Stephen Harper and the Great Con Debate Fiasco

Whatever Stephen Harper and his grotesque Con regime say about the way they have blown up the political leader debates. Or the stinking fish they are trying to sell us.

Nothing can change the fact that a fish is a fish.The process is now a fiasco. It is yet another assault on our electoral process.

And yet another attempt by Harper and his thuggish gang to bend or manipulate the rules. 

The longer and more convoluted the so-called debate over debates gets in advance of this fall’s federal election, the clearer it becomes that the Conservative party’s goal is simply to manipulate the rules in its favour.

If the Tories succeed it will be a profound disservice to our electoral process and a setback for anyone who believes in encouraging more Canadians to engage with the national political discussion.

It couldn't be more obvious, or shameless, or more disgusting.

That empty chair at the consortium debates, as Michael Harris points out, couldn't be more symbolic.

Empty is a word devoid of cheer. Empty is an adjective of despair. Empty means all options are closed. And that is the true meaning of Harper’s decision to boycott the traditional television debates. He has finally delivered the perfect metaphor for his notion of accountability and leadership: an empty chair.

Or more cowardly...



Greg Perry/Toronto Star

Harper might be able to spin the 2015 election process into a vast electronic cattle-drive. That, after all, is what he has done with governance in Canada. But avoiding the huge audiences of the TV debates being staged by Canada’s major broadcasters can also be viewed as chickening out on the rumble. 

At least Patrick Brazeau climbed into the ring with Justin Trudeau. Perhaps Harper has figured out what Brazeau never did – that underestimating your opponent can make you look weak. At the same time, hiding away from the electorate is no place to be for a man who keeps telling everyone he’s a leader. Then again, Harper is no stranger to hiding from things.

And from what I'm hearing and seeing, a lot of Canadians feel the same way. Harper is hoping they don't care, and is going for some political advantage, like a trout goes for a fly.

Or a spider does...



But all Canadians see is the same old monstrous leader trying to fiddle or diddle our democracy again.

For as these comments from Star readers suggest, they know him too well.

Is there even the tiniest possibility, in this universe, in this dimension, that the Canadian Conservatives would attempt to win an election fair and square, on a level playing field, without attempting to bend the rules, break a few laws along the way, subvert democracy?

And don't trust him as far as they can spit.

We will refer to those debates as The Harper Debates, will we? Unreal. I smell a rat and so do most people.

So it will be relatively easy to attack his motives, and portray him as a crazy puppet, a grubby rat.

Or a cowardly chicken...



Or all of the above. Which will probably do him more damage than any debate ever could.

All hail Great Chicken Leader, who thought he was a political genius.

But sadly for him wasn't.

He crossed the line or the road once too often.

And ended up in the wrong place...



At the wrong time.

But in the position he deserved...



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