Last question to Bill Casey

Nice to see independent MP Bill Casey get the last question in QP today. Here it is:

>> The speaker: Order. The honourable member for Cumberland-Colchester Valley. Order.

>> (Bill Casey) Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On September 23th, 2007, the RCMP informed the Conservatives that there was no evidence to back up the accusations of at the time and embezzlement against me by the official agent. Yet two weeks later, other Conservatives -- other Conservatives distributed the same accusations of theft and embezzlement to the media and on the internet. In fact, Mr. Speaker, you can see the accusations against me on the website stephen taylor dot ca. Last week, the Minister of Public Safety said there was only one person involved. But now obviously there's more than one Conservative, and I don't mean Conservatives in this house. But there is more than one Conservative involved. Will they release the names of all of the Conservatives?

>> The speaker: The Honourable Minister of Public Safety. Order. The Honourable Minister of Public Safety.

>> Hon. Peter Van Loan: Mr. Speaker, as I advised this house previously, the RCMP looked into this matter, and made it clear that there were -- was no evidence of any wrongdoing. With regard to the member from Cumberland-Colchester, and I also confirm to the house that the Conservative Party was of the same view.

Not all Conservatives, apparently. What I find interesting here is that it appears Casey is saying the RCMP told the Conservatives there was nothing to these allegations BEFORE someone decided to shop the story around to various media and blog outlets in an attempt to smear Casey during/before the last election.

This would make it a pretty deliberate attempt to smear Casey. And I have a pretty hard time believing it was just one rogue operator involved here. Don’t let this go, Bill.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

The chips are falling into place...

...for a fall election. At least on the Conservative side. Even though Harper, of course totally doesn't want an election. No way Jose...

The federal government has reached a deal with Nova Scotia over offshore revenue sharing, ending a politically damaging battle with the province amid talk of a fall election.

The new arrangement will provide Nova Scotia with a guarantee that it will not lose any royalties under changes made to its cherished offshore accord in last spring's federal budget.

A deal, or a surrender by Harper to pave the way for a fall election? I don't know enough about the details to say one way or another, so I'll leave that to the experts and the spinners. I do know this though:

A three-person panel will be set up to study the value of the complex cash royalty, which was part of the province's original 1985 offshore agreement...The panel is expected to report with a binding decision, which could mean a large cash payment to the province.

A billion here, a billion there, and just in time for an election campaign. Handy that. It will be interesting to see if Bill Casey now comes back into the Conservative fold. I imagine the Cons will be putting major pressure on him to do so. (Or not, see update below) One also wonders if it will be enough to save Peter McKay's seat.

Found it a little peculiar there were no comments from Premier MacDonald in the story, just Harper, as I was interested to see how Rodney would frame it. Maybe CP will add that in later. Also interesting was that this came the day after the Newfoundland elections and Danny Williams' landslide victory. Danny, by the way, called the Nova Scotia deal a bad one:

The premier of Newfoundland and Labrador blasted the agreement in St. John‘s today, saying Prime Minister Stephen Harper has gotten Premier Rodney MacDonald to take less than he would get under the Atlantic accords, adding that Harper has “a way of preying on the weak.‘‘

So, Newfoundland is still an issue to be dealt with for the Cons, as is Saskatchewan, who the story notes are still suing the feds over equalization. Between this and the Wheat Board brouhaha the Cons are in trouble in Saskatchewan. I'd expect the NDP to take some seats from them there at the moment, and maybe if we're lucky the Liberals could sneak-in too.

After the Nova Scotia deal, if we see a quick move to appease Saskatchewan it would be an even clearer sign (were it not blindingly obvious already) that Harper is determined to go to the polls this fall.

Meanwhile, in Liberal land, Stephane Dion had a press conference yesterday and announced...well, not a lot really. He shuffled around his shadow cabinet, made Bob Rae foreign affairs critic, gave Garth Turner a job too, and booted one MP from their critic portfolio:

Mr. Dion also stripped MP Raymonde Folco of her role as official languages critic — she had told reporters that Mr. Dion was not selling in Quebec and was too old to change his ways...

Good, this was very necessary. I would have liked to have seen some of the other people that broke confidentiality and ran to the press over the Carroll thing punted too though. Still, hopefully this sends a message. While debate is good, and changes need to be made, it's important for party executives and MPs to work within the system, not through the media. Undermine the leader in public and there need to be consequences.

On an unrelated matter, I would also have liked to have seen Denis Coderre moved out of the defence critic job. I admit, that was probably impossible after the whole Afghan trip thing this week, the timing and optics would have been brutal. But while I've defended Coderre on the trip issue because I believe he's in the right there, I still would rather see someone else in that role. Nearly anyone else, to be honest.

In other news from the Dion presser:

Stéphane Dion signalled Tuesday that he will try to sidestep a fall election, and might even tell his Liberal MPs to sit out a confidence vote on the Conservative government's agenda.

Sigh. It looks like Bryan Wilfert wasn't freelancing after all, but was floating a trial balloon for the OLO. I've already articulated why I think this is an exceedingly crappy idea, and nothing I've heard since has served to change my mind. I'm not pleased to hear this. As I said earlier, we need to start standing-up for Liberal values again. Prop-up the Cons and I don't care how you spin it, it'll be bad. Jack and Gilles will be over the moon.

Finally, an example of really lame attempted Conservative spin:

Conservatives, meanwhile, scoffed that Mr. Dion has decided to avoid an election because his party is in disarray.

"The Liberals are struggling with a weak leader, thin bench strength and a tarnished brand," said Conservative party spokesman Ryan Sparrow.

Of course, the Conservatives (say they) don't want an election either. I guess that's because Harper is such a strong leader with strong bench strength and a shiny brand, right Ryan? Or maybe they're just lying when they say they want to avoid an election...

UPDATE 1: Via Garth Turner comes this exchange from Harper's presser on the Nova Scotia deal, and Bill Casey:

Question: Prime minister, now that you’ve got this agreement, are you going to welcome Mr. Casey back into the Conservative caucus?

Answer: No. Mr. Casey made demands that he knew were incompatible with our budget, that he knew that this government would not agree to and has not agreed to. Mr. Casey is not welcome into our caucus. Just so I can be as clear as i can be on it, there — when there is a next federal election there will be a conservative candidate in Mr. Casey’s riding, and it will not be Mr. Casey.

Well, I guess that settles that. As Garth says, vindictive, petty, spiteful, bully. To that I would add stupid. I could see Harper being enough of a dick to freeze Casey out if he wanted back, but what's the political upside to such a course. I've always maintained that, despite his being arrogant and wrong and all that, Harper is a smart strategist. He's lost me here though, because I don't get it. Neither does Steve.

UPDATE 2: Speaking of Carroll, something that was probably inevitable finally happened today. Since it seemed fairly clear we were heading this way, one wonders what the frick took them so long?!

Jamie Carroll has officially stepped down from the party's top administrative job and he has given up his role as deputy national campaign director as well.

The announcement comes after weeks of controversy over Carroll's allegedly dismissive response to demands that Dion include more Quebecers in his inner circle.

It's unfortunate, because I think Carroll is a good guy and that the infamous diversity remarks were blown widely out of proportion by people with their own agendas. However, I think for the good of the party and the sake of party unity he probably had to go. Rightly or wrongly, he had become a lighting rod for controversy. It dates back to his ill considered remarks in Diebel's book. It wasn't all his fault, but he had become a roadblock to progress.

Now, with Carroll gone, it will be interesting to see if the people who were calling for his ouster now get on board and start being team players working for the good of the party. Were their motives what's right for the party, or driven by their own personal agendas? With Carroll now gone, their reaction and behaviour going forward will tell the tale.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

I guess accountability means it's someone else's fault?

This story crossed my radar last week when Red pointed-out the proliferation of anonymous Conservative sources quoted throughout. It’s also an interesting article for another reason though: it underscores Deceivin’ Steven’s inability to take responsibility for anything. It’s always someone else’s fault.

In a nutshell, the article posits Finance Minister Jim Flaherty may be punted over the side and out of the finance portfolio due to the bungling of the Atlantic Accord. Indeed, “senior Conservatives” including some apparently from within the PMO, say Jimbo is on the way out.

Now, I’ll grant the anonomyi that Flaherty may have become radioactive, and a new face in the job might help smooth things over. But here’s where they lose me:

Some staffers in the Prime Minister’s Office blame Mr. Flaherty’s office for failing to anticipate the political problems the budget would cause on the East Coast.

"They were surprised that the department didn’t foresee how badly this would go over with the two premiers who are whining the most," said a source close to the government. "Work wasn’t done beforehand to signal that it was coming or correct it or whatever had to be done."

They’re saying this thing is Flaherty’s fault? That’s just stupid. Even if it wasn’t known that Harper is a control-freak, the fact remains Harper was calling the shots on this thing from day one. Nothing happens without the approval of the big man, not in Harper’s Ottawa.

But now they’re going to blame this on Flahety. But wait, it gets better. More anonuymous Cons, talking now about the imfamous letter to NS Premier Rodney MacDonald vowing no side-deals written by the PMO, the one Flaherty signed after Peter McKay refused to:

"Flaherty hurt himself in Atlantic Canada by agreeing to sign that letter from the Prime Minister’s Office," said one Tory. "Perhaps he should have exercised better judgment there, but he sees himself as a team player."

So, senior Conservatives, perhaps from within the PMO, are saying Flaherty exercised bad judgment in agreeing to sign a letter he was told to sign BY THE PMO?! Told you it got better. Crazy Jim, don’t you know the PMO are idiots? Don’t listen to them!

Hey, here’s someone talking on the record. Former Conservative MP Bill Casey, can you make sense of this for me?

Mr. Casey, who has been sitting as an Independent since voting against the Tory budget, says he’s not sure Mr. Flaherty is the problem, since Mr. Harper’s office wrote the letter that angered Mr. MacDonald.

"Mr. Flaherty was negotiating side deals until that letter appeared in the Halifax Herald, when he said there was no side deals," said Mr. Casey. "But I know the government of Canada was trying to negotiate side deals instead of the Atlantic accord. So somebody overruled him on that Saturday when that letter came out. They were negotiating but apparently they weren’t allowed to. It’s a puzzle to me."

Bill has it right. As much as I dislike Jim Flaherty and wouldn’t mind seeing him gone, in this particular case he’s not the problem. It would seem logical the person that overruled Flaherty should be the one walking the plank. I’ll give you three guesses who that was, and the first two don’t count.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Bill Casey recognizes Harper's control freak tendencies

Interesting comments in this article from former Conservative MP Bill Casey on his view of Deceivin' Steven from the opposition benches. Casey, of course, was given the boot by Harper for standing-up for the CPC's election promise on the Atlantic Accord, voting against the budget and proving Peter McKay, once again, to be a fibber (Fiberative, perhaps?)

Former Tory MP Bill Casey is puzzled by the Conservatives' strategy of government control, and it's one he's now trying to comprehend from the Opposition benches.

You and me both William, you and me both. Actually I guess I’m more bemused than puzzled.

He said by centralizing services and programs in Ottawa, cutting the budget of Atlantic Canada's regional development body, and breaking signed contracts between provinces, the federal government has painted a picture of Atlantic Canada that he must speak out against.

Casey really shouldn’t be surprised, given his ex-leader’s previous comments on the region:

"Atlantic Canada's culture of defeat will be hard to overcome as long as Atlantic Canada is actually physically trailing the rest of the country." -- Harper

But back to the article, I found it interesting that Casey seemed to almost channel Preston Manning and the old Reformers here:

"If the people in Ottawa make all the decisions, they'll be made wrong because Ottawa doesn't reflect the country and it certainly doesn't reflect Atlantic Canada," he told the Times and Transcript…. "I believe that the government has a philosophy," he explained. "They want to run things the same across the country. They want to have one system for every program. The problem is you can't have a uniform program in Canada because we don't have a uniform country. Every area has different challenges, different cultures and different situations."

Some rather insightful comments from Casey I thought. Also interesting that the Conservatives sent out an ex-journalist and communications director for Peter McKay, Dan Dugas, to respond, rather than McKay himself.

Come to think of it, has anyone seen McKay lately? He seems to have disappeared since Harper embarrassed him over the whole Atlantic Accord thing and likely signed his political death papers.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Reading between the lines

What to take from these comments by Stephane Dion on the possibility of Bill Casey, the Nova Scotia MP booted from the Conservative caucus for standing-up for the Atlantic Accord, joining the Liberal caucus?

"I’m not there yet. He’s not there yet," Mr. Dion said in an interview Wednesday afternoon in Halifax.

"I have a lot of respect for what he has done and we will see what will happen. Where we are now does not allow me to tell you if it is under negotiation."

Interesting choice of words…

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Look over here! Shiny!

Besides it being incredibly dumb, I’m not surprised this whole ordinary family nonsense was started by the Deceivin’ Steven’s First Blogger the evening of the budget vote. It practically screams out ‘hey, forget what incompetent boobs we’re being right now and look over here!’

I think Ted and the others he has linked to have done a good job of exposing the stupidity of Taylor’s ‘thesis.’ Rather than pile on, I’d like to keep the focus on the incompetent bunging (ed: should that be competent bungling? because they seem so good at it.) of Deceivin’ Steven’ and company.

Last night the budget vote passed with the help of the separatist Bloc Quebecois. Voting no was the exiled Bill Casey, kicked out of the Conservative caucus for standing on principle. Harper was able to bully the less principled Gerald ‘unsteady’ Keddy into line however (impressive given he'll be sleeping on the couch now) and as for his other Nova Scotia MP, well Peter McKay and principles haven’t been mentioned in the same sentence for years.

So while the earthquake may have passed (the Senate may bluster but they won’t mess with a money bill) the aftershocks will continue, and the damage won’t be clear until the next election

Interesting observations though today in the Post from John Ivison who, while he thinks Harper is right on the facts, thinks the man once hailed (ed: by his supporters) as a master political strategist couldn’t have handled this worse:

The question is -- armed with such a compelling case -- how has the Prime Minister contrived to come across like a schoolyard bully, threatening lawsuits against all dissenters?

Conservative MPs, staffers and supporters are united in their condemnation of the way the issue has been handled by the Prime Minister's Office. "The people in PMO communications meant to help MPs understand the audience don't get them. They don't get the pride, the passion and the tribalism of the East," said one source.

"Dropping a sledgehammer on two of the provinces that endorsed you at the last election is not exactly the way to say 'thank you' on a file that clearly touches a chord in Atlantic Canada," said another senior Conservative.

This government's obsession with secrecy and control will be its downfall. The Conservative party has a front-bench overflowing with natural communicators and a strong story to tell, yet it seems either reluctant or unable to do so. It takes a real organizational talent to fritter away that advantage.

Rather than consider the advice, I suspect the Harper PMO is instead about to launch a mole hunt for the anonymous staffers. And let me say, as a partisan Liberal, it sure is nice to see anonymous senior Conservatives talking smack about their party in the media for a change. Not a leader, yada yada.

Meanwhile, I’m going to Las Vegas next week but I suspect it’s too late to clean-up with a long odds bet on Elizabeth May to take Central Nova. Should have put some cash down a few months ago, as I bet the oddsmakers have already adjusted the line, as the mood in Nova seems ugly:

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, Nova Scotia’s embattled representative in the cabinet, has kept a low profile since the province’s Conservative premier and one of its Tory MPs started denouncing the federal budget as an abject betrayal.

But in his riding of Central Nova, local residents had plenty to say Tuesday about their MP and his chances for re-election.

“I voted for Peter MacKay, but I would have a hard time voting for him anymore,” said Linda MacDonald of Westville as she sat in a local coffee shop.

“I have watched him on many issues turn about face.... That’s a real issue with me right now.”

Her friend, George MacDonald, said he was impressed by the stand taken by maverick MP Bill Casey, who was thrown out of the Conservative caucus last week for voting against a budget implementation bill.

I’ll give the last word to 2004 Deceivin’ Steven (not to be confused with 2007 Deceivin’ Steven):

"What is at issue is very simple. It is the honour of the Prime Minister, and all he has to do is keep his word."

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

So sue me!

That’s the headline on the cover of 24 Hours in the T-Dot this morning, along with a picture of Steve Harper. The topic, of course, is the rapidly escalating feud between Decivin’ Steven, much of Atlantic Canada led by two Conservative Premiers and apparently a growing portion of his (soon to be decimated) Atlantic caucus.

Sources at Sun Media tell me their second choice for a head line was “The long, tiring, unproductive era of bickering between the federal and provincial governments is over” followed by a LOL, but it was just too long.

As I think back to that utterly ridiculous quote from Jim Flaherty I’m tempted to make an allusion to Neville Chamberlain’s waving that piece of paper and declaring peace in our time, but then I’d only be accused of comparing someone to Nazis, which I’m not, so I just won’t go there. And unlike Neville, I don’t think Jim actually believed it.

Where to start with this mess though? It’s hard to contain my glee. How about with Decivin’ Steven’s gunslinger declaration yesterday to take this Atlantic Accord, misunderstanding shall we say, to the courts for clarification. Is this the same Decivin’ Steven that railed against activist judges, judicial interference in politics, judge-made law, the supremacy of parliament, yada yada?

Is this the same Decivin’ Steven that a scant week ago ignored the requests of a number of provinces, Liberal senators and constitutional experts to refer his hair-brained, half-baked Senate “reform” package to the Supreme Court for an opinion on its constitutionality?

I’d rather not focus on the fact that he’s flip-flopping more than Flipper. Though he totally is. Instead, I’ll just say now that he’s come around lets just refer that Senate bill to the courts too, shall we? No apology necessary.

Because the hits keep coming for Decivin’ Steven. He lost Bill Casey last week. The pressure has also been on Gerald Keddy, another Conservative MP from Nova Scotia, to break ranks and vote against the budget too. He’s married to a Nova Scotia Conservative MLA and minister; they’re on vacation right now and you can be sure he’s hearing it from her since her boss, the Conservative premier, is calling on Nova Scotians everywhere to remember their homeland and vote no.

And the split may rise all the way to the Harper cabinet as well. I was talking to Peter McKay’s dog again yesterday and he had some juicy gossip. Apparently, the PMO wanted his master to sign a letter to the editor saying there would be no side deals. Peter said no-way, so they got Jim Flaherty to sign it instead. It was published Saturday and inflamed things even further, and McKay is said to feel blindsided. McKay has been trying to negotiate a deal between Nova Scotia and Harper, what with his political future (such as it is) on the line and all, and the letter essentially cuts his feet out from under him.

It’s not looking good for Harper right now, and it’s really not looking good for Conservatives in the Atlantic provinces. One is reminded of the decimation of the Liberals there after the EI reforms, I think it was in 1997. This is looking worse for the Cons though. I love this graph of Newfoundland support (h/t Ed) and the way the lines diverge:

Revolt in his caucus, revolt in his cabinet, Conservative premiers revolting, threatening to take provinces to court…remind me again who is not a leader, will you Steve?

If only we had the money for attack ads. Unlike Decivin’ Steven we actually have a lot of material to work with…

Around the blogsphere: Jason says it’s time for Peter to man-up, Ed sums it all up in their own words, Devin has issued a challenge, Red has a good question and Scott is getting out the popcorn. As well, Dan also sees shades of EI and 1997, Miranda wonders if Harper is trying to protect Flaherty, KNB has a theory, and Steve also likes nautical analogies.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers