Reply #5: Quite so, Tuvor [View All]

[Bragi]

The "who'd give a dying man a million dollar insurance policy" was initially offered up with great incredulity by the Cons and their bloggers early in the day yesterday, but it seems to have been dropped later as they made a concerted effort to claim that the ambiguous clip from Cadman the night of the vote made a slam-dunk case that there was no bribery involved.

(Aside: The tape is amiguous because it isn't clear which meeting with Con officials Cadman was referring to -- the one of the 19th or the 17th. This is the same ambiguity that Harper is trying to use to explain away his taped statement to the author of the book on Cadman. The problem Harper has, though, is that he speaks clearly about offering an inducement of "financial security" to Cadman, so it would appear he was referring to the meeting of the 17th.)

Anyway, the problem the Cons had with expressing riotous incredulity about getting an insurance policy for a dying man is that it really wouldn't be that difficult to get a million dollar insurance policy for a dying man, nor would it necessarily be illegal if it was done the right way. All you'd need is a friendly and discreet insurance company willing to do the deal, and enough money to pay a premium that would cover the million dollar payout plus the fees and profits owing to the insurance company.

What probably caused the Conservative caucus and bloggery to abandon this talking point as yesterday wore on is that it is clear that this kind of scheme is precisely the type of indirect instrument that would appeal to a third-party wanting to funnel money legally to a dying man's estate without doing it directly, and without getting caught. So they reverted to the false claim that the Cadman tape proves no bribes were offered.

All of which might have helped them win the day on this bribery scandal but for the refusal of the widow/candidate to retract her statement, and even worse, when the daughter subsequently confirmed that her father had also talked to her directly about the million dollar bribe. I give full credit to both of them a) for not trying to persuade Cadman to take the bribe, b) for speaking out on this to the author of the book, and c) for holding firm against what is no doubt a mighty powerful push from PMO and the party for them to dissemble, or at least shut up, on this subject.

- B