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Racknine: Story On Fraudulent Election Calls Traced To Firm With Tory Links Sparks Twitter Firestorm

Racknine Robocalls Matt Meier

The Huffington Post Canada   First Posted: 02/23/2012 10:26 am Updated: 02/27/2012 10:20 am

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News that Elections Canada has traced fraudulent "robocalls" to Racknine Inc., an Edmonton company that worked for the Conservative party, has sparked a Twitter firestorm.

The story by Postmedia's Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor is making waves in Ottawa and across the country, notably on Twitter.

Prominent NDP MP Charlie Angus took to the social network to call on the international community to send observers to our next election, because "This is country run by Harper-Toews. #electoralscam."

The Toronto Star's Susan Delacourt noted the potential for the widening scandal to rival the Liberal sponsorship scandal. "The "few bad apples" and "RCMP is investigating" didn't end well for Liberal sponsorship," Delacourt posted.

Others have made light of the pictures of Racknine CEO Matt Meier that accompany the article. Meier appears to bear a striking resemblance to Ricky from "Trailer Park Boys" in the story's main image.

Many others wondered if the results of the last election can still be considered legitimate and whether our country is facing a crisis of democracy. Read the tweets yourself below and join the debate.

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News that Elections Canada has traced fraudulent "robocalls" to Racknine Inc., an Edmonton company that worked for the Conservative party, has sparked a Twitter firestorm. The story by Postmedia's ...
News that Elections Canada has traced fraudulent "robocalls" to Racknine Inc., an Edmonton company that worked for the Conservative party, has sparked a Twitter firestorm. The story by Postmedia's ...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Nadine Lumley
unseatHarper circle ca
435 Fans
10:40 AM on 02/24/2012
No Canadian government has ever been cited for contempt before.

The Washington Post
By Associated Press, Monday, March 21, 2011

This week, a parliamentary committee slapped the government with the first contempt ruling in Canada’s history...

http://youtu.be/3WfBaFrRF9w

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2011/03/25/AFvJ16YB_story.html

Note: Just because our billionaire owned mass media didn’t report this news widely, doesn’t mean it’s ^not a big deal
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Nadine Lumley
unseatHarper circle ca
435 Fans
10:40 AM on 02/24/2012
Harper’s I.D. voting scam

Taking a page from Karl Rove's electioneering playbook, Harper’s Reformers adopted provisions of the notorious Help America Vote Act (HAVA) that make voting more difficult for people not generally found among the conservative voting base of either America or Canada: the poor, indigent, seniors living in care facilities, immigrants, and young, first-time voters.

http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/3175-stephen-harper-wants-your-vote-enough-to-try-steal-it.html

……………..
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Spanky McFarlane
ILLEGITIMUS NON CARBORUNDUM.
179 Fans
05:47 PM on 02/23/2012
Plan -'A' : Deny, deny, deny

Plan 'B': Fire the UNDERLING

Plac' C': Blame others.

(CPC,use as desired - you know the drill)
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cheena1
myhuffpost
182 Fans
 
04:14 PM on 02/24/2012
Plan D - buy a new fleet of buses to throw the minions under! (not mine, but couldn't resist sharing)
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Spanky McFarlane
ILLEGITIMUS NON CARBORUNDUM.
179 Fans
07:30 PM on 02/24/2012
LOL, as if yesterday they were unaware of this scam.
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I Found Out
3 Fans
04:50 PM on 02/23/2012
A party only rules if the people accept their rule as legitimate. Harpie and the gang's actions before and after the election have been so dishonest and contemptuous of the public, I would say their government and its anti-Canadian policies stands on very thin ice. Booting Clement and Toews would be start to regaining some legitimacy, but Harpo's too proud to admit that he's surrounded by simple-minded clowns. After all, only the simple-minded would jump on his ship. His actions (increasing the size and irrelevance of the federal government and being highly secretive) are the opposite of what he claims to be (open and smaller government). After six years and in spite of a complicit right-wing media people are seeing the man for what he is.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
JackHoffman
Pundit
7752 Fans
 
04:02 PM on 02/23/2012
What recourse is there? Is there a way to remove the Govt. or force an election or are we stuck with this Govt. regardless of crimes committed?
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HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
canobserv
719 Fans
07:00 AM on 02/24/2012
it would take 12 MP's to cross the floor....or for those 12 ridings to be declared invalid and byelections called...OR for the AG to step in.........
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
JackHoffman
Pundit
7752 Fans
 
08:02 PM on 02/24/2012
Thanks! Time to pressure the AG then.
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Maledictorian
55 Fans
 
03:19 PM on 02/23/2012
Of course the CPC loves democracy - it's corruptable.
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rightorwrongihaveavoice
47 Fans
02:52 PM on 02/23/2012
Another attack on democracy, another attack on the people of Canada.

How Harperish, how corporatist, how typical of this corporate run, corporate funded government!

Harper does not believe in a democracy he is a corporatist through and through, running a Corporatocracy. (a government for corporations, by the corporations in the name of the people)

The poor and middle class have lousy lobbyists, unlike the wealthy who have the best that money can buy.
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Another Pesky Canadian
Talk - action = 0
791 Fans
02:28 PM on 02/23/2012
Democracy when necessary, but not necessarily Democracy. (suggestion for a neocon motto)

These dirty political tricks may bring victory, but at the cost of how much SHAME?
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pilgrimomega
88 Fans
 
02:08 PM on 02/23/2012
Traitors to the nation and the people of Canada. Subverting democracy to expand the corporatocracy should be punishable by hanging.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Robert Moriyama
39 Fans
12:45 PM on 02/23/2012
I think Harper and company follow the Nixon doctrine: if we do it, it's not illegal.
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Mools
297 Fans
 
12:10 PM on 02/23/2012
It's good to know our own conservatives are copying the same extreme, blind nationalism that US conservatives have fallen victim too. It must be their shared love of power and authority. How else to explain their constant comments and attitude that anything we do is okay because we are good, but if others do the exact same thing, it is bad because they are bad people.

Blind nationalists believe the ends justify the means because their ideology is never connected to reality. They don't care if they break the law, lie or have to cheat and steal to win...their ideology and party are good so anything done to accomplish that good is OK.
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KEON14
28 Fans
11:59 AM on 02/23/2012
Let me save the Cons the trouble. "The Harper government of Canada does not and would not condone or authorize these illegal acts and will immediately and thoroughly investigate" - "Hey, Look, a new Target store!"
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Kpaisley
41 Fans
05:34 PM on 02/23/2012
Actually....the Cons have not announced any internal investigation and won't commit to do so. The line will be "No comment this is a police investigation".- "Hey Look, a new Target store!"
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KEON14
28 Fans
09:56 AM on 02/24/2012
I stand happily corrected.
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WestCoastCanada
29 Fans
11:24 AM on 02/23/2012
This phone trick is so . . . American. And that's my biggest beef with the Tories. More prisons, scarier fighter planes, faster flag waving, dirtier tricks: being Canadian is never good enough for them.
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cheena1
myhuffpost
182 Fans
 
04:18 PM on 02/24/2012
That's because they have a huge inferiority complex and yes, 'being Canadian' isn't good enough for them!
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Jay from Ottawa
sovereignty sale, 1.3T OBO
352 Fans
11:22 AM on 02/23/2012
And they claim to love democracy.
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betterthanu
28 Fans
11:10 AM on 02/23/2012
call another election right now.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
scratchingmyhead
21 Fans
12:57 PM on 02/23/2012
if only our electoral system had some sort of referendum that could be called in these situations.
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fisch123
For those of you who don't know 1T = 1000B.
1166 Fans
11:06 PM on 02/26/2012
Even if there was such a option under Harper logic no referendum would be needed, nor allowed.

Consider the Wheat Board issue. Harper claims since the conservatives were elected to power by the population of Canada, it can then be presumed that the wheat farmers of Canada support everyone of his decisions including his decision to end the Wheat Board. Therefor there is no reason to hold a farmers vote on the issue as required under the Wheat Board act.

He would now argue that no referendum would be necessary b/c he was voted into power already. There is now legal precedent for this arguement.
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