— Feature, Musings —12.20.2017 04:39 PM
Watch this Rosemary Barton exchange with Justin Trudeau. Wow.
It is truly something else. Among other things, it means that Trudeau needs to get better prepared before he scrums again on this mess.
And it means CBC needs to get Barton back to the Hill, where she can do more of this sort of grilling. Fearless. Wow.
The first thirty seconds here are brutal. This is an election ad.
Rosemary Barton presses Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about his decision to vacation on the private island owned by the Aga Khan.
Read more: https://t.co/piRo8tdZ62 pic.twitter.com/m2aq3jf3Wc
— The National (@CBCTheNational) December 20, 2017
Poor judgement combined with arogance. The rich kid has no real experience with the real working class citizens. Keep smoking that weed kid!
Rosemary is as arrogant as Justin.They are Ottawa clowns
Much ado about nothing. Seriously.
Yeah, I’m sure that would be your reaction if a Conservative had just been found to have violated 4 sections of the conflict of interest act.
Why can’t Liberal supporters just admit he broke the rules?
They didn’t think it was a big deal when T2 roughed up a female NDP MP on the floor of the House of Commons. Why would they care about this?
That was a foolish pseudo scandal. This is an actual thing.
Two words: Mike Duffy. It went on forever.. until Harper lost. PMJT could eat kittens on live TV and his supporters would say how great his hair was.
And the Duffy affair involved a private transaction between a Harper staffer (Nigel Wright) and Senator Duffy. A piddly $90K, none of it involving taxpayer funds. And that silly episode counted as the biggest scandal of Harper’s 10 years. Rank amateurs these Tories were. Far more impressive was the $100 million stolen during the Liberals’ sponsorship scandal.
So…
1) Barton should never have left PnP. She was incredibly good as the host and was a power house journalist in political journalism. PnP is kind of rudderless now without a permanent host and Rosemary isn’t living to her full potential as a “one of four” host team.
2) Jesus Christ, the Liberals are shit with communications. Conservatives would be stupid not to use this in an ad.
3) Trudeau should never have made this trip to begin with and the media walks away with a big win on forcing this story into the fore.
4) In the long run, this is all entirely inconsequential. Still not a story Canadians outside Ottawa give a shit about and the media can cover it as much as they like. It hasn’t gained the kind of traction in the past and its very unlikely its going to now. This is not Sponsorship; this is not Duffy; this is not a real scandal.
Well, international media are picking it up…..
I am not a JT fan, and certainly not a Liberal supporter. I can think of lots of things for which to be critical of him, and the Libs overall. However, this ain’t one of them.
He and his family went on a vacation, at the residence of a family friend. That friend also happened to be a donor. I’ll bet a lot of his friends are also donors. I suspect that’s the way it works in politics, as in life.
In perfect 20/20 hindsight, he would have sought the Ethics Commissioner’s input ahead of time. He didn’t, and that’s unfortunate. However, of all his trangressions, this is minor.
As for the interview with Rosie Barton, I agree that JT should have been much better prepared. Her question is an obvious one, so presumably JT could have been prepped in advance for it. Then again, he’s human. Slick politicians with perfect answers 100% of the time may be worthy of suspicion.
A family friend that he hadn’t seen in 30 years. Interesting how celebrity friends renew friendships when the other party’s celebrity is on the rise.
1) Trudeau also shook down NGO’s and charities for speaking fees while he was an MP.
2) Trudeau has admitted to breaking the law as an MP, when he admitted that he had smoked pot as an MP.
3) On that vacation to the Aga Khan private island, one of the guests Trudeau took with him was the general manager of a Liberal hangout/restaurant/lounge in Ottawa where the employees were sexually harassed. (The GM, and I guess many Liberal MP’s and the MP, claims the Sergeant Schultz defense), because it is 2017 everywhere except in Liberal hangouts, apparently.
Acting US Secretary of State John Kerry was also on the Island at that same time. Trump had not been inaugurated yet.
Total lack of judgment on the PM’s part. I don’t think he ever imagined it would be a problem (“…did you not think…?”) and now he’s bewildered that it turned out to be one. I doubt he had ulterior motives, why would he need to? When he’ independently wealthy and riding high in the polls?
Likewise the Aga Khan. He’d hardly be looking to gain leverage. He’s a billionaire FFS, he could buy Canada
just as easily as sweet-talk a politician.
So yeah, it shows the PM to be pretty naive. Interesting that instead of the usual “uhh-uhh-uhh” we got long pauses and confusion. Shows (to me) that the guy was gobsmacked to be in this mess.
He uses “uhh-uhh-uhh” when trying to remember his lines. Butts hadn’t prepared a script for this situation.
Ha! Nothing sadder than a drama teacher that can’t remember lines….
That is a brutal exchange. And it is brutal entirely because of that god awful response. There’s no sense trying to defend this if that’s how it is going to be done. Just accept that there was clearly a lapse in judgment and thank the ethics commissioner for helping improve the institution of the prime minister.
I’m with Ridiculosity but heard a great take on Justin’s “apology” by a radio host who usually takes great pains not to betray his affection for anything Liberal (paraphrased): It was just like a convicted bank robber trying to score points with the sentencing judge by saying, yeah, I made a bad mistake but thank goodness there are laws to catch guys like me. I spit out my coffee on the dash. LOL!
.. will watch the video clip in a few moments, thanks.. and already familiar with the holiday Trudeau gang – scamper on th private island in th sun eh..
.. but I find myself laughing at the partisanship piling in here.. as I have problems not conflating the coincidental Caribbean holiday of shocked Rona Ambrose, Rodeo Boy and shocked family aboard the super yacht of her ‘friend’ .. owner of the Calgary Flames & a certain mine in BC who’s earthen dam to contain toxic mine wasters.. uh, failed.. spectacularly.. gee do you think he was a CPC donor? Prob sent money to the Libstarts too.. cover all bases wot?
The arguement that Trudeau and the Agha Khan are not ‘friends” within the Act stones me.. ! Yes yes.. the lobbying & fed funds flowing.. But it reminds me of how the Detroit Lions lost a touchdown. because Megatron ‘failed to complete the process of a pass he ‘caught’ in the end zone.
Thus, how did Justin & the Khan ‘fail to complete the process of their friendship.. within the Act ?
And how did dear Rawna ‘complete the process’ while getting herself etc aboard the super yacht? Because they used a public dock? Or a private super launch & not a private helichoppter ?
Deary me.. the fainting couches are overloaded.. I’m certain David Akin must have ‘pushed harder than anyone’ (Charles Adler re Trudeau’s ‘multiple ethical trespessases’ (sic)) but I am hoping one of those esteemed journalists might enlighten us ignoranti non partisans – in simplistic terms – how the Ambrose scamper & Trudeau scamper or non completed friendship processes work.. or don’t..
Ambrose cleared everything with the Ethics Commissioner BEFORE going on the trip.
And when The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star write scathing editorials shredding Justin Trudeau like they did this evening, you know he screwed the pooch.
Salamander Horde with the fake news.
The guy Rona and her husband went on vacation with has always been a prominent Liberal supporter, not a Conservative supporter.
“In politics, Edwards has long been affiliated with the federal Liberal party”
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/murray-edwards-the-nhls-deal-maker/article5018344/
.. whyshouldisellyour wheat might want to explain to poor old fakenews moi.. the odd phenomena of Christy Clark’s ‘liberals’ being the toxic disposal site for failed or flawed Harper drones.. Quire certain I mentioned how some donors work both sides of the political fish.. You know.. that odd fish with a right and a left filet.. but no backbone
Finally.. sellyourwheat missed the point by a proverbial country mile.. that the odd criteria of ‘friend’ in a high place.. applies to Rona, Trudeau or any ‘public servant’ pretending to be one..
I stay non partisan for good reason.. Our political parties need some comprehensive time behind the woodshed.. and to a major extent.. should be abandoned there.
Thanks for the little bo peep insult regsrdless sellyourwheat.. I can take it.. I can dish it out based on merit.. had a lot of practice, starting on the wheat farm in Manitoba & North Dakota.. What brand of combine were you driving in 1966 ? And what seed grain had you planted?
Another reference:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-power-25/article20429456/
Edwards was a protege of Jim Palmer, probably one of the most prominent federal Liberal supporters that Calgary has ever produced:
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/lawyer-jim-palmer-a-rare-breed-and-of-the-old-school/article14450009/
Warren,
Why someone needs to be fired: you can’t expect the PM to be proactive but you should and must expect PMO staffers to do so. Somebody needed to get acquainted with the provisions of the Conflict of Interest Act and Code. And because someone didn’t, that person needs to seek new career challenges. He or she has to go under the bus for the boss.
I hope Butts has some new sock ideas for his slow-witted protégé. This is an emergency after all.
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that the emperor has no clothes.
even serial liars have hard time lying sometimes ..
The Ottawa media think this is a turning point. Not many journalists get to really influence the outcome of history on their own. This may be one of those times! Can’t wait to hear about the ovations and adulation at the Press Gallery dinner.
Everyone seems to be cheering you on Rosie. Heavy burden though.