Conservatives move to upstage Coderre.

[Flip]

I was tempted to plunck this into the other thread.

Article link

Conservatives announce $25-million in food aid for Afghanistan

Matthew Fisher, CanWest News Service
Published: Sunday, October 07, 2007

Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan -- Canada announced a $25-million food aid program for Afghanistan on Sunday.

Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier and Minister of International Cooperation Bev Oda, who are currently visiting Afghanistan, announced the contribution to the United Nations World Food Program.

This is starting to look like a travelling road show............
Coderre trying to upstage the Conservative ministers
doing their job and all.

Sadly he seems to be succeeding, I had to dig a bit for this.
Stories about Denis Coderre are all over the place.

More on Link

 

[geo]

I find the partisan politics of refusing Mr Coderre's trip to Kandahar while sending over Mr Bernier & Mrs Oda (+ bunch of reporters) is a little bit over the top.

After the Conservatives complained about the petty political bunfights they experienced while Mr Chretien was in power, I would have thought they would be better than that....

Silly me.... politicains = children!

 

[George Wallace]

Silly me.... politicains = children!

You only have to watch CPAC or sit in the Visitor's Gallery to know that.    ;D

 

[Flip]

Geo,

I think there was some crafty staging going on.
On the liberals part I thought anyway.........

I think it's fair to say that politics has gotten too partisan.
Mostly because there are so many parties.

 

[Gardiners1]

I don't think number of parties enters into it.  You won't find more partisan politics than the US and they only have two parties.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I find the partisan politics of refusing Mr Coderre's trip to Kandahar while sending over Mr Bernier & Mrs Oda (+ bunch of reporters) is a little bit over the top.

I'm surprised the Tories haven't said (that I've seen) that the rules for visiting AFG were set up by, wait for it.....

the Liberals?

 

[geo]

Tony,
Rules be damned - as I stated, given the trip by Bernier, Oda & the press, this is a boondoggle.

 

[larry Strong]

I'm surprised the Tories haven't said (that I've seen) that the rules for visiting AFG were set up by, wait for it.....

the Liberals?

The have:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071007/coderre_afghanistan_071008/20071008?hub=TopStories


".....Though Coderre has accused the government of playing petty politics by not approving his visit, the Conservatives maintain the previous Liberal government brought in a policy that denied lone MPs from visiting Afghanistan...."

 

[The Bread Guy]

Tony,
Rules be damned - as I stated, given the trip by Bernier, Oda & the press, this is a boondoggle.

Agreed, esp. with the rash o' new reporter faces that have been brought overseas in the last week or so, mostly from smaller, regional outlets - gee, funny the timing, eh?

You'd think there might be an election soon or something...  :

Thanks for the link, LS - good catch!

 

[retiredgrunt45]

Fact finding mission my ass, he's over there hoping to stir up some dirt on Harper, plain and simple. It doesn't matter the positive things he see's, he'll just turn around and present everything in a negative light. He's a spin doctor, that's what Coderre does best.

 

[Reccesoldier]

Tony,
Rules be damned - as I stated, given the trip by Bernier, Oda & the press, this is a boondoggle.

Seems to me that there is a rather rational explanation for that rule.  Without it MP's could simply decide to show up and the troops would spend more time babysitting MP's than fighting the Taliban.  Do you think these trips are not planned well in advance?

Codiere is a camera whore.  The running joke on this guy is that he would talk to a security camera if he thought it was focused on him.

 

[geo]

Recce
There are no gov't press releases to suggest that Mr Coderre was offered a seat on the Bernier/Oda junket.  Matter of fact, Coderre has been complaining for a while that his requests for access to KAF have been turned down.... so, if he is grandstanding where is the gov't proof that will refute his claims?

 

[Reccesoldier]

Recce
There are no gov't press releases to suggest that Mr Coderre was offered a seat on the Bernier/Oda junket.  Matter of fact, Coderre has been complaining for a while that his requests for access to KAF have been turned down.... so, if he is grandstanding where is the gov't proof that will refute his claims?

It was reported that Coderre has been asking for the last two months... the HoC has been in recess for... the last two months.  In other words this asshat didn't ask to go when the house was in session (for whatever reason) and now wants the government to give him special treatment, in opposition to a procedure that was set up by his own party.

That, in and of itself is good enough for me but then this media matress has vowed "that nothing he learns during the visit will change his opinion that Canada's combat mission must end by 2009."  Talk about a useless propagandizing partisan!  This guy isn't even interested in talking to the guys and girls on the ground, he doesn't want to know what is going on, he doesn't care what sort of headway is being made all he wants to do is poke the CPC in the eye with a sharp stick and tell the troops in essence fuck you and all your hard work... Me and my party don't give a god dam rats ass what you are doing here.

 

[Edward Campbell]

There is a rule, the one put in place when Bill Graham was MND, for all MPs except ministers. That's the rule that says Coderre cannot go (to Kandahar) whenever he feels the urge.

Ministers are not covered by that rule. They are, by definition, going about the Queen's business and must do so whenever HM's business needs doing - as defined by the ministers, of course.

It (this whole charade) is petty and partisan but the government is playing by the rules and Coderre is not. In any sensible system (one with, say, with a majority government) the minister of foreign affairs would invite the foreign affairs critic on trips like this and Coderre (the defence critic) would be invited to accompany the MND - critics would, of course, have to fit themselves into the ministers' plans and schedules, but ... Suffice to say we Canadians are still getting the government we deserve.

 

[The Bread Guy]

In any sensible system (one with, say, with a majority government) the minister of foreign affairs would invite the foreign affairs critic on trips like this and Coderre (the defence critic) would be invited to accompany the MND - critics would, of course, have to fit themselves into the ministers' plans and schedules, but ... Suffice to say we Canadians are still getting the government we deserve.

Even in a majority gov't, do you really see this as likely, though?  It would be a truly civilized, balanced thing to do, but we can all guess who would get the most media attention - most Ministers wouldn't like that, even in a majority situation.

 

[geo]

Recce,
Regardless of if the house was in recess - or not.
The moment the foreign affairs minister and the international development ministers decided that they would be going to KAF, Coderre's personal private trip coulda been shot down once he was given a seat on the plane.

 

[Reccesoldier]

Recce,
Regardless of if the house was in recess - or not.
The moment the foreign affairs minister and the international development ministers decided that they would be going to KAF, Coderre's personal private trip coulda been shot down once he was given a seat on the plane.

The Foreign affairs minister and international development minister were in Kandahar for government business, they were not there to undermine the government and grandstand for the press.  Codierre is an asshat, and probably the worst example of a partisan that ever walked.

 

[George Wallace]

I noticed on the news he wasn't getting a warm welcome and was resorting to shaking hands with Americans, Brits, Dutch, etc for the cameras......unfortunately, the Reporter was 'colour commentating' as he was doing so.  ;D

Looks like he is a very, very, very lonely man over there.

 

[midget-boyd91]

I'm guessing that he won't be offered his own personal security if he decides to leave KAF? Or would there be no choice but to protect it if outside the wire?

 

[geo]

The Foreign affairs minister and international development minister were in Kandahar for government business, they were not there to undermine the government and grandstand for the press.  Codierre is an idiot, and probably the worst example of a partisan that ever walked.

Mr Coderre was there as an MP and as the Opposition's defence critic.  Regardless of what you personaly think of him, this politician could have / should have been accomodated.