Tory MP Gerald Keddy hands over a government cheque bearing the Conservative Party of Canada logo on July 16, 2009 in LaHave, N.S.
While the rest of Canada is working for its paycheque, the Liberal Party is in full rant and roar about a Conservative Member of Parliament who wrongly put a Conservative Party logo on a giant mock stub at an event to recognize a federal contribution to renovate a rink in Chester, N.S. Gerald Keddy, the MP in question, has since acknowledged the error of his ways and noted it was inappropriate to do what was done. He made a mistake and he has said so.
But of course, and fair enough if you are an opposition party in difficult straits, Keddy's apology is not enough for the Liberals. They have rushed to the cameras to cry conspiracy - yet another diabolical Conservative propaganda plan.
Never short on fantasy, the Liberals' obsession with fiction clouds their reality. Here is a party that should be careful chasing ghosts as they might find some of their own skeletons. When Liberals handed out cheques in the past, they ended up in the hands of their friends and not rinks in rural Nova Scotia. Putting a party logo on a piece of cardboard is one thing; putting real money in a friend's pocket is quite another. Perspective is important here. Gerald Keddy made a mistake but it will not result in a public inquiry or more serious actions.
However, Conservatives need to be careful about how they behave. Being careless around matters of accountability can bite back hard p - particularly when they raised the bar on public probity. The Liberals are hungry for some Conservative flesh; better to starve them than feed them.