So Many Scandals, So Little Time (01.09.04)
Faster than you can say Gordon Campbell is a convicted
criminal. Bam - The cops raid the legislature.
Back in the day, when the Rail and Sea, sorry, the Wolf’s
Den, no I think it was the Choo Choose Café. Actually I think it
was back in the Big Scoop days I remember someone posing an interesting
question. What’s the biggest scandal a politician can survive? Everyone
agreed it was to have an affair. After all an affair was enough for Gordon
Campbell to take the liberal party away from Gordon Wilson. But that was
then, now it appears that Gordon is taking political scandals to glorious
new heights.
That’s right it’s been a full year since
Gordon finally got the courage to confirm what too many think, drinking
and driving isn’t a crime, it’s a mistake. Even though he
drove after getting ‘I loughv youh guys’ drunk, the press
still respected him in the morning, letting the story die in less then
a month.
Now here we are, one year later, Gordon is back in Maui
and criminal charges once again grace the front pages. This time with
raids on the legislature. For weeks now, and as of press time, the only
thing that is really known is his official position, “I know nothink”.
However, in saying that, Gordon must be mistaken. The two aids being raided
are David Basi, aide to Finance Minister Gary Collins and Bob Virk, aide
to Transport Minister Judith Reid. One gets fired and the other gets suspended,
apparently decided with a coin toss, since he knows nothing.
Perhaps my favorite part though is how the papers are
trying to link the whole thing to Paul Martin without getting any dust
on their Gordon boy. Deputy Premier and Minister of Education Christy
Clark however, is finding it difficult to avoid the dust as the police
have now acquired documents from both her husband and brother, both of
whom are big wigs in Martin’s B.C. camp.
Loose lips sink ships but tight ones don’t seem
to stop any leaking. With so little information available all that is
left is to lay out the facts and find the six degrees of separation. Stories
have linked everything from money laundering to recent raids on marijuana
grow operations on Vancouver Island. Not to mention several suggestions
of links to the sale of BC Rail.
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