Probably the best thing that happened today for Warren Kinsella was Colle-gate. I'm sure he's quite pleased to be upstaged at this moment.
Anyway, Warren posted my little email on the subject along with many others (July 25th). My own apologies to my faithful Conservative readers, but I really do admire him for apologizing for his mistake. Even though we are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, I think it shows character when a person can admit that he's not perfect - and do it before an Auditor General tables a report.
16 comments:
Except he's not so much apologizing, as trying to minimize the damage he's caused to his in the Ont Lib party.
Well, maybe but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. I think this has been a humbling experience for him.
Honestly, I don't think so. He's an attack dog, and paid to be so. He's worried that his paymasters in the Lib party are going to get hurt by the comments.
It was a stupid thing to do, but pretty minor in the political regime of stupidity.
but pretty minor in the political regime of stupidity.
Definitely pretty minor compared to today's events.
He didn't waste taxpayers' money. He made a stupid remark that was taken as a slur against women. Lots of men have done that. I think he learned from it.
Interesting comment on Adam Daifallah's blog, with a theory:
Warren isn't stupid.Did he make the stupid comment as a distraction from the rest of the Lib 'problems'?
Vicki
"I think this has been a humbling experience for him."
Not the Warren we've all come to know and love, methinks ...
Vicki, I think that entry was written by a guest blogger, Keir Wilmut, (on July 26) but it is a fascinating read, along with the comment about 'taking one for the team'.
Well now I may have to reassess my stance here. Once I was soft on Garth Turner and I sure turned out to be wrong on that one. I've been receiving some flack from my regular readers about this in comments and emails. Mmmmm....
Food for thought. I think I'll go bake some cookies.
"... I think I'll go bake some cookies."
Ummm ... cookies ...
I don't always agree with Kinsella, but please, if anyone were a regular reader they'd know he wasn't sexist - quite the opposite. The over-faux outrage made MacLeod look really petty and stupid in my mind.
Hey, Martha Stewart did alright making cookies.
I'm a mature, career, family woman who is secure enough not to be intimidated by the phrase stay home and make cookies - I make them quite often.
That's the problem with politics today - too much spin and too much rant about stupid things and it takes away from the real issues. It's becoming pitiful.
About Colle - not happy about it, but I can see it was simply stupidity and bad management and of course, Tory et al are going to try to make something more of it for political gain. Yet Mike Harris did the same thing.
Would be nice to get back to some real intelligent politics and blogging about real issues, important issues.
We'll end up like the US - voting for who's looks like a cowboy or who "appears" to be tough, etc.
Grow up Canada - all parties and their bloggers - enough of the silliness going on.
Anon, I agree with your feelings about all this being quite petty.
About Colle - not happy about it, but I can see it was simply stupidity and bad management and of course, Tory et al are going to try to make something more of it for political gain. Yet Mike Harris did the same thing.
Here's where I disagree. "Simple stupidity" and "bad management" are running our province. Are you o.k. with that?
Also, could you please provide a specific reference for your last statement? Thanks.
Reference to last statement:
Friday, May 18, 2007
Page: 4
Section: Editorial Byline: Kelly, Paul
The Ontario Progressive Conservative party is up in arms about the Liberals spending money.
Seemingly (and allegedly), of a $32 million dollar program a couple of $100, 000 grants have found their way into groups that have - brace yourself - Liberal supporters.
You must be thinking that it would not happen in a PC government. Well, I beg to differ.
At the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources between 1997 and 2002, there was a program called the Fish and Wildlife Protection and Enhancement Fund.
It was a three-year, $10 million program divided yearly into $5, $3 and $2 million respectively.
It was extended for another $10 million for another period of time.
The first year it ran, it was for $5 million in unspecified spending but the projects somehow had to be linked to the crown jewel of Mike Harris's government - hunting and fishing.
MNR district offices submitted proposals for programs developed with local outdoor clubs - a core constituency for the Harris Tories.
The list was sent to a small group of Progressive Conservative MPPs for "review and approval."
The group was the 'MNR Caucus' and it included several current Progressive Conservative MPPs.
When the committee got the list there were two items they could not touch: $400,000 for Premier Harris's riding - a group dealing with Lake Nipissing - and some $60,000 for an advertising campaign with a high-profile angler with close links to the premier.
To mess with those two projects was to invite almost certain career-ending death.
Another tab was for a fish hatchery in Haliburton (the riding of a very powerful minister, Chris Hodgson). It was another $164,000.
There were some other projects in the Haliburton region that came in for another $50,000.
There was no end to the demands for more money.
The MNR committee quickly went to work 'liberating' money. The first round was a 'rapid fire' round of killing things for what they sounded like and where they were. If it typically had anything to do with conservation or 'tree huggers,' it died an ugly death.
If it was in an opposition member's riding it was killed with glee.
This money was 'Conservative money' and was to be spent on Conservative projects.
I could look at a list even today and tell you where it came from and who spoke to it.
Once the list was tidied up and some money was freed up, these MPPs (and usually they were the only ones who knew about the fund) would come back with their own ideas or those of other government MPPs.
There would be the small boat launch for $10,000 and the larger Lake Erie studies for hundreds
of thousands of dollars.
There would be a new release, photo in the newspaper and a lot of "Me and the premier brung you this cheque" giddiness.
My own personal favourite involves a current MP and MPP. At the time Gord Brown, current Conservative MP for Leeds-Grenville, was chairman of the St. Lawrence Park Commission.
Over lunch at a Yonge Street restaurant, he mentioned needing money for a project.
I suggested a letter from cabinet minister Bob Runciman to the MNR might help. And, $60,000 later, it did.
All of it was done perfectly legal.
Contracts were signed, guidelines where adhered to, memorandums were approved, etc. The auditor could check it today - all rules were followed.
Was it a 'secret' fund? No. Was it an obscure fund? For sure. Was it a 'slush fund'? In many ways, it was.
So what is the point of all this? Well, the Tories raising a stink about this against the Liberals are hypocrites and, even more so, frauds.
In the global scheme of multi-million dollar budgets - in fact, billion dollar budgets - this is all nickel and dime stuff.
More so, if the Tories were in power they would do the exact same thing. I have seen it done.
At one point in time, the Tories had the wife of a cabinet minister secretly checking on groups applying for Trillium grants.
This is what politics and being in power is all about.
The ability to throw around a small amount of money to groups that support you and that you are involved with comes with the territory. To the victor goes the spoils.
I have no axe to grind with any of these people. I turned the page on this chapter of my life long ago. But this is a clear demonstration of the pot calling the kettle black.
Nowadays with so few people involved with volunteer groups, it is noticeable the people who are involved in the political process and are also involved in local community groups, festivals and such.
So you are never going to get an organization without one link to any political party. So are they to receive nothing? I don't think so.
But to sit back and watch the Tories attack the McGuinty government for doing such a thing is a laughable sight.
Laughable because not so long ago, they did - and would do again - the very same thing.
Questions? Comments? Contact the author at:
positivelypaulkelly@sympatico.ca
Oh, yes. Now I remember. You posted that on an earlier thread as well. Torian did a good job shooting that one down here.
And the crickets are still chirping in response.
"Contracts were signed, guidelines where adhered to, memorandums were approved, etc. The auditor could check it today - all rules were followed"
Ok anon, now go back and read the report about the McGuinty-Colle,spending spree.Pay particular attention to this part.
As to the auditor general's report, the main finding was actually this:
"We found that the decision-making processes followed with respect to the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration’s more significant year-end grants in the 2005/06 and 2006/07 fiscal years were not open, transparent, or accountable."
Pretty scathing I'd say.
Facts are facts - even if someone tries to shoot something down.
Keep you heads in the sand - it's cool there, but you won't be able to breath.
Just curious - Joanne, why are you always in attack mode. Why constant trash band bash and on some insignificant mission of some sort?
Just curious.
Anon,
Joanne always in attack mode?
She seem pretty conciliatory to me most of the time, on alternative opinions.
You just don't like what you're hearing; D. McG. is turning victory into defeat, even with folks like me that thing Tory is too liberal.
D. McG. is turning victory into defeat, even with folks like me that thing Tory is too liberal.
Yes, we basically can choose from Liberal-left or Liberal-right.
Or the third party, whose leader isn't really that bad, but I promised myself I'd never vote NDP again after Bob Rae (*shiver*).
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