Angry in the Great White North

The Conservatives have won a major ruling with regards to the In-and-Out controversy.  In all likelihood, it will spell the end of the fight.

Liberal bloggers, unsurprisingly, are quiet about this.  But one has written a long essay, which concludes with one of the most stupid comments I've ever seen written:

This result may be a technical "win," yet it furthers along the present day narrative of a self-interested government, using every possible tool for its political advantage, in this case, the electoral laws.

What?

I mean, first of all, do Liberals have the courage of their convictions, or not?  Do they not think that they would form the best government with the best policies?  Of course, they do.  They work hard to win, as they should.  Is it in their self-interest to win?  Of course it is.  But that doesn't detract from their belief that they would form the best government for the country.

The same goes for the NDP, and the Green Party, and the Conservatives.

Each party thinks they have the secret formula for Canada's success.  Each fights hard to win votes, because votes translates into funding, which translates into campaigns, which translates into sitting MPs, which translates into government. 

Each party believes that their own success (self-interest) will lead to the country's success (national interest).

Indeed, the Liberals have, in particular, been struggling for the last few years, fighting a perception held by many (including myself) that they have lost focus on the national interest, in favour of their self-interest.  Stephane Dion seemed to say as much when, soon after he became Liberal Party leader, he spoke of the importance of returning to "power".  Then after leading the Liberals to a historic loss, Stephane Dion refused to step down.  He even spoke about how Canadians had "chosen" him to be Official Opposition leader.

But in the end, parties are in this to win.  That's how it works...and it works very well.

But for this Liberal, the crime committed by the Conservatives goes farther than merely believing that they would make the best government.  It is that they used every legal means to do so!  I mean, using "election laws" to help get elected?!

What is this world coming too?

Let's review.  The Liberals, acting in their self-interest, stole millions from taxpayers, awarded that money to their supporters under the guise of fake contracts, then received kickbacks of cash stuffed in unmarked brown envelopes (displaying what lawyers call "consciousness of guilt"), cash that would then be used in their election campaigns (and to this day remains unaccounted for).

The Tories, acting in their self-interest, used "election laws".

The Tories spent the money legally (as they understood the law), accounted for the money, recorded the transactions on forms, and delivered those forms to Elections Canada, confident that they had done nothing wrong, and knowing the forms would be published online for all to see.

Elections Canada disagreed with how the law was followed, and so the Conservative Party took them to court, seeking an impartial ruling on the interpretation of the law and on the role of Elections Canada.  The Conservatives did this in public.  For all to see.

And the Conservatives won their argument about the interpretation of the law.  For all to see.

And the Liberals are upset about this?

Actually, maybe it makes sense.  The behaviour of the Conservative Party in all this raises the bar for behaviour for all parties.  Using the laws as they are written.  Spending up to all limits as defined by the law.  And taking arguments about the law into open court.

Imagine if the Liberals had asked the courts to rule on whether transferring money from government accounts into party coffers via bagmen was appropriate.  Of course they didn't, because everyone knew it was illegal, though that didn't stop them from doing it anyway.  They had to be caught doing it, then dragged in front of criminal courts to face fraud charges.

Yeah, I can see why the Liberals are mad at how the Conservatives play the game. 

Transparency?  Impartial courts?  Working within the law?   Ewwwwww.