All Opposition & Media re. Torture: Don't Get Distracted!

1. Content: The Cons & their allies are going to try every trick to distract Opposition and media from the torture cover-up. Don't let them. Keep focussed.
2. Form: a) Good job this past week, but must keep it up. Opposition parties: in QP, in media appearances, in committee, everywhere, keep a grave tone. This is the most serious issue imaginable, and you must not only treat it as such, but be seen as treating it as such. This means no heckling in the House, no jibber-jabber responses to jibes on panels, no responding to ridiculous claims in committee. When questions are asked of Government, the tone must be that of a serious, unamused, undissuaded prosecutor. In QP, the House must be deathly quiet, and when the Cons respond, they must look up and see the 162 grave faces of prosecutors staring skeptically back. Think Wolson, Rae, Serge Ménard & Comartin. That's how you do it. Don't let them drag you into the muck. That's what they want. They are going to try to turn QP into a madhouse so it just seems like another partisan game, same on committee, media appearances, panels, etc.. Don't let them. Let them be the only ones shouting and heckling. Control yourselves. I know it's hard, but the whips must designate others to help keep it together. Marcel Proulx did a good job last week, helping to keep the Liberal MPs in order. All opposition MPs must do likewise. The very timbre of your voices must be flat and serious. Skepticism, irony and quietly pointed sarcasm are all fine, if and when needs be, but try to keep to a "just the facts" tone. Repetition, repetition, repetition. The same questions, who, what, where, how, why & when. And most importantly, why not (an inquiry, let the MPCC do its job, etc.)? A grave tone, serious questions, repeated by all parties, in all forums, again and again. Think back to Stewart-HRDC, Sgro, Sponsorship. But this is far more srious than any of those cliche claims of corruption and mismanagement, and if you'll recall, hysterics were counterproductive. Repetition does the job.This is about collusion in and cover-up of torture and the deaths of Canadians as a result. So no screaming. When you speak, you are speaking for those Canadians who were attacked and died and injured as a result of torture's alienation of the Afghan population. They deserve your best, most serious conduct. And that is what you are asking of the Government. And what they can't give you, without exposing themselves to prosecution. So you are the prosecutors. Do your job as a prosecutor would. Get a hold of that bone and don't let go, no matter what colourful distractions are raised.

b) Ignatieff must ignore all the jibes about his record. My view of it is well known. But that is neither here nor there right now: we are where we are. He must get up and ask serious questions in a serious straightforward manner, WITHOUT his usual actorly flourishes. No literal pointing of fingers or shaking of papers. No arch tone. No presuming to speak for Canada, or bringing question back to himself. Don't play a TV prosecutor, BE a real prosecutor. Canada speaks through you, that's implicit, so you don't need to say it. Saying so looks weak. And "I, Michael" is a loser. So don't respond to attacks on what he's written, and same goes for Liberal MPs and other defenders. Do a Thatcher. Don't even respond, just repeat, in a flat, unamused tone, the question, and point out, every so often, that you're not getting an answer, so must keep asking question. Watch and learn from this.

c) Le Bloc s'est laissé un peu trop emporté dans sa manière de questionnement la semaine dernière. Les questions étaient bonnes, mais la façon de les poser, un peu moins. Je l'ai déjà mentionné, mais inspirez-vous de votre collègue, M. Serge Ménard. C'est comme ça qu'on s'y prenne. Disons, genre Duceppe, moins de Jean et plus de Gilles. Plus calme, plus sérieux. Moins le comédien, et plus le procureur.

3. Execution & Coordination. a) All Opposition parties MUST coordinate efforts, in House, in Committee, on panels, in appearances. QP questions should be coordinated, so order is most effective. Remember, this is about Canadians dead and injured because the Govt of Canada colluded in and covered up torture. As a matter of morals you should should do the right thing and put away partisanship, and it will, incidentally, pay off for all of you politically in the long-term. Or do you want a Harper majority and the whole thing covered up? Canada's soldiers and diplomats (remember Glynn Berry, Colvin's predecessor) deserve better.

b) The Liberals have done the right thing under Rae's management and made this a non-partisan issue by calling for an Inquiry. "Let the chips fall where they may" is absolutely right. All parties should show themselves "dignes" of this issue. Liberals should be fierce in questioning of Liberals before committee, and the other parties should be fair: trying to score partisan points off your allies on this issue is counterproductive. It plays to Con desire to portray it all as partisan games. Play fair with each other and there will be reward enough for all down the line, though that's obviously not why you should. Dead and injured Canadians is why.

c) Obviously, all witnesses before committee must be sworn in. Colvin is not only facing a catch-22 re. his testimony before the MPCC, by swearing an affidavit he exposed himself to perjury charges were he lying. All witnesses should be held to the same standard, however much weaker the sanctions from Parliament have been in the past, compared to what Colvin might face, at least it's something.

There is no question, as any politically-aware Canadian knows, that everyone knew. War crimes were ordered committed by the very highest authorities - we knowingly turned captives over for torture and then covered it up. As Drapeau pointed out on Coulisses de pouvoir today, Hillier was getting not just daily, but hourly reports on everything. Everything was centralised, and sent back to the PMO, as well as Defence and DFAIT. Are Mulroney, Bloodworth, Hillier, etc., willing to lie for Harper, MacKay & O'Connor, and be the only ones disgraced and prosecuted? I don't think so. He who lives by the careerist, dies by the careerist.

The hardest thing is not to let yourselves get distracted. Little political stories about this or that are all very well, but this is the big one. I know it's hard, I had to stop myself posting about Taber's incoherence: one day, the story is Rae has convinced convinced the OLO to stop free votes and hold the line on the gun registry, the next day Taber's claiming this means Rae's for scrapping it. I mean, I think when the overwhelming majority of Liberal MPs, members and voters feel one way about an issue and Rae's argument, as reported, is we shouldn't have free votes as they cause too much internal dissension, that hardly means we're going to enforce a whipped vote to kill the registry, now does it? But that's Taber being her usual useless self, and we've got to ignore it. Keep focussed, keep your eyes on the prize: justice for Canadians and Afghans. And this advice is also for bloggers. Keep on this torture issue, ignore the rest. This is the big one. Rise to the occasion.