I was not going to write about the troubles of Rudy Dhalla. For the life of me I really do not care about the problems she is having with her former employees. However, when I saw how much the Conservatives are piling on this story I could not help but comment. Hell, I even had a moment that left me gaping at the television set.
For the life of me I cannot believe the Conservatives are spending so much time and energy on this story. They are even thinking of bringing Ms. Dhalla's accusers in to testify at a Parliamentary committee hearing. That would be interesting because if I were a Liberal MP my first questions would be why did you wait a year to do anything and why was your first act to talk to a reporter instead of the authorities.
It is obvious that they believe this will harm the Liberals, which just demonstrates that they are hopelessly out of touch.
At the risk of sounding sexist I can virtually guarantee that every male, who is not a political animal, is ignoring this story because of the NHL playoffs and the latest round of the Balsillie/Bettman war. I would imagine most of them would briefly see a headline about Ms. Dhalla on their way to a story where they would be able to see what is "the latest excuse of that prick Bettman" for denying Canada another hockey team. This is particularly true in Southern Ontario where both of these stories are receiving the most exposure. As for women, I imagine they may be more interested but again for those who are not political animals I imagine the greatest reaction is "Lucky her, she can afford a live-in nanny". Then for that small few that can afford a live-in nanny many would probably feel for Ms. Dhalla because having your live-in employees exposing family business, good or bad, in some way is probably their greatest nightmare with regard to their help.
Despite that the Conservatives are moving heaven and earth to try to make this a bigger story than it actually is. There has even been some suggestion that they orchestrated this whole affair. While I believe such a scenario is possible I do not believe it is plausible. Make no mistake, the Conservatives are capable of this kind of underhanded actions and they are arrogant enough to believe they will not get caught or if they do get caught their arrogance will allow them to claim they did nothing wrong. However, as of now I do not believe they are really behind this.
But for the sake of argument let's say they are. Why would they let this story hit now during a relatively peaceful political period? In this atmosphere this story will be but a blip for both the Liberals and Ms. Dhalla. This is the type of story that should be released during the pressure cooker of an election. That is when a story like this would have its maximum impact on both the candidate and her party. Now, not so much.
So why are they playing this story up so much?
Because the Liberal resurgence is real and the corresponding Conservative fading is also real. Everybody in this town knows it. You can see it in the sudden rapprochement of the NDP, Bloc and Conservatives. You can see it in the body language and demeanour of the Conservatives themselves.
Even the Conservative cheerleaders in the media can see the writing on the wall, which is what brought me to the jaw dropping moment while watching the news. While idly listening to the CTV news I heard Bob Fife, a bald face Conservative shill if there ever was one, refer his viewers to the Toronto Star. Mr. Fife works for CTV, which is owned by the same company that owns The Globe and Mail. The G&M's chief competition in the GTA and the Golden Horse Shoe is the Toronto Star. To see Bob Fife refer his viewers to one of his company's biggest competitors left my mouth hanging around my ankles. (It was then followed by a belly laugh that left me red face and sputtering with my wife pounding me on the back to start me breathing again).
The fear amongst Conservatives, their supporters and their media cheerleaders is palpable. They know things are slipping away and many are beginning to wonder just how far it will slip. Judging by their reaction to Ms Dhalla's domestic problems I would say they believe the slip will not be small.
Thanks Ms. Dhalla.
8 comments:
I did not know that this was over a year ago that the nannies were employed by the Dhalla family. Why did it take a year for them to bring this up? ....Kenny is trying to get his buddy Gill in next time I wonder if it was the Cons payed the nannies to lie. Ruby is a good MP.
There are many possible reasons that these three nannies waited to report this. One mere example is that perhaps they were threatened with repurcussions if they go to the authories; a common threat that victims of abuse face. Another being that they had no idea what the process was. Two Onario Liberal Cabinet Ministers were apparently made aware of this issue, and yet, did nothing How much further than that could these nannies be expected to take it after those at the top already heard about it? Now why did THEY wait? Curious.
Oh, and fear? Please, lol. Lets see, what do the Tories have to fear in this case?
Three nannies, the owner an employment agency, a worker of an agency who handles foreign employees that have had issues with employers, all suceeded in involving two Liberal Ontario Ministers, and the right wing newspaper, the Toronto Star, for the sole nefarious plot to get rid of Dhalla in some massive conspiracy. THIS is the indicator of how some Liberals and Libloggers are saying how the Tories' fear is exposed by this sad affair.
LOL...........ok then. :D
Michael, you missed my point.
Their fear is the fear of losing power. I doubt they fear anybody in the actual case. Although if you go over to BCer in Toronto and read the transcript of Ms Dhalla's media conference perhaps the Conservatives should be a little more circumspect in the handling of this situation.
As well, you will note that I do not believe the conspiracy about the Conservatives orchestrating this whole situation. I do believe they are capable of doing so but I do not believe they are involved.
As I stated, everybody in this town feels the Conservatives losing their grip on power. Both the NDP and the Bloc have acknowledged that with their actions in the past few weeks. They have both shifted their focus to the Liberals because they know that Stephen Harper is a spent force.
The media are coming around to the idea of the Conservatives losing power.
Now we are seeing the Conservatives take a minor issue and try to blow it up into the next Sponsorship Scandal.
As I stated the fear is palpable.
Um, Michael. Rather than go through all the swiss cheese holes of your parsing together of loose associations in your post, I'll just focus on one of the biggies.
The two Ontario Liberal Ministers were the ones who met with the women - and other recent immigrants - at an event the ministers HOSTED. And they informed all of the attendees the process by which claims could be filed.
They didn't do "nothing" as you put it. Those ministers were the ones who told the women how to address the issue and start the claim process for an investigation. And they did it in person.
How can that remotely be considered unresponsive? That's one of the best examples I've ever heard of a responsive government minister. It's akin to provincial driving evaluators coming by a new driver's home and conducting training sessions then driving them to the local DMV.
A little bit of fact goes a long way; you should try it sometime.
Yeah Joseph, they were told to call a 1-800 number that wasn't even in operation yet. Big help, lol. Nice try though. This issue isn't going away. It gets more interesting by the day. :D
''Despite that the Conservatives are moving heaven and earth to try to make this a bigger story than it actually is.''
It's a pretty big story ottlib. But it is the media moving the story,
the Cons are just doing what opposing political parties do,
make hay while the sun shines.
Lib examples
Cadman, In and Out, Mulroney's birthday, Mulroney ethics ccommittee, Listeriosous, Lewiniski's (sp) 20 year old drunk party tape....etc etc
Fear
What 'minority' government in the worst recession since the Great Depression, getting bashed daily over job loses, wouldn't fear being blamed?
Of course the Cons want to stay in power. Just as much as the Libs want to get into power.
That's not fear, that's politics.
Yes, a 1-800 number that went into service a few days after the meeting. Oh the horror that after a year, they might have to wait an additional 48 hours to file their reports.
That doesn't discount any of the other facts I brought into the discussion.
But it does show that you knew the facts all along but would rather just spew bull into cyberspace.
I'll keep that in mind next time you chime in on any topic.
Wilson:
Cadman, looks like the Conservatives tried to buy a vote in the House of Commons. An action that, if true, strikes a blow to heart of our democracy.
In and Out, the Conservatives cheated during an election by overspending during it. Again strikes to the very core of our democracy.
I hope it was a mistake on your part to compare the Listeriosis outbreak and Ms. Dhalla's troubles. Really there in nothing to compare. All Canadians should be concerned when their food supply has the potential to kill them and I would hope that all Canadians would be interested in getting answers of why their food is killing them.
Mulroney's birthday was a self-inflicted wound by the Conservatives. Hell, the whole Mulroney saga was a clear example of how not to handle such a situation.
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