Miles Report No. 31

What does the fox say?

Wow, another interesting day on Parliament Hill (and within the RCMP crimes investigation division). For all the information that came out today in the RCMP report there are many items that implicate a larger knowledge base in the PMO for all matters within the Senate scandal - which is now well beyond the actual “taxpayers” money that the Conservatives keep harping about (nice word that)..

First is the record of denials by Harper that he knew nothing, then little, that only Wright and Duffy knew, then several knew, and now a whole gang of senior Conservative party members are aware of what was going on in the PMO in relation to the Senate scandal. It is unbelievable that Harper himself knew nothing about what transpired; he surely must have known ‘negotiations’ were occurring between his office and the Senate, Duffy, Wright et al.

The report indicates that there is ‘no evidence’ - at this point - that Harper knew what was going on with the ‘minutiae’ of the various negotiations. This is contradicted by implication by the two e-mails saying that whatever was under discussion had to be approved of by the PM with a reply an hour later that the go-ahead had been given (“I do want to speak to the PM before everything is final” “It’s a go.”).

It is unbelievable with control freak Harper as leader, and with the Conservative party handlers so well indoctrinated into message control and team management, that Harper did not know what was going on.

What is truly needed is a commission that can question under oath any and all persons who may be concerned, involved, implicated in these processes. Beyond that I certainly hope that charges will eventually be put against Wright and Duffy so that their testimony can be presented under oath and that witnesses may be called upon for their version of events - there certainly are a lot of contradictions surrounding the various story lines that keep changing.

A final note, while watching cpac as its cameras focus on the Harper side of the Parliament, are a few of the faces and body language expressions that really indicate that those people are not at all happy with the way things are going within the government. As always there is also the body language of the unthinking, managed sycophants who jump up and applaud in adoration when their dear leader repeats yet another talking point in order to avoid directly answering a direct simple question.

Rob Ford

The Rob Ford show in Toronto has been very entertaining, and a pleasant diversion from the PMOs office for a short while. One of the more interesting facets of that show is the silence coming from the Conservative caucus after all the fuss Harper went to in order to associate himself with the Toronto mayor. Jim Flaherty was the first to speak, or at least attempt to, and was clearly upset in a personal way with the “revelations” (Rob Ford’s own word before Doug had him say “allegations”) concerning Ford’s drug addled behaviours.

But also of note were the few Conservative people who did speak out and say that Ford should either take a leave of absence or resign his position without apparently taking it through the PMO for approval. Are deck chairs being rearranged?