XPost: can.politics, ab.politics, ont.politics   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
   The media has been analyzing Harper's speech to the Conservative   
   convention in Alberta.  And they all spotted a very important issue:   
   Harper is blaming the senators who are the focus of the scandal that's   
   now known as Senategate;  he's blaming the Liberals who are wanting 'due   
   process' before dismissing the senators totally;  he's blaming the   
   official Opposition for continuing 'to throw mud' at him and his party.   
      
   But nowhere, no time, not in any words, did he mention his own part in   
   the scandal surrounding Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau.   
      
   HE APPOINTED THEM to the Senate.   He condoned their appointments even   
   though he knew damned well they did not reside in the jurisdictions that   
   they were purportedly representing in the Senate.  He knew full well   
   that there were claims being made by at least two of them, improperly.   
   And when he knew that there were more than just the two, he set about to   
   cover up - using his aides, Chief of Staff, and even his lawyers - to do it.   
      
   But now, in front of delegates and party members, he simply does not   
   approach the issue of where HIS role has played into Senategate.   
      
   Will those waving the blue pennants notice that little detail, or do   
   they fall into the category of the 'converted' that Harper is preaching   
   to?  Too far brainwashed to recognize a leader who is trying to save his   
   own ass by blaming everyone else for what he initiated - and condoned   
   until discovered by the media?   
      
   He's showing all sorts of signs of paranoia, calling anyone who   
   questions him or contradicts him, "the opponents".  Even though some of   
   those are from his own party.   
      
   And as for his big plan to REFORM the Senate? . . . .  Well, that's   
   another problem for Harper:   
   ___________________________   
      
   An unapologetic Prime Minister Stephen Harper, waving the banner of   
   Senate reform on a day when his appointees to the Red Chamber brought   
   fresh embarrassment, said “the courts” were now among those standing in   
   his way.   
      
   “We were blocked by the other parties in the minority parliaments, and   
   now we are being blocked in the courts,” said Harper in a lengthy   
   keynote speech to the Conservative party faithful Friday night.   
      
   “Our opponents then immediately accuse us of being unfair, nasty and   
   ruthless, and they then portray the offenders as victims, or even martyrs.”   
      
   “I couldn’t care less what they say, we will do the right thing,” said   
   Harper, in his prepared remarks.   
      
   He referred obliquely to the role played by the PMO and ex-top staffer   
   Nigel Wright, saying he and Canadians expect accountability, “whether   
   you are a parliamentarian or a staff member.”   
      
   The reference to “courts” now being an enemy of reform is noteworthy as   
   it comes amid speculation within his own cabinet that Harper should call   
   a nationwide referendum that would look past provincial leaders and   
   judicial opinion and test the public’s appetite for abolition.   
      
   Harper’s designating “the courts” as an enemy appeared to stem from a   
   decision last week by the Quebec Court of Appeal, which ruled reforms   
   such as elections to select senators or term limits could not be   
   legislated unilaterally — as Harper had proposed.   
      
   The highest court of appeal in that province found 5-0 that it requires   
   a constitutional amendment with the approval of seven of 10 provinces   
   having 50 per cent of the population. The ruling came in a reference   
   case launched by the former Liberal provincial government and carried   
   forward by the PQ government. Harper has since launched a court   
   reference of his own to test a broader set of scenarios with the Supreme   
   Court of Canada.   
   ________________________________   
      
   So now even the courts are 'an enemy' or 'opponents'.   This guy has   
   painted himself into a corner where he has very few friends or   
   supporters left.  He may as well bathe in the glow of the cheers of two   
   days at the Convention, because he sure as hell isn't going to hear them   
   again when he gets back to the House.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)