I see no victims whatsoever in the ongoing senate expense scandal that's taking up so much of the newscasts these days. While it appears the Conservatives are worried about their 'base' (read: staying in power) more than loyalty or pretty much anything else, it also appears the senators in question are a bunch of greedy graspers.
It's high-stakes poker, and as in most poker games, players have 'tells', which are a clue to what's really going on in their hand, or in this case, their head.
The tells I'm seeing here:
1. The snooty voiced, "I already told you that!". As soon as anyone uses that one, or says something to the effect of, "We have already addressed this issue...", I become confident they have neither told me nor addressed it, and they're going to do their damnedest not to.
2. Clarity. As soon as anyone busts out the phrase, "Let me be clear..." I am fairly certain clarity is not what's on offer. I have a pretty good idea I'm about to hear a lie.
A few of my random thoughts:
When a person is about to lose a high-paying job which requires of them pretty much nothing, I expect they might do whatever might be required to keep it. $90,000 may be mere pocket change to Nigel Wright, but I expect it's a lot of cash to Mike Duffy and Pam Wallin and Patrick Braseau. Hell, it's a lot of money to pretty much anyone, isn't it?
Keep in mind, each of these Senators have spent time over the years highlighting their modest roots.
I believe Mike Duffy when he says he was told right off the hop that it didn't matter where he really lived, or that he doesn't see the inside of his so-called 'primary residence' in PEI except once in a blue moon. I believe his actual residence didn't matter much at the time of his appointment because at that time, it seemed to be accepted that Senators don't do much and don't really have to live where they say they live, because the Senate is a gift you give friends who have been loyal or people who can do stuff for you. Wallin and Duffy and Braseau fit that bill perfectly.
This government promised transparency and accountability, and appears to have been surprised that 'THE BASE' might actually have believed the promise or might demand the promise be kept.
While I don't feel sorry for the PMO for being 'hoist on its own petard' I also feel no outrage that these particular three Senators might be getting the boot after being so greedy.
See? No victims!
Well, just two. Us and our tax dollars.
Absolutely agree with you. Almost all senators have a residence in their home province and one in Ottawa which they designate as the 'secondary' and claim money for. I suspect that, for a huge number of them, the Ottawa home is the place they spend almost all their time. In other words, Duffy is a sacrificial lamb offered up to the media and public to distract them. He is guilty of course, but was certainly following common practices. In other words, there should be a whole lot more bodies being kicked out of the senate with him. In that sense I feel sorry for him (but not very sorry).
ReplyDeleteFINALLY! Someone (you) gets to the essence of the mess/stink/embroglio/scandal. They are ALL taking more than they rightfully deserve, with the tacit, or outright "approval" of the parties, and someone finally got caught. 'Sorta like turning the light on in a long-disused cellar, and watching the accumulated vermin run for the cover of the darkness... Saddest part, WE elected many of them through our own cultivated ignorance!
ReplyDelete