Quote:
Originally Posted by 4X4
I'm not trying to defend Wenzel. I'm saying that he didn't do anything illegal, or much different than what a lot of other people and interest groups do, every election, yet you're saying that he tried to buy city hall. That's an exaggeration, so I quoted your post to say so.
|
I am not arguing Wenzel did anything illegal - although Nenhi's camp is certainly making a case that he did potentially break election contribution laws. But I do think Wenzel's actions exceeded the norms for special interests in politics. And that is why that video is so damning. I don't think there is much exaggeration here at all. It very much does appear that Wenzel was attempting to orchestrate a scenario that effectively put him in control of city council.
The dumb thing is, if he had simply come out and said openly "I believe blah blah blah and I am supporting these candidates who share my views", it would have resulted in very little blow back. Instead, we had all of this cloak and dagger nonsense, people wondering which candidates were on the Manning Centre's payroll and questions over just how easily various councilmen/candidates can be bought.It looks bad, and that is what generated the negative opinion of Wenzel.