Thursday, March 6, 2008

Hey Ian Brodie, is this EPIC BETRAYAL enough for you?


Obviously Ian Brodie is a smug, duplicitous, self-righteous person with no regard for the lives of average Canadians and the importance of integrity in high office or the fulfillment of promises made.

Evidently Ian Brodie also has no regard for the need to justify the breaking of solemn promises either. If that weren’t the case then Ian Brodie wouldn’t have felt that 18 pages of blacked out documents would have sufficed as the evidence for breakingStephen Harper’s widely touted 2006 election promise that he “would never tax income trusts”. After all, income trusts are fully taxable in the hands of their owners at anaverage rate of 35%. Why would they need to be double taxes at an additional 31.5%? Where’s the proof of tax leakage?

As Diane Francis so succinctly argued: “Prove the case or drop the tax.”

Instead, here was Ian Brodie’s smug, duplicitous and disingenuous reply to the loss of $35 billion in life savings by Canadian and the breaking of a promise that million made reliance on. Detrimental reliance that is:

"This would be a more compelling analysis if the government weren’t already in the midst of a steady program of cutting tax rates, including corporate taxes, across the board. The alternative to breaking the election promise and taxing trusts was to abandon all other tax cut plans as the corporate tax base quickly disappeared. Instead, Flaherty acted quickly, in the face of rapidly changing conditions, to break the trusts promise and save the rest of the government’s promises. Not a pretty choice, to be sure, but hardly an epic
betrayal either."


Ian Brodie
Chief of Staff / Chef de cabinet
Office of the Prime Minister / Cabinet du Premier ministre
Ottawa, Canada, K1A 0A2
Office / bureau : 613.992.4211
Email / courriel : ibrodie@pmo-cpm.gc.ca


So now we learn this same Ian Brodie, this same smug disingenuous back room operative is at the CENTRE of a massive BETRYAL of Canada’s relationship with the United States and deliberate efforts by the Harper government to undermine the campaign prospect of Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama. The question I have for Ian Brodie is a simple one.

Is this EPIC BETRAYAL enough for you?

PM's top aide set off storm with Obama NAFTA leak
Source of initial tip revealed after Harper vows to investigate 'unacceptable' act

CAMPBELL CLARK
Globe and Mail
March 6, 2008

OTTAWA — The leak of a confidential diplomatic discussion that rocked the U.S. presidential campaign began with an offhand remark to journalists from the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Ian Brodie.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper vowed yesterday to use whatever investigative means necessary to find the source of leaks that, he said, were "unfair" to U.S. Democratic candidate Barack Obama and may have been illegal — although opposition leaders insisted the Conservatives cannot be trusted to investigate political players on their own team.

But the story that reverberated through the U.S. presidential campaign began as a terse, almost throwaway remark that Mr. Brodie made to journalists from CTV, according to people familiar with the events.

Mr. Brodie, during the media lockup for the Feb. 26 budget, stopped to chat with several journalists, and was surrounded by a group from CTV............more

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

To Ian Brodie`s statement on income trusts , I say "horse puckies".

Nothing else , just horse puckies.

And we all know what end of the horse they emanate from , don`t we.

Anonymous said...

We always seem to follow the Americans .. they elected Bush Jr. (sorta) and we elected Steve (sorta) .. time for a change in both countries!

Anonymous said...

PM must fire chief of staff: Opposition

BRODIE FENLON AND CAMPBELL CLARK

Globe and Mail Update

March 6, 2008 at 3:56 PM EST

Opposition MPs called for the head of the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Ian Brodie, Thursday after it was revealed an offhand remark he made to journalists preceded the leak of a confidential diplomatic discussion that rocked the U.S. presidential campaign.

“We know that Ian Brodie, the chief of staff for the Prime Minister was involved, and this was clear involvement in American politics,” said NDP Leader Jack Layton.

“So will the Prime Minister show some backbone and show Mr. Brodie the door immediately?”

Anonymous said...

What a twerp.....just like his bozo boss

Anonymous said...

Harper Forced To Widen NAFTA-Gate Probe To Include His Own Office

The Canadian Press
March 06, 2008 (Edit)

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been forced to expand the probe into the so-called NAFTA-gate affair to include his own office.

In response to a question about the involvement of his chief of staff, Harper has been forced to investigate the whole affair.

Previously, Harper had only said there was an investigation into the Foreign Affairs Department over the leak of a diplomatic memo that embarrassed U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama.

The leak suggested an Obama adviser told the Canadian government that Obama wasn't serious about campaign threats to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Allegations of hypocrisy and double-talk rocked the Obama campaign in the final days before the critical Ohio primary, which he lost to Hillary Clinton by a wider-than-expected margin.

The diplomatic tempest appears to have been prompted by comments made by Ian Brodie, Harper's chief of staff, to journalists in Ottawa last week.

When Obama denied such conversations had taken place with Canadian officials, a leaked Canadian diplomatic memo surfaced.

The issue is certain to surface again in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary, and Republican nominee John McCain has also raised it to pound his Democratic rivals.

The NDP says the prime minister's promises of a probe are not good enough. They want Brodie fired, and have lambasted Harper for telling the Commons this week that his chief of staff was not responsible for the leak.

"Will he now apologize to this House, the American people, and Senator Obama, and will he fire his chief of staff?" NDP Leader Jack Layton asked.

"Will the prime minister show some backbone and show Mr. Brodie the door immediately?"

truepeers said...

Epic Betrayal? How shocked and appalled can you guys get? Brodie doesn't deserve to be your scapegoat for a government decision, just because some idle words have caused a scandal among the lotus eaters of Obamaland.

Anonymous said...

Truepeers:

You're easily fooled aren't you.

Brodie is Harper's Chief of Staff.

he is the original source of the leak about what Obamaa's reprsentative allegedly said.

Brodie spilled his indiscreet guts at the Budget lockup.

How do you spell "I D I O T" ?

How do you spell "I N D I S R E E T I D I O T" ?

How do you spell " B L I N D I D E A L O G I C A L I N D I S C R E E T I D I O T" ?

How do you spell " E M B A R A S S I N G B L I N D I D E A L O G I C A L I N D I S C R E E T I D I O T" ?


As for Brodie's apology for the income trust betrayal:

How do you spell: "C O M P L I C I T A P O L O G I S T"?


Just asking.

Anonymous said...

Truepeers

You could see Brodie`s lips a movin but I am sure that was Harper`s voice I could hear.

That guy is a master puppeteer --it must be hard to keep 125 MPs dangling all at once.

Toss in a few more idiots like Brodie for good measure , & it makes for an interesting performance.

Unfortunately , I have already seen the show & I want my money back!!!!!!


Mike.