Blimey mate! We call them popsicles and they call them lollies. We call them chips and they call them crisps. But liberals are liberals are liberals. Actually no sorry I got that wrong. Apparently liberals are liberals are “progressives” are liberals , just as long as they aren’t those aweful church-going conservatives.
And as Team Martin and his CBC and others have explained to us so very well, they have “values”. It’s just that they’re different than our values.
So in light of the impending Liberal Party leadership contest in what turns out to be OUR Canada after all, I found this little snippet of info which may serve as a handy tip to liberals here and all over. The lesson to take home: Vet your candidates carefully! They’re a fun bunch!
Leading Lib Dem quits over sex scandal
MARK OATEN, the former Liberal Democrat leadership challenger, dramatically quit frontline politics last night over revelations of an affair with a rent boy.
The married father of two daughters, who dropped out of the leadership contest only a few days ago after admitting that he did not have enough support from MPs, said the affair had been an ‘error of judgment’ and apologised for the embarrassment to his family.
The startling disclosure of a six-month relationship with a 23-year-old male prostitute whom he met online is the second shockwave to hit the Lib Dems in as many weeks, following Charles Kennedy’s dramatic resignation over his alcohol problem. Oaten had been at Kennedy’s side when he quit, and the outgoing leader helped persuade him to enter the leadership race.
Already rocked by weeks of public infighting over the leadership, the Liberal Democrats sunk last week to their lowest rating in the polls since 1997 and are now being targeted by Tories seeking defectors at all levels of the party — including in parliament.
In a statement last night, the Winchester MP — who as home affairs spokesman invented the concept of ‘tough liberalism’, shifting the party’s position on issues such as crime and immigration and helping attract right-wing voters — said he was resigning immediately from the frontbench.
‘I would like to apologise for errors of judgment in personal behaviour and for the embarrassment caused, firstly to my family but also to my friends, my constituents and my party,’ he added.
Friends stressed he had not known that the News of the World was investigating his private life when he dropped out of the leadership contest, conceding that with only one MP definitely signed up to his campaign he could not win. Since MPs were not aware of his double life, it is not thought the scandal affected his levels of support either.
One young male prostitute interviewed by the paper described him as a ‘regular punter for six months’ who had enjoyed being humiliated, adding: ‘He’s a very troubled man living a very dangerous double life.’
Last night friends said they were stunned at the revelations, including claims of three-in-a-bed sex and asking the prostitute to dress up in soccer kit.
[…] Liberal Democrats are traditionally tolerant of sexual indiscretions, but the revelations appear to have been too much for Oaten, who quit shortly after being confronted by the newspaper yes ? terday. It described how he met the male prostitute, who charged ?80 an hour, through the website Gaydar. Although he did not say then what he did for a living, the man recognised him from the TV last February: once he admitted that he knew who Oaten was, the politician ‘went white with shock’ and left, never to return.
Edward Lord, his election agent, said he had been ‘shocked’ by the disclosures but insisted they had not affected his political duties:
‘From what I know of Mark, I think this was an aberration. We are a liberal party and for the party and its members, Mark’s private life was just that. His performance, I don’t think, was ever affected by any of these issues.’
Last night the party, still reeling from the second personal crisis to hit in a fortnight, battened down the hatches with whips ordering MPs not to discuss the allegations with the media.
[…] Oaten will remain as an MP.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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