I'm tired of these stories unearthing bad behaviour in the Liberal leadership race. Did Joe Volpe's team put some dead guys on the membership lists? Did Ignatieff subsidize some memberships?
My problem is, these investigations make it seem as if a generally clean process is being marred by some regrettable wrong-doings.
Let's remember, it's a vote-buying competition. Votes are called memberships, they cost $10, and winning depends on ensuring your supporters have bought the most.
To that end, I liked the Globe & Mail story on the weekend (I'd link, but it's probably behind a paywall) about the Alberta Conservative leadership race. No hypocrisy there, no effort to discourage zealots from vote-buying too fast or anything like that. You can raise all the money you like, spend it any way you please, dump down bagsfull of memberships right up to the eve of the voting.
In both races, the leadership is for sale. The Albertans just seem more proud of the fact
