Ex-Harper aide, escort linked to deal

[scorpio]

want to read about a real scandal

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/Jean+Chr%C3%A9tien+final+scandal/4461522/story.html

Clearly these so called "scandals" did not affect the electorate from giving Chretien 3 back-to-back majorites. Harper can only dream of getting one.

Edited March 18, 2011 by scorpio

[madmax]

Clearly these so called "scandals" did not affect the electorate from giving Chretien 3 back-to-back majorites. Harper can only dream of getting one.

It takes a long time for a Scandal to seed.

The irony is all the Seeds the Conservatives have been planting.

[madmax]

Here she is WB

http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090205032057/http://www.leannavip.com/Home.html

[guyser]

'Not the story'? To me having a 'busty hooker' involved is everything!

A thousand headline writers, photo editors and front page assembliers all want to thank the COnservatives for putting this in thier lap. (lol....busty hooker and lap....in one sentence no less!)

Would anyone of my age (or thereabouts) know any thing about Christine Keelor and Harold Macmillan if it didnt involve boobs and politicians? (granted she was a show-girl not a hooker)

[Shakeyhands]

want to read about a real scandal

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/Jean+Chr%C3%A9tien+final+scandal/4461522/story.html

Nice hit piece....

I imagine we'll be hearing lots more about Adscam from certain corners in the coming weeks.

[madmax]

Nice hit piece....

I imagine we'll be hearing lots more about Adscam from certain corners in the coming weeks.

Conservatives are whining.

[guyser]

Here she is WB

http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090205032057/http://www.leannavip.com/Home.html

Her ?

Geebus, politicians sure have lousy taste. Even the hookers they use are rather lacking .

[Wild Bill]

Here she is WB

http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090205032057/http://www.leannavip.com/Home.html

Thanks, Max! That brightens things up a bit!

You know, this Carson guy helps support one of my favorite suspicions about the new merged Tory party. I've said many times that I believe the old PCs have taken it over. All of Manning and Reform has been tossed down the memory hole. That wasn't surprising in itself, as Harper and Manning always had their differences. Manning held to principles and Harper was much more pragmatic, which in politics is a nice way of saying 'wishy-washy'. What surprised me was how far Harper went with it. Manning is really a banned name! It's like one of those Chinese communist purges and history re-writes to expunge those no longer in favour.

We saw how Harper almost immediately got cosy with Mulroney, who was perhaps the principle reason Reform was formed in the first place! Now we see that Harper hired Carson, with all his scandalous baggage, a man who was a favorite of Mulroney? My premise that the PCs won just keeps getting stronger and stronger!

I have to laugh when I see some posters longing for the "good old PC Party". How the hell is the present CPC any different? They call the CPC "Reformers in disguise" but can they point to any trace of Reform in the present party? They should pull their heads out of their butts and look at the world as it is, not as they would like it to be.

It's getting more and more difficult for me to vote Tory this coming election. I had good reasons for bailing out of the old PC party in favour of Reform. I have no wish to go back. Harper backing Julian Fantino after how he trampled on civil liberties and the rights of citizens at Caledonia REALLY offended my classic Liberal principles!

If it wasn't for the fact that Ignatieff has all the appeal of a long dead fish I would switch my vote THIS election! Maybe next time there will be some better choices.

Where are the Rhinos when you need them?

[Shwa]

Where are the Rhinos when you need them?

Now we're talkin'!

[ToadBrother]

Here she is WB

http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090205032057/http://www.leannavip.com/Home.html

There's a delightful link to reviews of her... um... services. One caught my eye, and maybe explains her involvement.

I am not really one to discuss what the ladies donations are in public, but I opted for two hours which she had no problem accomodating. I do think she isn't charging enough for the level of service that she provides.

Even Tory prostitutes have that down-to-earth good-ol'-fashioned Canadian work ethic. No filthy rotten socialist whores for the Conservatives, with their high-falutin prices.

I kid I kid... I'm still not exactly seeing how this is yet a scandal for Harper. He called the cops on the guy, so I'm willing to wait and see what... ahem... turns up.

Edited March 18, 2011 by ToadBrother

[Wild Bill]

I kid I kid... I'm still not exactly seeing how this is yet a scandal for Harper. He called the cops on the guy, so I'm willing to wait and see what... ahem... turns up.

Some talking head on talk radio today was saying that where Carson blew it was he had started putting the word out that he had 'back door' influence with Harper and the PMO. Apparently, this is something that Harper truly loaths! This apparently is also the real reason why he threw Jaffer and later Guergis under the bus. They were doing the same thing.

I commend Harper's sense of ethics with this sort of thing but perhaps he has a tendency to over-react a tad...

Edited March 18, 2011 by Wild Bill

[Molly]

This is how it's a scandal for Harper, Toadbrother. When you roll with slime, it gets on ya. It's not as though no one knew this guy could be trouble, but he was made completely welcome.

I'm also interested in why successive Conservative PM's would hold close a disgraced, disbarred lawyer who spent 18 month in jail for robbing his clients.

That such a person would try to sell influence with the prime minister is a completely unsurprising thing. That such a person would be kept, for decades, in a position where such influence sales were possible is apalling.

I need a clear explanation for this man's presence, not for his ejection.

[ToadBrother]

This is how it's a scandal for Harper, Toadbrother. When you roll with slime, it gets on ya. It's not as though no one knew this guy could be trouble, but he was made completely welcome.

Too lazy to look any of this, but wasn't the guy's convictions from the early 1980s. At worst I think Harper showed poor judgment.

[Scotty]

I'm also interested in why successive Conservative PM's would hold close a disgraced, disbarred lawyer who spent 18 month in jail for robbing his clients.

That such a person would try to sell influence with the prime minister is a completely unsurprising thing. That such a person would be kept, for decades, in a position where such influence sales were possible is apalling.

I need a clear explanation for this man's presence, not for his ejection.

Why? Aren't politicians pretty much all slimy lawyers without morals?

Why would they have a problem with one of their own?

[Scotty]

An Escort of the Conservative "Fixer" who receives 20% of a cut is irrelevant?

Are you that naive?

What cut she got is not really anyone's business but the company's. Her past is likewise nobody's business. Whether Carson or his girlfriend would have profited by sales to the government is also irrelevant. The only issue is whether Carson was lobbying before the 5 year limit was up. That is the only illegality being alleged.

[Molly]

Why? Aren't politicians pretty much all slimy lawyers without morals?

No. That's a common enough whine and certainly true of some, but a very large portion are idealists, and self-sacrificing.

[Shady]

I see we have another Harper Burned His Toast This Morning thread. A classic case of Harper Derangement Syndrome. Criticizing him for the private life of somebody else!

Priceless!

[capricorn]

Too lazy to look any of this, but wasn't the guy's convictions from the early 1980s.

Whatever happened to Liberals endorsing rehabilitation as the central plank of our penal system? As you point out that's 30 years ago and presumably he's paid his debt to society. Or is it that they think only Conservatives cannot be rehabilitated?

At worst I think Harper showed poor judgment.

I think so as well. What I found interesting is that over the last couple of days more than one pundit and journalist has expressed liking Carson. Just now on Power and Politics Don Weston praised Carson's openness and being "a straight shooter" when he worked on the Hill. It's boggling.

[ToadBrother]

No. That's a common enough whine and certainly true of some, but a very large portion are idealists, and self-sacrificing.

I think most are beholden, cowardly knaves who get where they are by doing a lot of "Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir" to their party leaders so they can get some funding for signs during a campaign.

[Scotty]

No. That's a common enough whine and certainly true of some, but a very large portion are idealists, and self-sacrificing.

Self-sacrificing? A self-sacrificing politician? A large proportion? What do you consider large? 1%?

[ToadBrother]

I think so as well. What I found interesting is that over the last couple of days more than one pundit and journalist has expressed liking Carson. Just now on Power and Politics Don Weston praised Carson's openness and being "a straight shooter" when he worked on the Hill. It's boggling.

I remember years ago working for a guy putting computerized point of sales systems into gas stations, convenience stores, that sort of thing. One place we were at had been suffering theft from the tills. They had a couple of really greasy looking pump jockeys and I, being young and naive, assumed that one of them was ripping of the register. It turned out to be the assistant manager, the most pleasant middle-aged woman you could ever meet, dressed well, well-spoken, you would probably trust a baby with her. My boss, who had seen the world a bit commented that the best crooks, the most successful crooks, don't look like they slept in a ditch and don't talk like undereducated mobsters. They're guys who dress in suits and ties, good conversationalists, warm, charming. A good enough crook can fool damned near anyone.

It certainly happened to me many years later when someone I thought I could trust screwed me over pretty badly, and I consider myself a reasonably intelligent guy. So I'm willing to cut Harper slack on this one. By all accounts, as soon as word reached him what Carson was up to, he called the cops. He probably did practice poor judgment, it's easy to see that even the brightest off us (and whatever else Harper is, he's one damned bright guy) can be fooled by someone who is expert at manipulation.

I suppose this will all towards the whole "Harper ain't no better" line the Opposition is cooking, but I don't buy it. I have more than enough reasons to have problems with Stephen Harper's style of government that I don't need to try to pin the actions of a crooked SOB on him.

[kimmy]

As far as I can tell, the only actual crime being alleged here is that a guy who left the government in 2008 is being accused of working as a lobbyist without a license before the "cooling off period" had expired.

Is that correct?

While I realize the "busty hooker" aspect of this has people all overstimulated, the substance of the issue sounds pretty minor.

In fact, from the sound of it they were attempting to sell the filtration units to First Nations, not to the Department of Indian Affairs, so it sounds questionable as to whether Carson was actually attempting to lobby the federal government at all.

-k

[Shwa]

As far as I can tell, the only actual crime being alleged here is that a guy who left the government in 2008 is being accused of working as a lobbyist without a license before the "cooling off period" had expired.

Is that correct?

While I realize the "busty hooker" aspect of this has people all overstimulated, the substance of the issue sounds pretty minor.

In fact, from the sound of it they were attempting to sell the filtration units to First Nations, not to the Department of Indian Affairs, so it sounds questionable as to whether Carson was actually attempting to lobby the federal government at all.

-k

Where does the money come from for First Nations to buy the filtration units?

[kimmy]

Where does the money come from for First Nations to buy the filtration units?

That's not actually relevant to lobbying regulations restricting Mr Carson's interaction with the government. It's not prohibited for him to sell water filters to Indian reservations any more than it's prohibited for him to sell hot-dogs to a welfare recipient.

However, it appears that Mr Carson has indeed met with DIA officials a number of times, so there's definitely a strong appearance that lobbying rules have been broken.

-k

[gordiecanuk]

Sounds like a Conservative Senator in Waiting.

With Harper being such a control freak, it makes you wonder about his judgement in having this guy as a top advisor given his extremely coloured history...