The Prime Minister's top senator describes an Ottawa populated by media lickspittles fawning over Liberals while relishing Conservative misfortunes.
It's nonsense, of course.
But at the risk of being labeled one, I'd argue Stephen Harper is the root cause of the Mike Duffy Affair.
The Prime Minister is being hit hard by a bad karma boomerang. That's the price for appointing senators without legitimate credentials for illegitimate reasons. Consider the star patronage picks now causing him so much grief.
He appointed friendly Ottawa journalist Mike Duffy to represent PEI. He elevated Toronto socialite Pam Wallin to a rural Saskatchewan seat. Despite a dubious background, cheerleading aboriginal Patrick Brazeau was named a face for First Nations. And he put Carolyn Stewart-Olson, his closest media flack, into the Red Chamber to guard his interests.
What's worse, he selected a rich business executive without political ethics training to serve as his chief of staff.
Add it up and you have a rancid stew of bogus billings, hush money and cover-up communications lurching toward a rendezvous with two ethics probes and a possible criminal investigation.
It's not even half over, but 2013 is shaping up as Stephen Harper's annus horribilus.
To the Conservative's credit, we can now lift the lid on the chamber of sober second thought to view Senators drunk on false prestige thinking primarily of their entitlements
To its detriment, this government has refused to push hard on reform, merely reinforcing the Senate's well-deserved reputation as a house of cads.
People close to Harper say lobbying for a Senate seat is usually so fierce, even his wife gets arm-twisted for consideration.
That's because the road to the Red Chamber is paved with warped intentions, extreme party loyalty and donor cheques.
In other words, the sad prerequisite for becoming a Harper senator is to be, first and foremost, a Conservative lickspittle.
That's the Last Word.
