General

Who is saying what about Patrick Brazeau

Jonathan Kay, The National Post

“Reading Mr. Brazeau’s frenzied Tweets now, in the aftermath of his arrest, they seem like warning signs of an agitated mind. But in the Twitter universe, everyone is too busy madly scrolling through their feed, looking for something amusing to retweet, riff on, or use to score political points. In this dehumanized space, it’s easy to forget that the little Twitter icons identify actual human beings. There is a fine line between Retweeting someone, and enabling them.”

Tim Harper, The Toronto Star

“(Brazeau) has invited Canadians to once again heap scorn upon a discredited institution but, in this case, Canadians have no one to blame but Harper. Brazeau could have remained a yappy, self-promoter on the fringe had he not been tapped by a prime minister whose office either didn’t do its homework or didn’t care. He is now an independent senator sitting in the lock-up and the smart money says he is soon to be an ex-senator.”

Eden Robinson, The National Post

“However you feel about Mr. Brazeau — maybe he’s your best bud, maybe not — you have to admit he has some spin issues: Twit spats with reporters, losing to Justin Trudeau on a technical knockout, asserting that we don’t need a national inquiry into murdered and missing aboriginal woman in Canada, having a guaranteed six-figure income for life and not having to show up to work to collect it. The latest incident at the Legion fundraiser where Mr. Brazeau mocked Theresa Spence for being fat risks being construed as, at the very least, size-ist.”

Tabatha Southey via Twitter

“The problem is—nothing about domestic violence is funny but everything about Senator Brazeau is funny. My brain is going to explode.”

Michael Den Tendt, The National Post

“Can anyone credibly argue any longer, in light of the political train wreck that is Senator Patrick Brazeau, that abolition is not at least desirable? Never mind fussing with elections, term limits and the like. Such dabbling would only give the Senate a legitimacy it does not deserve – and one that would surely add to legislative gridlock. Far better that the Chamber remain as it is – an object of derision – until a way can be found to shut it down and auction off the furniture.”

Tasha Kheiriddin, iPolitics

“Brazeau’s arrest raises obvious questions not only about his character, but about Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s judgment in appointing him. If the Conservatives wanted a representative of the aboriginal community in the Senate, surely they could find someone who didn’t have Brazeau’s record and reputation? Allegations of sexual harassment and alcohol abuse, failure to pay child support and an audit launched by Health Canada into expense claims by his previous employer — these are not the things one wants to see on senatorial resumes.

“But these issues all predate Brazeau’s appointment — and that raises a lot of obvious questions. First, shouldn’t someone in the government have known about them? Second, if they did, why did the prime minister proceed with the nomination? Third, if they didn’t know, why didn’t they? How much due diligence is actually done on Senate nominations?”

Jennifer Ditchburn, The Canadian Press

“It’s been a rough year for Canada’s upper house. The arrest Thursday of Conservative Sen. Patrick Brazeau is just the latest in a string of negative news for the Senate, from controversial expense claims to mental incompetence.”

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