SENATOR MIKE DUFFY AFFAIR

Today's Waterloo Region Record carrys this story "Bar high for proving Duffy charge, experts say". Well the RCMP have laid 31 criminal charges against Mike Duffy including fraud, breech of trust and bribery. That's isn't impressive, that's spectacular. It actually gives me comfort to know that everything isn't under political control at the top. Of course Duffy has had to piss off some pretty important people to get charged criminally at all in this whole affair. It's really weird that as a high profile Conservative, appointed by Conservative Prime Minister Steven Harper, that he's currently in this pickle.

Think about it. He didn't rob a bank. He didn't steal from a private company. He simply allegedly played a little fast and loose with his expense claims. The fact that this is standard operating procedure in the Senate, if not other areas of government, would be bolstered by allegedly similar behaviour by Pat Wallin, Mac Harb and Brasseau all three of whom are in hot water although not as deep as Duffy. None of this makes any sense at all. I believe Mac Harb is the only Liberal in the group. The others were all favourite sons and daughters of the Conservative hierarchy. Having a healthy sense of entitlement shouldn't surprise anyone. You've arrived long before ever being appointed to the Senate. That's just the cherry on top. Being a V.I.P. and then recognized by the governing party and Prime Minister of Canada as worthy of the supreme political patronage position where you not only get easy money and perks but even get to claim to be a mover and a shaker; well it would turn anyone's head. How horribly and incredibly mishandled this has been from the start. Again that gives me deep comfort that the Conservative Party are so dumb and vulnerable.

What about the RCMP? They hardly have clean hands themselves afterall. From murdering Polish immigrants to harassing female employees they leave a lot to be desired. Were they at all involved with the G20 civil rights abuses? If not they dodged a bullet on that one. Are they back to playing politics by going after Mike Duffy? Could there be some payback going on for perceived past political meddling by the federal Conservatives? If and when this ever gets to court I'd like to see who was pushing for all these criminal charges in what really appears to be just everyday ubiquitous sleaze, greed and entitlement combined with intentionally loose rules to make it all possible.