Democracy is unbelievably cheap at only 50k. The Conservatives are still challenging the elections rebates at the Supreme Court, and if they win, stand to gain more than that 50k back anyways.
Why did it take so long to strike this deal that amounts to little more than a slap on the wrist? How can the Crown attorney claim that it's in the public interest to save a few dollars paying for legal fees, but let the criminals walk free, and keep their positions of political power?
OK, I'll grant that. But it does play into an awful lot of significant themes: an initial lack of ethics coupled with a belief that simply refusing to deny reality will make it go away, enforced by the Cons' message machine.
OK, I'll grant that. But it does capture a few important points: poor ethics to begin with, coupled with a ruthless and gleefully dishonest message machine that genuinely believes that denying reality can make it go away.
I wouldn't criticize the prosecutors' choice: they got the maximum possible penalty for the Cons and their fund-raising arm, and I'm sure the system was set up to make individual accountability a longshot. The real question now is whether we can highlight the problem sufficiently to make the Cons pay the political price they deserve.
Nah. That's only the tip of the iceberg of what's wrong with Canadian politics.
ReplyDeleteDemocracy is unbelievably cheap at only 50k. The Conservatives are still challenging the elections rebates at the Supreme Court, and if they win, stand to gain more than that 50k back anyways.
ReplyDeleteWhy did it take so long to strike this deal that amounts to little more than a slap on the wrist? How can the Crown attorney claim that it's in the public interest to save a few dollars paying for legal fees, but let the criminals walk free, and keep their positions of political power?
OK, I'll grant that. But it does play into an awful lot of significant themes: an initial lack of ethics coupled with a belief that simply refusing to deny reality will make it go away, enforced by the Cons' message machine.
ReplyDeleteOK, I'll grant that. But it does capture a few important points: poor ethics to begin with, coupled with a ruthless and gleefully dishonest message machine that genuinely believes that denying reality can make it go away.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't criticize the prosecutors' choice: they got the maximum possible penalty for the Cons and their fund-raising arm, and I'm sure the system was set up to make individual accountability a longshot. The real question now is whether we can highlight the problem sufficiently to make the Cons pay the political price they deserve.
ReplyDelete