Fine and dandy

The Libs have fined Joe Volpe $20,000 for violating party rules by paying for the memberships of new recruits. But Volpe is denying everything and vowing to appeal the decision:

Mr. Volpe can either pay the $20,000 fine within 30 days or drop out of the race, the party said in a release.

Mr. Volpe immediately issued a statement suggesting he'll do neither.

"The press release issued today by the Liberal party as well as the haste to proceed without due process seems designed to inflict as much damage as possible on my campaign immediately prior to the delegate selection meetings," Mr. Volpe said.

He added his campaign will mount a "vigorous appeal."

It's somewhat surprising that Volpe is willing to take the time away from his campaign to launch a challenge. But at the very least, one can safely say Volpe is serious about fighting the charge on principle when it would only take four teenagers' donations to cover the fine.

The only question now is whether it's him or the party which bears the brunt of the aftereffects of today's announcement. But even as Libs make their effort to engage in belated damage control, it's hard to escape the conclusion that the party hasn't changed a bit from the group that was rightly voted out of office.