Friday Morning Links

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- Susan Riley nicely sums up how quickly the Cons have adopted the worst abuses of the government they replaced:

For rampant patronage, however, it is hard to better the prime minister's moral collapse on Senate reform -- especially his tendency to provide failed candidates and party operatives a taxpayer-subsidized perch from which to conduct their partisan activities.

When Jack Layton suggested banning fundraisers and backroom boys from the Senate as a modest, doable reform, he was laughed out of town. When Liberals objected that Conservative star candidate, Larry Smith, is getting a free office, a $130,000 salary and a public profile to help with his first electoral campaign, Conservative Senate leader Marjory LeBreton's response was scathing. The Liberals did exactly the same thing, she declared. But wait -- weren't Conservatives supposed to be different?

Not so much, as it turns out. In a few short years, they have achieved much of what took their Liberal predecessors decades: shameless patronage, fraying caucus discipline, an air of entitlement and utter policy confusion (unless someone has figured out the Harper position on foreign ownership.) You wonder how long it will take the electoral cycle to catch up.

- But of course the Cons have also gone further in some cases - such as their efforts to ensure that official records bear no relationship to reality:

Liberal Sen. Jane Cordy said newsletters that serve as blatant partisan advertisements should be outlawed and said she made the point clearly during an in-camera meeting in December — but her point of view was not reflected.

“When it is blatant politics,” she said, interrupted by the chair, Tory Sen. David Tkachuk who was laughing. “When it is a blatant political advertisement in your newsletters, I have a problem with that.”

The minutes from the December meeting, however, state that “after discussion, it was agreed that senators’ newsletters, with partisan content, is acceptable.”

Cordy said she “did not agree to that.”

- And that's far from the only example.

- But then, when the record can no longer be denied, it's perpetually time to move on without fixing a thing.

Thursday Morning Links

Assorted content for your perusal...

- Dr. Dawg picks up on a stunningly evasive answer from Gérard Latulippe of Rights and Democracy about the "forensic audit" which was supposed to have been made public six months ago. But I'm not sure that I agree with his description of the answer as "bafflegab": isn't it more of a flat-out declaration that he refuses to talk about the main issue facing his organization?

- Donald Savoie continues to be thoroughly unimpressed with the empty promises coming from Cons and Libs alike in New Brunswick's ongoing election. But while I can understand his not wanting to be seen taking any party's side, wouldn't it be worthwhile to mention the alternative which is actually talking honestly about the province's fiscal mess?

- Meanwhile, the federal NDP's push to make the Cons look completely out of touch with rural Canada seems to be proceeding nicely thanks to a concerted focus on issues that matter more than the long gun registry. Though as I noted yesterday, the especially fun part will come when the Cons get to stand up to try to defend keeping the registry as it stands as the NDP works to improve it.

- Finally, the Cons' distrust of evidence-based government has taken its most extreme form yet: apparently it's too intrusive to bother keeping track of how many health inspectors are actually monitoring livestock transportation.

On core missions

Gerard Latulippe, imposed as the new president of Rights and Democracy over the objections of the opposition parties, describes the group's job:

"We have to work within the framework of government foreign policy, whatever political party is in power."

And whatever one's criticisms of the Con hacks who have taken over its board, it's tough to deny that R & D has been doing a brilliant job of furthering the Cons' foreign policy of funnelling public money to party loyalists at every opportunity.