I am inclined to think Grewal's motivation for taping conversations with Murphy and Dosanjh is irrelevant.
Maybe Grewal did intend to cross the floor. If that is so, why didn't he? There is every indication that had he abstained in budget vote, that he would be on his way to Cabinet in the government -- because as Dosanjh said: 'Cabinet is easy'. So, if that was his desire, Cabinet within the government -- and Murphy obviously didn't say no -- in fact, he all but said yes -- then why didn't Grewal jump at the chance?
If we look at the situation in context, and remember what happened with Inky Mark, then maybe Grewal's assertions have more credibility.
Grewal says he was approached a few times, and declined. That would give him an opportunity to be prepared that it might happen again -- Murphy or Dosanjh might have said: 'don't say no just yet, we'll let you think on it'.
Given that Inky Mark publicized what he characterized as an approach by the Liberals for his vote, and that Inky Mark was swifty and summarily dismissed by both the Liberals and the media -- Grewal's decision to tape the conversations is more clear.
Had Grewal told anyone that the Libs were courting him, their response would be 'why would we want him -- he's (conveniently) under investigation for graft'. He would have been mocked and ridiculed in the same way Inky Mark was, and he would likely have been disbelieved.
However 'wrong' it might have been for Grewal to tape these conversations, the fact remains that there would have been no way to corroborate his accusations. It would have been the 'he said/he said' that the press is trying to make it now.
Rather than playing the 'they're both just as bad' game, the press and the public should demand more from government representatives like Murphy and Dosanjh. They are in positions of power and influence and their abuse of public trust is clear. Grewal getting it on tape, didn't make it so.
canadianna
13 comments:
"If there is no understanding, use the same kind of language. This is the time to keep the country together, you can’t line up with the Bloc. You should go out on a high principle. Go out on high principle." - Ujjal Dosanjh on handling the media after defecting.
Belinda Stronach is another fine example of Liberal vote buying.
FYI (because I'm a nit-picker): It's Inky Mark. Singular, not plural. ;-)
Once again, something that should be bad for the Liberals is turning into another nightmare for the Conservatives.
I've always said the Conservatives need to attack more, be ferocious, but here we go again...defence, defence, defence.
Look around, who's on defence over this? Harper.
Amazing.
Thank you, Hack. I've edited the title.
And yes, Harper is on the defensive. Had they put the full tapes out there to begin with, he wouldn't be.
Who the heck are his strategists and why don't they call us!!!!
Obrigado vindo a meu blog. Minha filha figurou para fora de o que você dito, mas dos nós não fala Portugese assim que nós estamos usando um tradutor em linha dizer: Hello de Canadá!
Canadianna,
This whole political scene seems like a bad James Bond parody... Inky Mark? Power Corp? Total Energy?
My NDP regular is suspicious of Grewal. Wonder what she'll think about Angry and Dust My Broom's riff on the NDP priorities coming out of the hands of the aboriginals?
Cheers!
PS
No comprendo Portuguese. Was that stuff decent?
I don't speak Portugese either. My daughter translated it (she can understand a few languages) and apparently it said the person doesn't write English, but dropped by and thought my blog was cool. I went to an online translator to say thanks, and hello from Canada.
Kinda neat.
Michael -- while I agree that it's cool that Paul Martin has been caught in so many lies -- the public is beginning to think 'what else is new?' A certified copy should have been made of the tapes. The translations and transcriptions should have been done by an all-party team. The conservatives would have been able to show they were impartial, and would have avoided claims that they were doctored. Their release would still have taken as long to get it all on paper, and the result in the House might have been the same.
The more I think about it, the more I believe the Libs did target Grewal. He has just enough taint in his history to make it appear unlikely they would approach him, but enough support in his own community that it wouldn't affect his re-election.
Inky Mark..right.. Somehow I had already forgotten about his claims of Liberal solicitation.
I too have noticed that Harper is on the defensive in this issue..and he's the only one involved in this that didn't know what was going on!? Why is the media as mad at Harper as Wheeler-Dealer Paul Martin?
What manner of snakeoil have these Liberals found? The magic of Teflon Don Chretien has somehow been passed on to his lessor successor.
It's funny how the Liberals just "change the channel" and the media just follows along. Now that the transcripts are completed, the Libs are demanding that the originals be released. Duh - the originals are in Punjabi! That's why they had to be translated to begin with. The Liberals, of course, would love to do their own translation, and I'm sure it would come out sounding quite a bit different. I've got a sample of the likely Liberal translation on http://ragingranter.blogspot.com if anyone's interested.
First off, Yeah, I heard what was released of the tape. They don't corroborate his story. I actually hoped they did, because now he looks like he's a complete idiot, and a perfect example of the bad judgment the Conservatives spew out of every orifice. The tapes are nothing but a bunch of, as you say 'lib-speak'. in other words, it's meaningless. Nothing but vague political jargon.
Secondly, Inky was dismissed by the Liberals and the Media because he IS a liar. If not, why does he keep on with the 'It was a private conversation' bit and not just 'expose' the person who supposedly courted him. As it obviously wasn't to low for Grewal, Why should it be to low for him? Doesn't look very good, does it?
As a side note, I love how Inky ran to the press, the Human resource commission and what have you screaming racism, yet here the Conservatives are drawing up posters of the "Liberinos". You've either got to be a hypocrite or just a socially insensitive idiot to think this is ok.
Did the Liberals court Grewal? The recording doesn't say, c’mon. Did Grewal intend to cross the floor?!? I don't know. Did the Liberals turn him away? Probably not, they would be stupid if they did.
Wouldn't Grewal have been able to see right off the bat maybe he wasn't the best choice to 'expose' the Liberals evil practice, especially Grewal himself being under investigation? I think it's naive to chalk this up to 'convenience' or Liberal manipulation. He got caught doing something he shouldn't have been and now he's trying to throw egg on the Liberals faces. It's called wagging the dog, I'm sure you've seen it before.
So why do the Conservatives still want Grewal? Whether or not he intended to cross the floor, he was still involved in some shady activity. So, his principals are a little less than ethical, which obviously does not fit within the Conservatives idea of good political practice, or does it? If Harper knew 3 days ahead of the big vote, why didn't HE call the RCMP? Isn’t it his duty? If this truly was a smoking gun, why didn't Harper jump at the chance?
K, it took them what, five days to translate 2 hours of Punjabi?!? Honestly, Cannadianna, do you really thinks that's plausible? really?? I'm sure you watch CPAC and I'm sure you've noticed how long it takes the translators to do their job. And to get it on paper? How fast can you type. It’s common sense.
Blue705, what are you talking about??! Belinda mentioned Peterson on May 18th, When she first crossed the floor. CBC Archives. Maybe you should check it out.
Sorry for the extra long comment.
Sorry blue705, didn't mean to offend.
Now that these tapes are suspected to have been altered (which honestly doesn't surprise me), I think the Conservatives have finally lost the ability to play the 'moral' card.
This is the thing, They (the Conservatives MP's) were not being bribed. They lied about it. This is not the first time the Conservatives have used this tactic.
Think of Grewal as you'd like, but had one of the Liberals been in the same situation you would be all over it, relentlessly I might add. The Conservatives once again show that they have to rely on shady tactics to get things done.
Entrapment is when a party is lured into committing a crime. If Grewals story rings true, then the Liberals had no need to be 'lured' into this crime. In which case he should have offered to work with the RCMP to expose the 'plot'. Not only that, but he should have handed the tapes over to the RCMP immediately had they been so incriminating, I'm sure they have translators who could have done the job.
But that's not what happened is it? O.K., I'd admit, that only two forensic experts said the tape was tampered with, and they were funded by the press, and the press is against the Conservatives right? Sure.
If Inky Mark didn't want to be branded a liar or sued, why did he bring it up at all?? If the accusations were valid, then he would have been in no danger of being sued. If they were illegitimate and baseless, then it would be defamation, and yes, one can be sued for that.
The fact that Inky mark brought it up and then won't talk about it makes him seem very unbelievable.
You don't think comparing the Liberals specifically to the "Italian" mob plays on a hurtful stereo type? hmmmm.
What do you mean Harper wasn't involved?? He knew about a so called illegal attempt to bride one of his MP's!!!! Where is his 'Moral Authority'?????? Laughable indeed.
Grewal a liar and finally showed the true colors of the Conservatives. He has taken the Conservatives, Canadian politics, and Canada down another notch.
Post a Comment