Tory MP called into question
This does not look good. In a Calgary courtroom, a former staffer has accused Conservative MP Rob Anders of fraud. If there's any truth to it, he needs to be tossed from caucus.
MP Rob Anders has said the charges are false, and he intends to "vigorusly" defend himself. We'll have to wait and see.
But to me, something sounds fishy... and if it was a Liberal, I'd say the same thing. Why would a former staffer, Liberal, NDP, or Tory, make such a claim when it serves to implicate himself? Is he already going down for something, and cut some sort of deal? I'd like to see a report of the expenses in question. Anyone have any other sources of info we can start looking into?
Anders has been under the gun for years by his detractors. He's on the far right of the party, so he's got enemies without and within. Is this a smear, or is there truth to it?
How does one deal with an issue like this? Mr. Harper is in a tight spot. Think about it... an allegation has been made, but has yet to be proven. The Tories are in the midst of trying to pass their Accountability Act, so this looks really bad. The Liberals are calling for the RCMP to step in. Is it right to suspend the MP from caucus before he's even had a chance to defend himself? If not, when would be an appropriate time? Would Mr. Harper, in the interest of protecting the party image, hang Anders out to dry by suspending him until he can prove his innocence? If Mr. Harper stands up to defend him, the Liberals will turn around and call him a hypocrite. If he leaves Anders to fend for himself, and he's proven to be innocent, it will look like he over-reacted.
Can he be suspended, but not be ejected from cacus like Mr. Martin did to Ms. Parrish? I don't know the answer to that one. Tight spot indeed.
MP Rob Anders has said the charges are false, and he intends to "vigorusly" defend himself. We'll have to wait and see.
But to me, something sounds fishy... and if it was a Liberal, I'd say the same thing. Why would a former staffer, Liberal, NDP, or Tory, make such a claim when it serves to implicate himself? Is he already going down for something, and cut some sort of deal? I'd like to see a report of the expenses in question. Anyone have any other sources of info we can start looking into?
Anders has been under the gun for years by his detractors. He's on the far right of the party, so he's got enemies without and within. Is this a smear, or is there truth to it?
How does one deal with an issue like this? Mr. Harper is in a tight spot. Think about it... an allegation has been made, but has yet to be proven. The Tories are in the midst of trying to pass their Accountability Act, so this looks really bad. The Liberals are calling for the RCMP to step in. Is it right to suspend the MP from caucus before he's even had a chance to defend himself? If not, when would be an appropriate time? Would Mr. Harper, in the interest of protecting the party image, hang Anders out to dry by suspending him until he can prove his innocence? If Mr. Harper stands up to defend him, the Liberals will turn around and call him a hypocrite. If he leaves Anders to fend for himself, and he's proven to be innocent, it will look like he over-reacted.
Can he be suspended, but not be ejected from cacus like Mr. Martin did to Ms. Parrish? I don't know the answer to that one. Tight spot indeed.
posted by Christian Conservative @ 8:51 a.m.
6 Comments:
At Wed Jun 07, 09:46:00 a.m. EDT,
Anonymous said…
I am not sure that there is that tight a spot, really. Harper will take some distance from the MP (and most people have had for years), the matter is before the courts and it's up to the police to lay charges. When and if they find that the charges are true --and likely they are because Isvantffy would not incriminate himself for nothing-- he'll get kicked out of the party to the elation of many in his riding AND in the party, and James and Rob will go the same place Chuck Guite is going, for a while.
At Wed Jun 07, 10:54:00 a.m. EDT,
Anonymous said…
Step 1 should be to remove Anders as Chair of the Vet Affairs Cmte.
Step 2 would be for PMO CoS to have a detailed "discussion" with Anders. Get the facts so that you are not surprised when it starts leaking. The media WILL pursue this story.
Step 3: Deal swiftly with Anders depending on Step 2.
The lawsuit inidrectly implicates one of Harper's campaigns too, from what I can gather. So, this is serious stuff.
At Wed Jun 07, 12:11:00 p.m. EDT,
Blake Kennedy said…
Rob Anders isn't exactly Mr. Ethical in his approach to life. I've met this clown, and if I were the PMO's CoS, I wouldn't believe a word he says without extensive documentation.
Cut him loose. As anon said, his committee status needs to go bye-bye and he should be suspended from the caucus, just like Jan Brown and Jim Silye were from the Reform caucus years ago for speaking against the Party.
At Wed Jun 07, 01:24:00 p.m. EDT,
Anonymous said…
Speaking as a Liberal voter:
Often times in party politics there tends to be a huge over-reaction to situations like these. Pick your favourite scandal (Srgo, Grewal, Dingwall, or this latest one) -- all parties have a habit of presuming the accused is guilty before an investigation is even underway, let alone completed.
Instead of grandstanding from a pulpit, it would be nice to see all the parties work together to deal with it in a moderate fashion, rather than flinging accusations about the Commons. Alas, I suppose civility doesn't play well to the TV cameras.
That said, I think everyone, including Mr. Anders, should be given the benefit of the doubt. If he held a cabinet position, I would expect him to resign from that position until an investigation is completed. Otherwise, I don't think an MP should be removed from caucus because of an unfounded accusation.
Cheers,
At Wed Jun 07, 01:34:00 p.m. EDT,
Blake Kennedy said…
That's a good point, and maybe a thorough investigation needs to precede action. At the same time, if I'm the Whip, I'm having him in my office and asking for every single piece of documentation and having KPMG or some other firm audit every cent that man touched.
And, this is Rob Anders. I'd make damned sure they find some reason to turf this cross-threaded bolt.
At Thu Jun 08, 11:19:00 p.m. EDT,
Blake Kennedy said…
You know, I forgot to give Andrew credit on this one. Props for keeping the Conservatives (especially a far-right one like Anders) accountable and honest by reporting on this and not blaming the Liberals, or some such thing. That shows insight and maturity, and I liked it. Kudos!
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