Could it be brain damage? Memory loss? No, just another CONjob.

Dean Del Mastro:    Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party of Canada always provides all documents requested by Elections Canada. In fact, we provide Elections Canada with full reports on all our campaigns. The Conservative Party of Canada ran a clean and ethical campaign. That is what the evidence demonstrates.   (Hansard, February 29, 2012)

On April 15, 2008, the RCMP executed a search warrant at Conservative Party Headquarters on behalf of the Elections Commissioner in order to seize documents related to the investigation of the In and Out scam. The warrant alleges that not only did the party exceed the maximum amount allowed for election expenses but the Conservative Fund may also have filed financial returns "that it knew or ought reasonably to have known contained a materially false or misleading statements."

An unidentified staffer opens the door for a plainclothes RCMP officer during a raid on Conservative Party headquarters in Ottawa on April 15, 2008.

Beyond any arguments or spin

The Conservative Party does not need to look into "robocalls" made during the last federal election any further, Defence Minister Peter MacKay says.  "It's certainly not something our party condones."  But he told CBC News in New Glasgow, N.S., that he believes the calls directing people to wrong or non-existent polling places were isolated incidents.

Isolated, co-ordinated, funded, well connected incidents in which the perpertrators had access not only to call centres and robo services, but to voters’ lists and could sign off on the expense to the party.

I’m sure the CONs don’t have to look further into this because they know what went on.  It’s the rest of Canada that needs to have the truth brought out.

Ibbitson and Nanos think harper – and that means the Harper party – can survive this if he manages to avoid being directly linked to this very serious scandal.  I disagree.  Look what Adscam did to Paul Martin and the Liberals even when he chose to have his party investigated by an impartial body.  Martin was not found to be involved, but the taint of corruption clung to the entire party.

This may be the one harper can’t shake.  It goes beyond what even the most cynical people excuse of politicians: lining their pockets, favouring pals, abusing public funds.  This hits our sense of what is fair.  We don’t like cheaters.  They leave a really bad taste in our mouth.  We never really trust them after that.  And this goes beyond cheating.  It is the same criminal behavior corrupt governments in other countries engage in to impose their self-serving will on those they are supposed to represent.  Hell, we send observers to such countries to monitor their elections so that they don’t engage in voter suppression.  We send our troops to other countries to fight regimes that practice such corruption.

Pat Martin sees why this could be the scandal Canadians won’t ignore:

“The number of indiscretions has reached critical mass but the difference between this issue and previous indiscretions is that it’s so easy to understand. This is an issue of basic fairness. The in and out scandal was a complicated financial transaction that takes awhile to explain. This one, you know, any school kid could understand. It’s wrong to lie to people for your own self interest. It sullies our democracy. It speaks to a conspiracy to defraud.”

Lawrence Martin also sees the growing “number of indiscretions” as a major problem underlying harper’s and the CONs’ ability to come out of this one relatively unharmed. 
He gives a good list,  Worth the read, to remind us, since there have been so many.

Using Del Mastro and Airshow as spokespersons on this doesn’t help, either.  Del Mastro always carries that bully, oily sheen that naturally causes many to feel the snake oil salesman/repo man has been sent to deal with customers, and Petey?  He can barely cope with the barge of accusations directed at him.  Having someone who is more and more viewed as a liar and an elitist who uses public servants to attempt to sully the reputation of his critics is hardly someone who is credible in saying there’s nothing to see here, folks, we’re just ever so honest and ethical.

The biggest thing harper has going for him is time.  With a majority, he can hope that the economy tanks so much, people will forget about corrupt election practices, but that’ll only work if Canadians keep believing, against all evidence, that the CONs are the best ones to get us out of the mess.  And I don’t think that lie will hold much longer.

Or harper can distract us with another war, but with the economy as it is, will that really work to his benefit?  Again, I doubt it.  Failure in Afghanistan will be even more apparent over the next few years as all Canada has sacrificed in lives and money is shown to have accomplished little long term. 

And there’s the CONs themselves who simply won’t use that time to their advantage.  They have proven in this past year that a majority has snapped the collar on their arrogance and they seem to think they are above all laws.  That simply can’t hold when the rest of Canadians face job cuts, tax increases, threats to benefits and OAS, cuts to services.
You can’t build a stone mansion on a makeshift, wooden foundation.

Who is in contempt?

 Love that sneer.

CBC in contempt of Parliament if it doesn't produce documents Access Committee requests: Del Mastro - 'I think they understand that they’ve got a committee order to produce documents, I just cannot imagine that the public broadcaster is going to refuse to release documents to an in camera committee meeting,' says Tory MP Dean Del Mastro.

Here: let me help you with your limited imagination and memory, Deano –

The Conservative government is in contempt of Parliament, a report by a committee of MPs tabled Monday concludes.  Conservative MPs on the opposition-dominated committee did not support the contempt finding and issued a dissenting report..."The report tabled by the committee is simply a piece of partisan gamesmanship that diminishes the important work of Parliament," the dissenting report states.

Maybe your co-CON can help a little more:

 “Contempt, as we heard during the [committee] hearings is a very nebulous word,” Mr. Lukiwski said. “It’s almost like in the eye of the beholder. ... It can mean a lot of different things.”

Keep it up, guys.  Canadians love an underdog.

In which Del Mastro disses Trudeau and Jesus

According to Matthew 22:21, Jesus said: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's" – Matthew 22:21.  Jesus supported separation of Church and State. 

In this bible reference, Matthew is talking about how the Pharisees wanted to trick Jesus into saying poor Jews shouldn’t have to pay taxes to the wealthy Roman empire, but (OH NO!!!!  Jesus loves taxes!!!!!!!!!!!) Jesus indicated that man’s law and god’s law are separate.

 

And yet, Del Mastro criticizes Justin Trudeau’s faith because Trudeau does not shove his own personal beliefs onto his constituents and other Canadians through his office as MP.

“We haven't called them to speak about a theological issue, we've called them to speak on inspiring young people to international service and their place in leadership now in society and make a better world,” Mr. Digby (department chair of Canadian and world studies at Holy Cross Secondary School) said. “That our minister of Parliament would have a problem with that I think speaks more about him (Del Mastro) than about Justin Trudeau.”

Del Mastro says that Trudeau's public positions “are often not in any accordance with the Catholic faith.” 

That is true - because Canadian law is often not in accordance with Catholicism, nor, likely, are the views of many of Trudeau’s constituents, and as their elected rep, he must consider them all, apply sectarian reasoning or risk forcing his own specific religious beliefs on constituents who make up a wide range of beliefs.  That's what a good politician does.


Del Mastro is not a good politician.  He isn't even a good christian, if it's true that christians are supposed to follow the teachings of Jesus.

ThePeterborough teacher who first invited Mr. Trudeau to speak says he finds Mr. Del Mastro's comments “petty.”  “First of all, my question, is: who is the faith police? Who are the people who are supposed to be judging somebody's faith?” said Trevor Digby.

The faith police...better think about that one before you open your mouth, Dean.  Your fellow CONservatives ain’t exactly crime free on that score.  And I do believe that lying is not in accordance with any Christian faith, even yours, and yet –

The original Facebook post reads: "News that my local Catholic school board has invited/is paying Justin Trudeau to speak to students for a second time is outrageous," Del Mastro wrote.

The school said Trudeau is not being paid for his talk.


Del Mastro suggests Jason Kenny as an alternative, “a truly great speaker” and catholic, to boot.  Who would kids be more inspired by?





Suck it up, fat man.  And in case you need another opinion on the appropriateness of Trudeau addressing this particular group - 

Mr. Digby said Mr. Trudeau's speech was extremely well-received, and is part of an ongoing series of speeches by Canadians from a variety of backgrounds that are meant to emphasize the importance of international service to humanity. He said he didn't know Mr. Trudeau's religious background, and didn't care.

Apparently, the CONs are still terrified of the Trudeau name.  I think they may also be more than a little frightened by Justin Trudeau regardless of what his last name may be.   The guy is smart, charismatic, has vision and courage...and the looks don't hurt, either.