Recent events have trumped Conservative tough on crime rhetoric. From the Duffy Affair to Rob Ford’s drug problems, the Conservatives have been slow to realize these events are their time to shine, not fail as miserably as they have.

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau faced a lot of heat this week from a “ladies night” that turned into a political football.

The senate voted to suspend senators Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin, and Patrick Brazeau without pay yesterday, an unprecedented move that has trumped due process in an attempt to silence a year-long scandal.

As Canadians look for answers in the ongoing senate saga, Harper’s statements and lack of statements have raised more questions than answers. One minute, the scandal is isolated to his former chief of staff Nigel Wright, the next, “very few people” knew. One minute, he was saddened to see Wright resign, now Wright was “dismissed.” In 2005, the Prime Minister was responsible for the actions of his staff, today, there is no correlation. In 2005, withholding information was enough reason to hold a political leader to the fire, today, it is the norm. It appears contradictions are dominating Harper’s dialogue and actions, should he be held by his 2005 standards today?

Within six days of Duffy’s bombshell allegation implicating Harper in the Duffy affair, Duffy released documents today which implicate Conservative Party lawyer Arthur Hamilton in a second cheque.

There is no going back on The Duffy Affair, the breach of trust and scar to the Conservative brand will last a while. The story is on people’s minds and despite an aggressive effort to get it off the agenda, the fall session of Parliament is picking up where the spring session left off – in an interrogation room setting with an opposition playing whack a mole with a defiant prime minister.

The Duffy Affair exploded with controversy Tuesday when disgraced senator Mike Duffy implicated Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the scandal in a speech to the senate to save his job. The speech has led a domino effect exposing over a dozen Conservative insiders who knew of the affair – despite Harper’s claims that former Chief of Staff Nigel Wright acted alone.

It is no secret the only media the Conservatives trust is their own and insiders will often refer to the “liberal media” or “media elite” as a cause for criticisms on their governance and their difficulty attaining power prior to 2006. This mistrust and hatred as spilled to the way Harper deals with journalists and a recent feud is now the centre of a Tory fundraising ploy.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s bold showcase in New York City on September 26 cost taxpayers $65,500 and featured keystone lobbyists.

The Conservative government is set to return Wednesday with a throne speech that will avoid the senate scandal by taking pages out of the opposition’s – notably the NDP’s – playbook.