasting development and that, for best effect, all three components of a comprehensive strategy — military, diplomatic and development — need to reinforce each other;

Interesting there is no mention of Manley's criticism of the government's communication strategy. Very strange.

whereas the government accepts the analysis and recommendations of the Panel and is committed to taking action, including revamping Canada’s reconstruction and development efforts to give priority to direct, bilateral project assistance that addresses the immediate, practical needs of the Afghan people, especially in Kandahar province, as well as effective multi-year aid commitments with concrete objectives and assessments, and, further, to assert strong Canadian leadership to promote better coordination of the overall effort in Afghanistan by the international community, and, Afghan authorities;

Very carefully worded. The government is "committed to taking action". That's like me saying I am committed to shovel the snow. Am I shoveling the snow? No, but I am committed to shovel the snow. It is a perfect action without motion statement.

whereas the results of progress in Afghanistan, including Canada’s military deployment, will be reviewed in 2011 (by which time the Afghanistan Compact will have concluded) and, in advance, the government will provide to the House an assessment and evaluation of progress, drawing on and consistent with the Panel’s recommendations regarding performance standards, results, benchmarks and timelines; and

whereas the ultimate aim of Canadian policy is to leave Afghanistan to Afghans, in a country that is better governed, more peaceful and more secure;

I call this the government's Kumbya moment. No time lines given you will notice. But there will be pie in the sky, by and by.

therefore, the House supports the continuation of Canada’s current responsibility for security in Kandahar beyond February 2009, to the end of 2011, in a manner fully consistent with the UN mandate on Afghanistan, but with increasing emphasis on training the Afghan National Security Forces expeditiously to take increasing responsibility for security in Kandahar and Afghanistan as a whole so that, as the Afghan National Security Forces gain capability, Canada’s combat role should be commensurately reduced, on condition that:

Again very carefully worded "expeditiously" (meaning someday maybe). It is a wonder the Tories didn't say "As the Afghan National Security Forces stand up, we will stand down". Too bad really. It is a wonderful turn of phrase.

(a) Canada secure a partner that will provide a battle group of approximately 1000 to arrive and be operational no later than February 2009, to expand International Security Assistance Force’s security coverage in Kandahar;

With just a thousand good men and true, we will vanquish our enemies. Remember Thermopylae!

(b) to better ensure the safety and effectiveness of the Canadian contingent, the government secure medium helicopter lift capacity and high performance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance before February 2009.

I think this was added by Petey. He just loves those UAV's. They are just so cool. Steve, being the indulgent father figure that he is, just could say no to those puppy dog eyes.

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The Fog Is Clearing

At last some real poll numbers. Nick Nanos please do more polls. This could explain why the Tories are eager to go now. There seems to be a "It's now or never" vibe coming from the government side. And for all those in the blogosphere who have posted obituaries for the NDP, take a look at their numbers (and remember these are real numbers by a real pollster).

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Test Driving Talking Points

The Tories realize that if soldiers are killed during a spring election, the consequences for the government could be dire. Voters might turn against the extension of the mission (more so than they already have) and against the one party that advocates an indefinite extension. So, they are test driving a new talking point. I saw it presented this morning in John Ivison's column:

But there are good reasons not to provoke an election over Afghanistan. As the Dutch reviewed their contribution to NATO's force in Uruzgan province last year, there was a sharp increase in violence -- between mid-June and mid-January, the Dutch army suffered all but one of its nine combat deaths.

Earlier this week, the Canadian military was reluctant to reveal how many bullets it has used in Afghanistan because it knows the Taliban reads the Canadian press. An election that centred on this issue would re-energize the Taliban's fanatical zeal, if they figured out that with a rush and push they could help elect a Liberal Party that is campaigning to exchange swords for ploughshares.

Get it? If there is an election, (against the wishes of the government of course despite manufactured confidence motions), any soldiers who die during the course of said election will be on the heads of the opposition. Watch for this meme to become popular amongst the BT's as things progress.

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Hail Mary, Full Of Grace

The government, looking ever more desperate by the day, pulled another stunt out of its bag o tricks today. Psycho Steve is going to force a confidence vote on a motion to "force" the Senate to pass their crime bill on their schedule. The idea, I suppose is to force Dion to either vote for the motion and then accuse him of "not being a leader", when the Senate ignores this farce; or force him to vote against the motion and then call an election on "law and order", rather than the crappy economy or Afghanistan. Mr. Dion, Canadians will not even blink if you vote with the government on this one. Go ahead, vote with the loons of the Tory party. Their days are numbered and this is merely the final twitch of a dead parliament.

Update: Question for any of my many readers (lol-ed.). If as Kady says, the motion is against the Parliament of Canada Act, could not the opposition parties just ask the speaker to rule it out of order?

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Afghanistan Is Not A Tory Strength

I think Warren K. has it mostly right:

Here we go. Two things:

• The Manley Report doesn't give them the cover they obviously think it does. The Tories are rolling the dice, big time.
• The country feels we have done our bit, and it's time for other countries to step up to the plate. The Liberals could win the election, big time.

The only thing I slightly disagree with Warren about is the last sentence. The Iggy/Rae may prevent Dion from exploiting this obvious reality to the full extent necessary for him to crush the Tories.

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Support The Troops

Except when they are killed by a government we support, no matter what.

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It's The Right Thing To Do

Finally Harper gets it. If he wants to extend this mission in Afghanistan he will need a fresh mandate from the people of Canada. Mr. Dion, don't let the Iggy/Rae scare you into backing down. While I agree with Layton's analysis of Afghanistan, I think your time line is more realistic. Let's bring down the government and let the people have a say.

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Broken Promise Number 1 Billion

You know how the government said it would allow the House to debate international treaties. Well, when it comes to copyright, that promise is no longer operative.

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Kabul Is The New Saigon

Here is a chilling description of the situation in Afghanistan today. From this morning's Sunday Times:

Kabul is like Saigon at the end of the Vietnam war. It swarms with refugees and corruption while an upper crust of well-heeled contractors, consultants and NGO groupies careers from party to party in bullet-proof Land Cruisers. Spin doctors fighting a daily battle with the truth have resorted to enemy kill-rates to imply victory, General Westmoreland’s ploy in Vietnam.

It's funny how our media, still possessed by war fever, is incapable of uttering anything close to a negative prognosis for Afghanistan. Here, it's all about the Manley Report. It's all "If we only had a thousand more troops and a half dozen helicopters, we could really, really win!". It's all about looking "serious" and shouting down anyone who disagrees with the media consensus.

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Coming To The Same Conclusion

"Winning" in Afghanistan is not going to be achieved by force of arms. Layton was right all along. I hope the Blogging Tories can stand the realization.

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Harper's Cunning Plan

I may have underestimated Psycho Steve. I now suspect he has a plan to fire every civil servant in his path, without cause, in a effort to bankrupt the government in an avalanche of wrongful dismissal lawsuits. H/T to the Jurist.

Instant Update: Given the Harperistas track record over the past little while, how many of you out there believe the following sentence?

A spokesman for Mr. Ritz said he was unaware of Ms. Allen's departure, and said Mr. Ritz would have no comment.

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Convenient Shield Of Sovereignty

From today's Globe, Rick Hiller speaks out on torture:

Canada's top soldier says the governor of Kandahar province is doing "phenomenal work," and that allegations of torture against him are up to Afghans to investigate.

Leave aside the fact that he thinks that someone accused of torture is doing "phenomenal work" and let's look at the idea of the Afghan government investigating the allegations. First of all, the gentleman in question is President Karzai's personal choice for the post. Second, Amnesty International reports this about the Afghan government:

Weak government

The reach of the central government was restricted. Parallel systems of governance and dispute resolution prevailed.

Insecurity undermined the rule of law and created a climate of impunity. Governors in some provinces acted independently of central government and violated human rights with impunity. Despite the appointment of Supreme Court judges and other high-ranking officials, reform and rebuilding of the judicial sector remained sluggish. The Afghan security forces, particularly the police and representatives of the National Security Directorate (NSD), were accused of illegal detentions and torture and other ill-treatment.

So, it seems unlikely that the governor is in much danger from the central government. It also seems that our options of dealing with torture are as limited as our options for other actions in Afghanistan. Canadians are being asked to turn a blind eye to torture until (if at all?) the Karzai government gets its act together on the issue. Thanks general. Please keep on talking. You are doing your country a great service.

Update: The general is showing all of us how corruption happens. I am not talking about monetary corruption, but corruption of the soul. The longer our military stays in an environment where they have to make common cause with war lords, the more they have to betray the very ideals they are trying to instill in Afghanistan. The ethical situation in Afghanistan, is much worse than I feared. I was a fence sitter on "the mission". I am no longer one. Layton is right. Before we destroy our military, it's time to withdraw them from that moral snake pit.

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General Hillier Makes It All Clear

If the one and only option for us in Afghanistan, should we decide to stay, is to stay in Kandahar and fight a counter insurgency war forever; then that should make it easier for the Liberals to decide where they should land in this debate.

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The Circle Of Life

The Richard Nixonization of Psycho Steve is almost complete. We have a paranoid, and in my opinion, psychotic group running the government, who are bound and determined to root out and destroy their enemies, both foreign and more importantly, domestic. Now that their domestic enemies have started to strike back through the only means available to them, i.e. by leaking like crazy, can the plumbers be far behind?

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Torture Schmorture

Shorter Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission: It isn't important that our security services torture people. It is only important to deny the Taliban a propaganda victory.

I am starting to understand what Americans must feel like. Their government makes compromises like this all the time, with regimes that are so retarded in their understanding of basic human rights. With each compromise, with each decision, we move further and further into the heart of darkness.

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Passive Aggressive General

Shorter Rick Hillier: I don't want to insert myself into politics but, if the Liberals don't pass the Manley Report they will dishonour the glorious dead.

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Shhh, Hear That? It's A Cover Up Unraveling

The Tories are, as we say, toast. To cover up the knowledge of torture, for almost a year is pretty shocking. To hide it from a federal judge will almost certainly make that judge cranky. To hide it from the Canadian people, on the correct assumption that it would make an extension of the mission virtually impossible, will make their re-election prospects murky at best. This news should free Dion from the Iggy/Rae, however. How can Dion negotiate with Harper, knowing that Harper will lie and conceal vital information from him? Harper is a swine who deserves unemployment. To Mr. Dion and the Liberal Party I say bring this parliament to an end. Bring on an election. We need a purging.

Update: To any Tories out there who might be tempted to snark. Remember, these are the "good guys", in whose name we fight. If the "good guys" are just "bad guys" with better suits, then we have no business fighting for them.

Update 2: The flying damage control squad that is the Harper government, quickly assessed its position and realized it needed something special. So, it uncrated the Chief of Defence Staff and sent him out to meet reporters this morning. I don't know what they promised Rick, but he was all charm and smiles and claimed to have been so drunk (I believe he said he was on a beach and on his third rum and coke) that he didn't care what Sandra Buckler had to say. He also was at his emotionally blackmailing best when he framed Afghanistan as coming down to having to look at the mums and dads who have lost their soldier-children and tell them that their babies did not die in vain. That we might have to look them in the eye and tell them that they died for a regime that tortures people, did not come up.

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