In Politics, Right and Wrong are of the Moment

As the Conservative party tries to back away from the fiasco that the Grewal tapes have become, I have observed many die-hard Conservative backers in the blogosphere continuing to uphold the moral legitimacy of the Grewal tapes and what they represent.

Arguments along the lines of "secretly taping a conversation is unethical yes, but the tapes themselves back up the immorality of the Liberals". More or less, "Grewal did something wrong, but it's a lesser wrong than the Liberals have done".

In the black-and-white, win-or-lose world of the contemporary conservative, this is no surprise. Basically, anything that they think will make the Liberals look bad is a win, no matter how badly it besmirches their own chosen party.

Sadly, the Grewal recordings have fallen rather flat on their face, making Stephen Harper - and the rest of the party look decidedly like rubes once again. Not only have the recordings obviously been doctored, Grewal's protestations about the veracity of his story pale quickly, especially when party leadership (Harper and Mackay) change their tune apparently overnight - distancing themselves from Grewal's version of the story quickly.

Not only are the recordings now in public hands obviously edited, we have no full copy at all.

The net result - yes, the Liberals do come out of this with a couple of new bruises - neither Dosanj nor Murphy wind up looking good, but at the same time, we have an emerging picture of the Conservative party and its leadership that is far from flattering.

Grewal looks like a duplicitous scumbag, whose primary purpose in life is personal gain - whether through gaining Stephen Harper's esteem or by switching parties for a supposed cabinet post for himself or his wife. Harper, and Mackay, both wind up looking irresolute - unwilling and unable to back away from a disaster until it is far too late, apparently blinded by their lust for power (or perhaps revenge - it is notable that this whole affair appeared shortly after the Conservatives lost a very high profile MP to the Liberals). If this little escapade was Mr. Grewal's own little invention, we must ask ourselves if Mr. Grewal's behaviour is what we want to see running the country? If, on the other hand, Mr. Grewal's actions were at least partially sanctioned and planned by Harper and his advisors, it is hardly a ringing recommendation for their own ethics and morals is it?

Outside of Alberta, where everything the Conservative party does is held to be almost religious gospel, the Conservatives have accomplished little, other than making themselves once again look like small, petty little creatures whose primary motivation is a lust for the privileges of power.

Who did "right" or "wrong" in this sad episode is irrelevant now, and the electorate of this land must bear these events in mind when the next election happens. Last election, voters clearly said "none of the above", recent events have done little to change this.

Perhaps "none of the above" will become the Marijuana Party (at least we _KNOW_ what they represent) next election.