It's the Tape, Stupid

As Don Martin says: Time for an answer, Mr. Harper. Here is a good point, brought up by Stéphane Dion in the HoC yesterday (quote below translated from the original French - where it was quite effective - on the Liberal party website):

Mr. Dion asked the Prime Minister why he would make such comments if, as he is now claiming, he had no knowledge that such an offer was being made by officials representing the Conservative Party of Canada.

“In that recording, when the author of the book asks the Prime Minister: ‘do you know anything about the insurance policy for a million dollars?’, anybody who didn't know what was going on would have said: ‘what are you talking about?” said Mr. Dion. “But Mr. Harper said: ‘I don't know the details.’”

Ken Dryden also was damned effective, and when challenged by the CPC to repeat his call for Harper's resignation if the allegations prove true, repeated it outside of the chamber.

Ball's in your court, Peevey Stevie.

P.S. to the Libs: you've talked the talk; now walk the walk. I'm sick of this song and dance routine.

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What Mrs. Dona Cadman doesn't have to say

Barely hours after the Super Secret Harper Imitation Tories threatened to sue the Liberals for libel, Dona Cadman released this statement today: (emphasis, mine)

...I recall specifically asking (Stephen Harper) if he was aware of a million dollar insurance policy offer, that upset Chuck so much.

He looked me straight in the eyes and told me he had no knowledge of an insurance policy offer. I knew he was telling me the truth; I could see it in his eyes. He said, yes he'd had some discussions with two individuals about asking Chuck to rejoin the party, but he'd told them they were wasting their time trying to convince Chuck.

From that point forward…. I didn't regard it as a “Party” initiative, but rather; the overzealous indiscretion of a couple of individuals…. whose identity, Chuck never revealed to me.

The specificity of her question to him - as well as the response she attributes to Harper - leaves all kinds of possibilities open to Peevey Stevie to be "aware" of other things, things that could be close, but not quite actual "insurance policy offers" that "upset Chuck".

What she did not say is perhaps more noteworthy. She did not say, for example:

...that there was no bribe offered to her late husband by the Conservative Party of Canada.
...that Mr. Harper ever denied the existence of any bribe to her late husband.
...that Mr. Harper assured her he would never condone such a thing.
...that Mr. Harper in any way regretted anything done or offered by his party under his watch in regards to Mr. Cadman.
...that Mr. Harper, the leader of the CPC, intended to censure the individuals or take any other action in regards to getting to the bottom of her concerns.
...what she thinks her late husband might have thought of Mr. Harper's answer.

Yes, this story has legs and then some. It's as if the SSHITS are just enjoying the fire they started so much they just want to keeping laying on more fuel. I am reminded of Dion's question to Harper in the House last Thursday: "What was the Prime Minister thinking?"

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Dear Mr. Prime Minister of Canada

I see today that your party is planning a libel suit against the leader of the opposition for two articles on the Liberal party website headlined: “Harper knew of Conservative bribery” and “Harper must come clean about allegations of Conservative Bribery.”

The suit, which also names Liberal Deputy Leader Michael Ignatieff and House Leader Ralph Goodale, takes on the Opposition for saying that Mr. Harper knew Conservative party officials attempted to bribe Mr. Cadman to vote against a Liberal budget in the spring of 2005.

Mr. Cadman's wife, Dona Cadman – who is also a Conservative candidate – and her daughter and son-in-law say the dying MP told them that two men representing the Conservatives approached him in the days before the vote and offered a million-dollar life insurance policy in exchange for his support in bringing down the Liberals.

Are you launching this lawsuit so that, no matter what anyone says about it or asks you about it, you can now reply flatly that you would be remiss to comment on the matter since it is now before the courts?

Are you hoping that this will scare away people from broadcasting further on the 2005 tape recording of you explaining that you knew of an offer made to Chuck Cadman by Conservative Party officials, made with your foreknowledge; where you are on record as having stated that you told them (prior to the meeting) they should "make the case" to Mr. Cadman?

"Of the offer to Chuck," (Tom Zytaruk) quotes Mr. Harper as saying, "it was only to replace financial considerations he might lose due to an election, OK. That's my understanding of what they were talking about.

"I don't know the details," he said. "I can tell you that I had told the individuals - I mean, they wanted to do it - but I told them they were wasting their time. I said Chuck had made up his mind he was going to vote with the Liberals. I knew why, and I respected the decision, but they were just, they were convinced there was, there was financial issues and, there may or may not.

"They were legitimately representing the party," Mr. Harper confirmed. "I said 'Don't press him, I mean, you have this theory that it's, you know, financial insecurity, and you know, just, you know, if that's what you say make the case,' but I said 'Don't press it.' "

By launching this lawsuit, are you thinking people might stop mentioning this out of fear that they may also be eventually named in the suit?

Are you hoping that the sluggish rate of the courts will defuse this until such a time as you have a majority in the HoC, or that the country has forgotten the whole affair?

Are you counting on bullying your way through this crisis?

Is it because you can't deny it without lying through your teeth?

Crafty. (Too crafy by half? We shall see).

Because if we are to believe you (when you say today) that it's not true, then you are either splitting very fine hairs at best, or calling others liars - and presumably, the tape recording to be a forgery. After all, the Liberals didn't make it up; they quoted you from the source, journalist/author Tom Zytaruk; and his publisher, Harbour Press. But you're not suing them, are you? And I notice you chose not to sue Conservative candidate Dona Cadman nor her daughter, Jodi, nor Jodi's husband - who have all corroborated that Chuck Cadman told them in separate instances of the $1 million insurance offer in exchange for his Parliamentary vote - for slander (or not yet?)

Shame on you. The office of the Prime Minister of Canada has been tarnished before, as you were always very willing to point out as Opposition leader yourself. Since becoming PM yourself, you have taken it lower and lower and lower.

How much lower, Mr. Prime Minister? How much?

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