Conservative partisans are angry about this Senate expense scandal. They are angry at Senators Duffy and Wallin for getting them in this mess and they are angry at many others — mostly in the media — who aren’t giving them the benefit of the doubt on all this stuff. On Parliament Hill, that sentiment is largely voiced by Conservative MPs and senators who wish to remain anonymous. But on Wednesday in the Senate, Senator Marjory LeBreton, the leader of the government in the Senate, gave a remarkable speech which, though I thought many parts of it wrong-headed, seems to capture the mood among many Conservative partisans.
This passage in particular I enjoyed if only because it’s always fun being called “Liberal lickspittle” but it also captures the resentment and frustration:
The reality.. is that we are facing this crisis because we have flung open the doors and revealed what was going on, and now rather than being credited for doing so, we are paying the price for taking this important and necessary step.
I am not surprised. I am a Conservative and I know more than most around this town, populated by Liberal elites and their media lickspittles, tut-tutting about our government and yearning for the good old Liberal days, and I know that we are never given the benefit of the doubt and are rarely given credit for all the good work we do.
But don’t stop there. Senator LeBreton was in fine form. You’ll enjoy reading the whole thing.
Mr. Akin, the biggest shock I had this week is the footage of you yelling out questions to PM Harper during this “I’m sorry” announcement. For that brief moment I thought there was hope for the “right wing” press.
The Conservative Party of Canada, as a political initiative, has sold out over the years, and now the cracks are getting too obvious to hide. If you want to keep a career and some of your self-respect, best hedge your bets and keep yelling out those questions along with your peers.
As for the “Liberal lickspittle”, the reason they are not despised by non-Liberal/non-Conserservatives is they have always been civil while going about their corruptions. They have always been somewhat “Canadian”. The Conservatives are foreign to us (in Central/Eastern Canada). They are rude, self-righteous, and don’t have much of a sense of humour.
We prefer the Liberals. At least they believe(d) in something we’ve come to identify as “Canada”.
We prefer the Liberals. At least they believe(d) in something we’ve come to identify as “Canada”.
= Oh really?!
Let us not forget the multiple scandals perpetrated by Liberals, including: Adscam/Sponsorhip, the Tainted Blood debacle, and w/ Allan Rock refusing to pay recompense to victims, and how about old Daddy P. Trudeau who gave away all Canadians’ rights to true property ownership in his haste to achieve his legacy Constitution (and the apple didn’t fall far from the tree = just listen to his offspring spew vapour-plans for Canada).
How do those 3 above compare to Duffy and others in the Senate (unelected, unaccountable so far, and maybe not worth it anymore = see the shocking expense at http://rolluptheredcarpet.ca
Digging deep into the archives for those examples- how about trying to DESTROY democracy by the robocall scandal, dismantling social programs, constantly spewing lies and attacks at intelligent, accomplished, worldly socially minded, progressive true leaders like Dion, Ignatieff, Trudeau, appointing more party cronies to the senate to destroy it from the inside, reappointing losing candidates oh the list goes on. Get your head out of your own ass and join reality. This bunch of idiots and the ill qualified MPs are ruining the country, and the true price will be unknown for some time to come. The Duffy scandal is minimal compared to the true destruction the ultra right wing reform-alliance ideologues are weighing on this country. WHAT A JOKE- remember who called the Gomery inquiry?? The property rights comment is also completely ill-informed. You probably agree with open license to carry side arms around our streets because then we’ll be “”””safer”””” right? The country is going to shit because ignorance like yours in this democracy is allowed to vote, but maybe if they get their way, they’ll completely ruin democracy with the lies lies lies. Oh and 300 million on ridiculous propaganda advertising that is usually untrue party advertising- you ok with that? The new Adscam I’d say…and it outdoes the original sponsorship scandal by a few bob- how about them apples?
Who remembers Allan Rock wanting to reduce a life sentence from 25 years to 15, that , for me, summed up the Liberals, totally out of touch.
I just don’t feel like I’m in a friendly place anymore. Past regimes seemed to pull it together, give us something that showed remorse or punishment. This cabal will have none of it. They are dangerous.
Now you know how the west has felt ever since Trudeau the elder declared war on us 40 years ago. From the NEP to the Salmon Arm Salute to the economic destruction he caused, the fact was that Trudeau never represented anyone but Quebec. His economic policies are still being paid back, the military is still being rebuilt, our Allies are just beginning to trust us again and he separated and destroyed the country’s cohesiveness. This disaster dressed in a man’s clothing made you feel safe?
Well said.
The Trudeau regime created the idea that if a person is not a Liberal supporter they are a bad Canadian. Marjory’s comment, “I know that we are never given the benefit of the doubt and are rarely given credit for all the good work we do.”, is part and parcel of that elitist Liberal attitude.
The scandal is Conservative Party in power! It’s nothing to do with what any other party did so many years ago. But I do admire your blind loyalty. Although it is such blind loyalty that allows for these scandals to continue. So, with out any further political loyalties spoiling the apple barrel because of the failure of a few political criminals like Harper, I would think a period of incarceration, of say 3 years would act as a solid deterrent in case another narrow minded, unqualified extremist slips through the cracks and get to head a national political party in Canada.
Actually it has everything to do with what the other parties did – both years ago and lately. Becuase compared to them, Harper is the best PM we’ve had since WW II.
….so your definition of reasonable support is that, although corrupt, the Libs are polite. Polite thieves. Is this your definition of this “new Canada”?
Speak for yourself – it was a national disgrace that we had to wait for an election to get rid of the Liberals. If we had had an impeachment process in this country, they would still be in jail. Canada has to make a decision – they can have PM’s from Quebec without the west, or they can have PMs who represent more than just Quebec – not both. In this case the West is still in Canada – it would not be if Dion or Ignatieff had won.
….you mean the press opened the doors, how dare she try to blame the Liberals for this…..transparency and accountability, never, let’s get rid of them.
“The reality.. is that we are facing this crisis because we have flung open the doors and revealed what was going on, and now rather than being credited for doing so, we are paying the price for taking this important and necessary step.” … hmmm, I had a flashback that this could have been said by Paul Martin after the Gomery commission. The difference was that Martin called a full public inquiry, and Senator LeBreton’s version of ‘flung open the doors’ is more like ‘the media accidentally got wind of what we did’.
Please tell Mrs. Lebreton that the reasons why the Senate is in this mess are:
1. Some Senators, 3 of them Conservatives, cheated on their residence & expenses
2. PM Harper showed poor judgement in appointing those 3 Conservatives
3. Wallin spent over $300k on travel to & from Ottawa/Saskatchewan. We know from former Senate clerk she could have travelled via Paris, Moscow, Cayman Islands, anywhere.
4. PM Harper presumably didn’t give Duffy a gag order, or Duffy the newsman couldn’t resist telling a good story, presumably to other Conservatives, who told Robert Fife.
The CTV “lickspittled” story was the RESULT of the mess, not the cause.
5. Mrs. LeBreton is so far off in “entitled” land she doesn’t seem to realize this is Canadians’ money being misused & we naturally & rightfully care
6. LeBreton’s silliness of entitlemented comments has now become part of the Senate crisis and the story.
7. Flinging open the Senate financial doors should have started 147 years ago. It’s Canadians’ money they get & it IS our business.
Thank you David Akin for asking questions from our PM whose silence showed us great disrespect, then compounded the disrespect by explaining – to Peru!
Franc Black–in fact the Conservatives predate the Liberals in central and eastern Canada, so perhaps you ought to dig out a history book and bone up!
Progressive Conservatives, or have so many of your forgotten already!?
M. Akin, you are out of your mind. In any civilized country (such as North Korea) you will be hanged.
Some conservatives senators have been caught stealing some money. So what; you shall give them the benefit of doubt because they are senators.
Funny, if you do the same thing on the street, you end up in jail, even if you return the stolen money.
I like the impertinence of our PM; according to him Duffy did the “honourable” thing, he returned the money.
On a serious note, keep up the good work. Hammer the conservatives the same way you hammered the liberals many years ago.
However there is a difference between the liberals and conservatives. The liberals were blamed for some 100 million dollars; in the conservatives case we are talking billions.
Franc you may find that the so called “Progressive” Conservatives from that far back, even the Liberals back then were not even close to advocating your type of Canada. You my friend are a Paul Martin era Liberal.
This article would have some relevance if the Liberal Pol (Mac Harb as most will not know his name) had been getting the same attention that Duffy and Wallin has gotten. So the Liberal lickspittle is not name calling – it is descriptive and accurately so…