Monday, June 16, 2014

Stephen Harper and the Crimes of the Punditocracy



After the way Stephen Harper has treated the media over the years. After the way he has humbled and humiliated them.

Or treated them like stooges.

It's hard to believe that some still worship at his feet. 

Or that some like Paul Wells would think that we could learn ANYTHING from that foul leader. 

For not only is it bad enough that Wells doesn't see anything wrong with Harper spending millions of dollars of OUR money to make himself look good.

Canadian prime ministers have had official photographers for decades. The photographers’ cameras these days shoot video. It would be weird if a government passed up the chance to tell its story with moving pictures, an option that is, after all, easily within the technical grasp of most Canadian schoolchildren. 

But let me make a grander claim for Harper’s videos. His political opponents had better be watching every instalment, because if Harper’s Conservatives win in 2015, it will be because he routinely does the sort of thing 24-Seven chronicles.

Preening for his propaganda machine, instead of answering questions from the media.



Not only is it bad enough that Wells would dismiss Harper's disgraceful record so lightly.

There are always two stories to tell about any government. Any government is a parade of cock-ups and lousy judgment calls. Any government is also an army of people working hard to improve the life of Canadians. We’re loaded for bear when it comes to telling you the first story, as reporters should be. 

But in an election campaign, the Conservatives will get to talk about the things they’ve gotten right, or tried to. The tale Harper tells at the next election will have a lot more to do with autism research, safe texting and maternal and child health than with Nigel Wright’s cheque to Mike Duffy.

Or suggest that Canadians will forget his outrageous behaviour and his crimes against democracy so easily. 

It's what Wells doesn't mention that is equally outrageous. For where in that giant puff piece does he mention Harper's crimes against science and the environment? 



And at a time when climate change is the greatest threat humanity faces, does he really think that Canadians shouldn't hold his criminal behaviour against him?

And why does he praise Harper's economic policies so effusively? When they have been clearly demonstrated to have helped only Alberta, and have destroyed good jobs all over the country.

Are we supposed to forget that he flooded the country with foreign workers to drive down wages, and steal our jobs?

And does Wells seriously believe that Harper's foreign policy has been successful?

Instead of a shabby farce...



That has made him look ridiculous, and shamed us in the eyes of the world.

And what about his depraved assault on the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice?



Is that also to be forgotten? Or seen as just another "cock-up" instead of a brutish attempt to undermine our legal system?

Where is the moral dimension in all of this? For its absence beggars belief, and is simply unforgivable.

But then as Kev at Trapped in a Whirlpool points out, it's becoming clearer by the day that the punditocracy in this country is becoming more and more right-wing. 

That it has swallowed the Con Kool aid, or the Gospel of Austerity, and would treat us all as FOOLS. 

Some have gone so far as to label Ontarians as cowards and fools for shying away from making the tough choices the Punditocracy has declared necessary, when in fact it is the Punditocracy that is unable to face up to reality. 

The economic and social philosophies that they hold so dear have been thoroughly repudiated by the evidence before us, yet they cling to these beliefs with ferocity, dismissing those that point this out as idiots and trolls.


Or with the contempt they obviously believe we deserve.

And all I can say is that contempt is now mutual.

For history will record that at a time when our country needed them most, they failed it most miserably.

And when the monstrous maniac goes down.


As he will go down.

He will take them all with him...



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17 comments:

Anonymous said...

If preening for the camera is the only thing to winning elections, Hudak would have been Premier (unless of course, Wells' colleagues in the punditry lied to us about Hudak winning the debate).

Yeah, this is very disappointing coming from Wells, suggesting that voters will be stupid enough to overlook Harper's cock-ups when he goes around preening and spouting off his dubious accomplishments. One would have thought that if anything the Ontario elections proved clearly that you cannot fool all the people all of the time: voters saw through Hudak's hubris and lies.

But then again, Wells was one of those who had told us what a brilliant strategist and chessmaster Harper was. Now this is another way of him saying the same thing, isn't it?

With this, I hereby nominate Wells to that infamous Conservative navel gazing list: Coyne, Ivison, and the folks over at the Sun Media. Wells is another ignore for me: Macleans can keep him.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Simon, that last picture just became my new desktop background.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how much money is being spent by the PMO just to capture and store every photo and video of the boy wonder? Gas up the Batmobile Bruce Wayne, oops, I mean Wayne Wouters, cause we have some investigating to do.

Lorne said...

I'm currently reading Wells' book on Harper, Simon, called The Longer I'm Prime Minister. While I haven't advanced too far into it yet, I wonder if Wells' seeming obsequiousness in the Macleans article has to do with the respect for technique that he developed while writing about Harper. I think one thing is clear: we must never take too much for granted when we anticipate the tyrant's defeat in 2015. He still has many tricks in his bag of tools.

deb said...

again the media and journalists fail to grasp the issue, on purpose Im sure, is everyone selling out these days for a senate seat. I thought they would shy off once they saw how well it worked for the Duffster:P
Paul Wells has had questionable puff pieces before, so no shocker, but saying that Harper could win because he totes a camara everywhere and downloads approved and ( most likely) doctored videos is a laugh. Why cant folks in the media stop calling false images and statements an effin' win. Debates and narration of any story doesnt work that way. Ask the americans, lol, whose film makers once wanted to change the story of the war of 1812 to have them winning:P
Lies arent winning, its called Cheating. so I will happily accept that Harper could Cheat and WIN the next election, but I have more faith in humanity that they wont readily vote him in without some form of fraud!

Anonymous said...

Harper has been a fascist dictator, right from day one. Herr Harper's henchmen are just as vile as he is. Wright got away with, aiding, abetting, covered-up and paid the way for a Senator, who was stealing our tax dollars. The PMO had *sanitized* Senators expense claims. The RCMP are a disgrace to their uniforms. They are every bit as corrupt as, the dictator Harper is. Rumor has it, Wright is leaving Canada. Harper also got ex BC Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell out of the country. Harper rewarded Campbell the post of, High Commissioner to the U.K.

Harper is out and out lowlife scum. Herr Harper's list of degenerates is as, long as his arm. Some of them are already in prison, others are on their way, unless Harper intervenes to get them off their crimes as well.

The media are propaganda machines for Harper. They have no honor, decency, ethics nor morals, what-so-ever. There is no such thing as, good honest journalism anymore. Canada has been made into, a cesspool of corruption. While Canadians are in disbelief by the corruption of Harper and his cabal? None of them have a grain of honesty, between the lot of them.

Steve said...

people get paid millions if not billions of dollars a year to ignore things they know

David said...

Stephen Harper 24 Seven Parody
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib8S6peRJSg&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs

Stephen Harper vs. "The Media"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib8S6peRJSg&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs

Stephen Harper brings US style media control to Canada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvE9EN4YPGM

Simon said...

hi anon....Wells is one of the members of the MSM who has done the most to try to persuade us that Harper is a political genius. And although I concede that he is a crafty manipulator, I don't see how anyone can overlook his many crimes against our democracy. And they alone should disqualify him from remaining in office. I realize I am an idealist, but surely you don't have to be one to be disgusted by Harper's foul record. And the day we accept that the end justifies the means, will be the day our democracy is doomed...

Simon said...

hi anon....I don't know if I would want to have that image as my desktop background. I keep them in a sort of Pandora's Box, and only let them out one at a time. ;)
On the other hand, it would be nice if this nightmare ended that way, with the police on the scene and Lord Harp in a straitjacket, or in handcuffs...

Simon said...

hi anon...by my rough calculation the Cons have now spent over a hundred million dollars on what is nothing less than shameless partisan propaganda. And how Wells could shrug off criticisms of Harper's obscene propaganda channel, which like it or not does resemble something out of North Korea, is beyond belief. He also should have pointed out that some of my extremely humble videos have got almost as many views as Lord Harp has, which really is saying something. ;)
But what bothered me the most about that absurd puff piece, is that Wells should think that kind of propaganda will make Canadians forget the ghastly record of the Con regime. He really must take Canadians for fools...

Simon said...

hi Lorne...I really should have mentioned that book, since Wells never misses an opportunity to flog it. He has contributed some useful insight about what makes Harper tick, but like so many biographers I fear he has grown too close to his subject. I suggest he read Boswell to get a grip on himself, and stop acting like he is victim of the Stockholm Syndrome. Although I haven't been a media basher for most of my blogging career, at this stage in our history I would like to see more reporters pay more attention to the moral dimension. I don't have a halo hovering over me head, but I do demand something better than that. And yes you're right, we mustn't take anything for granted. If the MSM won't frame Harper as he deserves to be framed, then you and I and a million others, must do that for them... ;)

Simon said...

hi deb...when I saw how Wells was defending or shrugging off that ghastly propaganda exercise I must admit I stared at the screen in disbelief. I just couldn't believe it, especially since I and others have pointed out that it doesn't come cheap. And of course we are paying for it. The good news is those YouTube videos are available for downloading since they were paid for by taxpayers. I have saved several examples in my video archives, and they will help us make some REALLY good attack ads... ;)

Simon said...

hi Steve...OK don't get too philosophical on me eh? Because the Cons may be spending millions of OUR dollars on that crappy propaganda, but when you know what other things Lord Harp has been doing, his ghastly ads are so bad they're practically laughable. The Cons take us for fools and so do too many in our MSM...

Simon said...

hi David...thanks for the link to that parody. I'm afraid it was ruined for me by the host and by the fact that it was too long. But that only means that the Great Canadian Harper Parody, like the Great Canadian Novel has yet to be realized. And I take that as an opportunity and a challenge.... ;)

David said...

Whoops! Two links were the same.

The Stephen Harper 24 Seven Parodies are here:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euCm9KG2VDw&

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTRYL7HOOt0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHbJa6-3CIw&

Mike Bray said...

Too much of our media is corporate propaganda disguised as news. When corporations can buy news stories that have to be approved by them, we no longer have a free press. Happening now.