The r*tf*ck effect deconstructed

In the quasi/legal three ring circus that was Ottawa yesterday:

• A former PM rehashed and reshaded ancient (disingenuous) self-justifications for what a reasonable person might call suspect behaviour;
• There was a suspect "She said/She said" parliamentary committee hearing about an MP's personal nannygate;
• And Hizz suspect Honor's pricey legal help executed the expected surgical hatchet job on an accuser's credibility. (Hey. It is his job.);

...and I arched what passes for an eyebrow on a dog, over the symbolism of the mayor's alleged utterance to accuser Terry Kilrea at an, ummm, alleged courtesy meeting:

"We could have just ratfucked you."

It is stated that the mayor shook his head vigorously from the pews as if to deny this. The judge, if he's good as he's supposed to be, will ignore that bit of mimery for the voters as, well, mimery. And irrelevant to any legal findings. I digress.

If the statement occurred - and it's not impossible, boys often being locker-room boys - I find it disillusioning yet plausible that a person of the political persuasion might extend the courtesy of not ratfucking a single opponent, the better to do it to an entire city.

I am often cynical. And I am certainly weary. But it seems to me that the subversive common thread in each of these is a tired certainty that for far too long, many short sighted, system-gaming politicians - former, current, and wannabe - consider that playing silly partisan buggers with each other is just business as usual.

And every time they think they've scored cheap points on an opponent, what's really getting ratfucked is a country, its democratic institutions - and every member of the municipal, provincial and federal electorates. Woof.