Tunnel vision

More confidence-inspiring material from Harper: now the Con leader has promised that if elected, he'll remain just as singularly devoted to criticizing the Liberals above all other priorities as he's been in opposition:

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper will sue the Liberal Party to recover more misspent sponsorship funds if he comes to power in the next election, saying this week's $1-million reimbursement by the governing party is far from enough...

The Conservative Leader said a civil lawsuit is necessary to find out exactly how much money was stolen from taxpayers by Liberal officials, arguing that a court process would force further confessions of wrongdoing.

Mr. Harper said he has received informal legal advice on the matter, and that as prime minister, he would instruct federal officials to obtain compensation for the misspending of sponsorship funds. He said up to $40-million is unaccounted for.

"You may in the end identify only $4-million or $5-million. But when you really want to get to the truth and get the money, you quite frankly, in the lawsuit, throw the kitchen sink at them."

Now, it's difficult to see why subsequent proceedings by any government would lead to "further confessions of wrongdoing" or added elements of truth beyond those which Gomery was able to elicit. And the money now unaccounted for seems to nicely match the amount currently at stake in the civil proceedings already launched by the government against the individuals and companies involved...making it likely that if there is any truth to a claim that the money ended up in Liberal hands, the defendants in the current proceeding would want to point out the party's wrongdoing rather than being liable for the amount themselves.

But never mind whether added litigation is either a good idea, or likely to produce positive financial results (particularly in light of the costs involved). And especially never mind whether the litigation avoids the ultimate issue of how to prevent future abuses, even as some parties actually have meaningful suggestions. (The Cons are supposed to present their proposal today, but it predictably sounds far more narrow and backward-looking than the NDP's policy.)

To Harper, even the prospect of forming government is merely an opportunity to use that power to keep attacking the Liberals. Regardless of one's ideology, surely that has to be seen as a problem.

None of the above is to excuse the Libs for anything related to the sponsorship scandal. But the mere fact that Gomery was the best thing to happen to the Cons in the history of the party doesn't mean that Canadians want to see their next government too obsessed with rehashing the '90s to govern in the present. One would hope this would lead people to look for a more viable alternative government, but it seems all too likely that Harper's dedication to bashing the Liberals is only helping to keep them in power.