[Yogi]

So why isn't it acceptable for a person who has a criminal record be allowed to run for public office? They committed a crime, were convicted,sentenced, duly served out the sentence that society demanded of them. Are they never to be able to 'redeem themselves' in the 'eyes of society' Who among us has never, EVER committed a crime and just not been 'caught'? And by 'crime' I mean ANYTHING that if 'found out' by 'the law' would leave THEM with a criminal record.

[ridenrain]

I don't think there's anything preventing a person with a record from running for office, it's just a lot harder selling that person. I'm actually wondering what kind of a record check one civilian could do on another, what with the right to privacy laws.

[Yogi]

ridenrain ridenrain:

I don't think there's anything preventing a person with a record from running for office, it's just a lot harder selling that person. I'm actually wondering what kind of a record check one civilian could do on another, what with the right to privacy laws.

What I fail to understand is 'why the public outcry' whenever anyone who is already in office or someone who is running for office is found to have any kind of criminal background. Are people not deemed to have 'paid their debt to society' once they have served whatever sentence the courts have imposed on them for their offense? Or is that 'just so much hot air'? 'People in glass houses' etc!

[Reverend Blair]

The optics of it are terrible, Yogi. That's especially true in the case of the Conservatives who push the law and order thing so hard.

In this case it shows something else though. This candidate was hand-picked...acclaimed, not elected by the riding association...and other, more qualified candidates were pushed aside for questionable reasons. All of that, yet apparently the Conservatives didn't vet the candidate at all.

[mtbr]

how about the Liberal optics in Quebec where two candidates have been canned for wanting to kill natives?

[Reverend Blair]

Those are terrible optics too, mtbr, especially for the Liberals who depend fairly heavily on the First Nations vote in some areas. It is a sentiment that has been heavily echoed by Conservatives past and present though, especially over Oka (I think both of these guys were former Mulroneyites, weren't they).

Hopefully the word spreads around the reserves on the prairies and those First Nations move to the NDP. That would get rid of few Conservative seats too.

[ridenrain]

Not to mention the fact that 7 of the 10 Liberal ADSCAM bagmen that Martin kicked out of the Liberal party were let back in.

[EyeBrock]

Reverend Blair Reverend Blair:

The Conservatives have been having some trouble finding candidates on the East Coast. In Halifax they appointed Rosamond Luke. She didn't run at the riding level, she's a handpicked candidate.

One problem. Rosamond is really a con. In fact she's a two time loser. She's been convicted of uttering threats and breaching an undertaking (whatever that is).

So the Cons had to get the con to withdraw from the race. I'm not sure why they don't get Harper, Strahl and Ritz to withdraw, seeing how the courts found they broke the law three times with their Wheat Board shenanigans, but then Harper, Strahl, and Ritz aren't known for taking responsibility for their actions.

Anyway, if you live in Halifax and want to lose an election, the Conservative Party has an opening for you.

Didn't seem to bother the NDP with Svend Robinson, thief of note, standing in 2006.

[Reverend Blair]

That was a different situation, Eyebrock. Funny that you'd bring it up though. You Conservatives, in your false machismo, lack the empathy to understand mental illness though, so it isn't surprising that you'd bring it up, just funny.

[mtbr]

Reverend Blair Reverend Blair:

That was a different situation, Eyebrock. Funny that you'd bring it up though. You Conservatives, in your false machismo, lack the empathy to understand mental illness though, so it isn't surprising that you'd bring it up, just funny.

a thief is a thief .

[Yogi]

Reverend Blair Reverend Blair:

The optics of it are terrible, Yogi. That's especially true in the case of the Conservatives who push the law and order thing so hard.

In this case it shows something else though. This candidate was hand-picked...acclaimed, not elected by the riding association...and other, more qualified candidates were pushed aside for questionable reasons. All of that, yet apparently the Conservatives didn't vet the candidate at all.

'The optics'. That's the crux of my question. There should'nt be 'any optics'!

Or is 'paying one's debt to society' really just so much bullshit? What about all of those politicos and others in high public positions who have plead guilty or otherwise been convicted of impaired driving (a felony) be treated as though they have done nothing wrong then and others are barred from entering public office?
Many years ago, I was a 'drinking man' and managed to get into trouble with the law. I did my time. Quit drinking. Completely. Help others who wish to do so as well.Have been given very high security clearance. Am a productive, tax paying citizen of good standing etc. Why, if I ever decide to run for any public office, should my past be 'dredged up',embarrassing family and friends,and either be shamed into withdrawing from the race or being outright refused the opportunity to serve my community/country?

[EyeBrock]

Reverend Blair Reverend Blair:

That was a different situation, Eyebrock. Funny that you'd bring it up though. You Conservatives, in your false machismo, lack the empathy to understand mental illness though, so it isn't surprising that you'd bring it up, just funny.

And the Tory candidate was a victim of domestic violence.

[EyeBrock]

Glass houses Rev. I deal with the mentally ill nearly every working day and I have a mentally handicapped close relative. You should not rush to judge those you don't know.

I'm not judging Svend's stealing of the ring, but I will point these things out if you want to have a partisan sneer at other parties candidates who have made mistakes and been held accountable by our laws.

[Reverend Blair]

$1:

a thief is a thief

Well, if that's so then we all need to remember the in and out scandal.

If we expand that to "a criminal is a criminal" we should remember that the courts have have found the Conservatives in violation of the law three times in connection to their attacks on the CWB.

$1:

The optics'. That's the crux of my question. There should'nt be 'any optics'!

There are optics though. It is the Conservatives who most often advocate locking people up and throwing away the key, and who most often bring up past transgressions, real or imagined, often in a way that has little regard for the facts.

$1:

And the Tory candidate was a victim of domestic violence.

Too bad that the Conservatives haven't done more to help women in such situations then, isn't it?

$1:

I didn't buy the mental illness thing then, and I'm not buying it now.

So what would be your explanation for a successful politician committing a crime he knew he was going to be caught for then? It makes no sense in any other context.

$1:

Glass houses Rev. I deal with the mentally ill nearly every working day and I have a mentally handicapped close relative. You should not rush to judge those you don't know.

I'm not judging Svend's stealing of the ring, but I will point these things out if you want to have a partisan sneer at other parties candidates who have made mistakes and been held accountable by our laws.

Svend was held accountable by our laws though. The NDP has also advocated for those with mental illness and sought for more reasonable ways of dealing with them when it comes to the law. The NDP has also tried to address the root causes of crime from domestic violence to theft to gangs instead of just locking people up.

Even with that, Svend suffered, and continues to suffer, attacks from right-wing pundits and members of the Conservative Party.

He paid the legal price, he paid the political price, and he paid the personal price.

The Conservatives, on the other hand, have suggested, both in their rhetoric and in the policies that they advance, that criminals should be locked up, not given treatment, have their rights removed, and carry the stigma of their crimes with them indefinitely.

[EyeBrock]

If I remember correctly, he was given a conditional discharge so that he didn't get a criminal record. He was dealt with very gently.

If you have any evidence on how the current government has degraded the responses to domestic violence, I'd like to see it. As somebody who has dealt professionally with the victims and suspects of domestic violence for 17 years I'd love to hear you elaborate on this statement:

"Too bad that the Conservatives haven't done more to help women in such situations then, isn't it?"

Really, your partisan mouth can’t keep up with your unfounded statements. I expected better.