Every movement attracts them. Call them grifters, con artists, weasels, or fraudsters if you will. Sometimes their motivations aren’t monetary. They could be seeking a sense of personal validation, or possibly they just get off on garnering attention. They don’t have the interests of the group or political parties they attach themselves to in mind, though, and usually are ideologically agnostic, though they will pretend to be driven by personal principles. They tend to travel from group to group and sniff out whatever the political flavour of the day may be. These opportunistic destructors are usually drawn to smaller and newer movements and political parties. Established organizations are more inclined to identify them for what they are and eject them.The Alberta independence movement has been a hot item for nearly two years now, and it has predictably drawn these vagabond, political losers like flies. The latest but hardly the first of these individuals to surface and cause damage is a travelling staffer by the name of Apollo Chung. Chung managed to weasel his way into a senior position within the BC Conservative Party as new leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s operations chair.Some things can be learned from the Chung experience, as he was found saying the quiet things out loud and exposing what his little political subclass tends to think.Scandal erupted as what appear to be recordings of Chung were released, saying things such as “I don’t walk away from money. We have the leader in our hands. I’m not walking away. Minimum, I want half a million dollars for me.”.In that, he was being honest about his motivations.Then the voice says, “We need to basically force all of them to make a fundraiser for us. And so we can steal everything. Like whenever we win something, we just go in there.” Rather candid in conspiring to steal.Part of the recording is most telling in indicating just how much these operators really care about making positive change when the recorded voice said, “Look, the most important thing is to get government. That’s why I keep telling everybody, once you get government, who cares? I don’t care about, like, saving the province and all that shit. Like saving the province is only secondary to what the main prize is. The main prize right now is to get government. Once we get government, you can do what the fuck you want.”This political weasel class tends to look at things the same way. Rules are meant to be stretched whenever possible and broken if need be. There are no principles or goals in trying to make the world a better place. They just want to win bragging rights and line their pockets.These bullshit artists are skilled at getting themselves into positions of influence. Findlay’s team either didn’t closely check Chung’s references or didn’t understand the red flag sitting in front of them, with Chung having served as the Executive Director of the now-embattled Alberta Republican Party. The Republican Party is in hot water over electors lists being leaked to the Centurion Project, which caused a scandal casting a dark pall over the entire Alberta independence movement. No political party or group should have let alumni of the Republican Party anywhere near them. Now Findlay’s conservatives are paying the price..The political weasels tend to run together. The Republican Party was founded and led by Cameron Davies. A quick Google reveals Davies was at the centre of a scandal with the UCP leadership race when Jason Kenney was elected. Davies was fined heavily, and he threw many compatriots under the bus as he went down. Despite this ugly record, he somehow managed to raise over six figures for a brand-new party from a small number of donors who nobody has heard of. Davies is in deep crap for the alleged sharing of confidential electors’ information, and it appears he may be facing more questions as questions are emerging about how his party was funded. He tends to retreat to the United States when these things happen. So, who did Davies allegedly share the electors’ information with? That was none other than David Parker with his now-disgraced Centurion Project. Parker has also had a history of fines from Elections Alberta and now is facing even more serious potential fines and possibly criminal charges.What’s frustrating when these people manage to get into movements and parties to cause damage is how easily avoidable it is. Social media makes it almost effortless to check a person’s background, and when one sees records as checkered as Davies, Parker, and Chung have, they should run rather than walk away from these individuals. Yet still, these types keep slipping through.The Alberta independence movement is establishing itself and growing. It isn’t surprising that there will be some growing pains and hard lessons. One of those lessons should be to carefully vet anybody who may be trying to get near the leadership or even assume leadership roles within the movement. The damage that can be caused by these career grifters can be remarkable.With the independence movement, proponents aren’t just selling a new future under a new government. They need to project more than just a concept. They need to radiate honesty and trustworthiness. People considering an independence vote see the spokespeople within the independence movement as being the potential leaders within a new nation. If the movement appears to be overrun with unprincipled weasels, citizens will never entrust it with their vote.It’s going to be a tough road to independence. It will be easier when the movement learns to avoid self-inflicted wounds by allowing known unprincipled operators to damage the momentum. They can't put the toothpaste back into the tube with the past shady characters who stained the movement, but they can learn from it. The coming weeks will be critical for the referendum campaign being held in Alberta, and the groups pushing for independence must be extra vigilant about who may be working with them or speaking for them.The debate must be about Alberta's independence rather than the behaviour of some individuals. Or the campaign has already been lost.
