Cover-ups and the will of the opposition. . . .

Everyone who has a pulse now knows that their is a serious cover-up going on in Ottawa. THere is now no question that a cover-up going on the only real question is how deep and significant the cover-up really is. We know the Prime Minister is trying to obfuscate and cover-up what people knew and when they knew is he covering up his own knowledge or that of some of his main ministers? Just as everyone knew that there was a Watergate cover-up, we all know something is going on but it is not yet clear exactly what. Now the question becomes, will the Liberals finally have the gumption to stand up and do something or will they just let the whole thing die down like they have with every other Conservative scandal? We will see.

But make no mistake, even if many Canadians don't really care that much about a few Afghans being tortured by their own military forces, even if our own military handed them over, proper exposure of a cover-up of the issue will finally destroy not only Peter Mackay but Harper's dream of ever having a majority in Parliament. Because this is a perfect scandal for a politician like Harper. Even many conservative supporters of Harper have been uncomfortable with Harper's secrecy, his tendency to demonize anyone who questions his government or policies, and his bullying tactics. The exposure of a cover-up by the Prime Minister himself will confirm the very worst feelings that many Canadians have about Harper and his government. 

My bet is this; if the Liberals push it, Mackay will eventually be sacrificed by Harper in the hope that this will avoid too much bad press or the threat of the opposition forcing a public enquiry on threat of an election over the issue. No one, even Harper, wants to fight an election precipitated by an apparent cover-up. But nothing will happen if the Liberals don't have the cojones to actually do something for a change. And as I said, I think it would be smart for them to pursue this issue from a political point of view. 

Summer Election ..... Not!

We all know there won't be an election this summer so why don't the MPs all go home and the media stop talking about it so we can all get on with summer? And on that subject can someone tell me why the media and the politicians keep telling me that "no one in Canada wants a summer election" ?? It is as though a summer election would mean we would all have to spend the next two months doing hard labor in Leavenworth prison or something. I don't know about most other people but I can take a ride down to the local voting station and vote in about ten to twelve minutes from when I leave the house to when I return. So what, exactly, is the big problem? 

Anyway, back to the election that is not going to happen. If people are just willing to put aside their partisan fever they would surely see that the Liberals still look like a spent force politically. They have no serious political ideas or alternatives to the Government, and to be honest, there is very little to choose between the Harper Conservatives and the Ignatieff Liberals at a substantive policy level. The Harper Government has done some terrible things but Ignatieff would not reverse most of them, instead his own Government would just take advantage of these cuts in freedom of information, court challenges programs etc.. .. etc. The only real differences at this point are stylistic ones. And though these can be important, most people in Canada don't seem to mind that Harper is a Machiavellian madman and therefore don't care if there is an election or not. 

Instead of an election, the Liberals will once again vote for the Harper Government as it has done for years now and we will go on for another year or so. Honestly, I think the Liberals and Conservatives should merge into one party. They could be called the Liberal Conservative Party of Canada. It is kind of catchy don't you think? 

Perhaps the 'people of Canada' don't want an election because even if the government changed, most people understand that it would make surprisingly (and tragically) little difference.