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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26 comments:
Main stream media seems to be finally awakening after being manipulated by the great con game for so long. The Star recently published an article titled "Conservatives blind to growing desire for a regime change" even older CBC articles such as " Texas conservatives reject Harper's crime plan" are starting to resurface. When Texans start to question why Canada is moving backwards from a progressive leadership role on crime you know there is a problem with government policy. Not surprising its the same on all major issues such as climate change and foreign policy to name a few.
The question Steve is are you sane? What meds are you on? Do you have bed bugs? And are you mentally handicapped? Oh and I forgot who is sleeping in your garage at 24 Sussex now? Oh and who is inhabiting your residence in the district of Montreal now in Calgary? Is it your preacher?
I could go on and on Simon but I don't want to bore people.
Cheers,
Mogs
Superb blog post Simon!
The MSM is generally forgiving of Harper, but this shunning of them he's engaging in now may be just too much for them to deal with and will turn on Great Chicken Leader.
What really worries me, however, is that given the behaviour of Harper and his thugs, there's a very clear expectation amongst them that they're going to win this election no matter what, so I can't help but feel what we've seen from them, from the "Fair" Elections Act, to numerous omnibus bills, to C51, are just the tip of the corruption iceberg.
Is the strategy to make people so cynical and disengaged that only the Con base votes? Or is there more to come, more fraud and tampering to come in order to deliver a victory? What are they planning?
Excellent. Email it to the PMO!
So much media fuss! Don't get it..I think that, really, the reason this is happening is to obfuscate to the point that it will be 'too late' to have any debates at all, and will give the Harperoids a great excuse to blame the media for ducking and diving, meanwhile, Fearless Leader can stay in his closet and ignore the whole thing...
KFC? Kentucky Fried Cats? I knew Harper was up to something during his lonely nights in the basement of 24 Sussex.
The debates have been important, hence harper isn't interested in being exposed. He saw what happened to Prentice with Notley. He is afraid the same thing might happen with Trudeau and May. He knows Mulcair will make mincemeat out of him, but the other 2, if they get a good shot in, it will hurt him.
Steve and his Cons may try to manuplate everything they can, but if one of the parties is smart enough to hire the Irish team which go the "yes" vote out, Harper could well be a thing of the past. I do hope some of the parties are sitting in Ireland right now getting the play book.
the debate over the debate has gone on so long, its become a story/debate all on its own. it demonstrates, Stevie just doesn't know how to play with the rest of the kids on the playground. He just likes his closet.
Harper now has to battle rivals on two fronts
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/05/24/harper-now-has-to-battle-rivals-on-two-fronts-tim-harper.html
Simon, Harper is avoiding the broadcaster's debate because he can't control the message and some of his steadfast base,who would watch anything Harper, might realize he is a complete charlatan. He is also afraid of the uninformed who might wake up to his deceitful manipulations.
The control freak has finally sickened enough of the MSM to cause some long overdue blowback. It's astounding how desperate Harper is to steal this election by any means necessary. I foresee further chastising from the MSM as Harper's worn out bag of tricks reveals more of this sick, twisted madman.
It will be so sweet to see him booted from office and I bet he doesn't congratulate the winner as he will be inconsolable.
JD
Control the message and reduce voter engagement, that's fundamental to the strategy. Alienate all voters except the base, and if that doesn't work make voting difficult (see the "Fair" Elections Act).
Harper knows he cannot win in a fair fight, so he needs to bend, break, and manipulate the rules to give every possible advantage he can get.
This is my greatest fear. The CPC behaviour reeks of deceit to the point I believe they have bought and paid for this upcoming election already. The only quedtion for me is can 60-ish% turnout overcome the corruption?
Harper proving weak on governance, even weaker on courage
by Michael Harris
http://www.ipolitics.ca/2015/05/24/hiding-harper-proves-weak-on-governance-weaker-on-courage/
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.
If cue cards are not allowed at a debate, would Harper wear a wire?
WEDNESDAY, OCT 13, 2004 05:13 PM PDT
Technical expert: Bush was wired
http://www.salon.com/2004/10/14/transmitter/
hi anon....yes to be fair they are doing a little better these days. But I can never forgive them for waiting almost ten years to finally start understanding that Harper is both crazy and dangerous. And yes, when the Cons make Republicans look like progressives, you know we've got a problem Houston...
hi thwap ...thanks, but I don't think I have to mail it to the PMO. they have a huge contingent of crazed fanatics monitoring all our blogs, And a small army of trolls writing comments all over the place. In fact some of their internet activities are now bordering on criminal. But some of my friends who guard this site, are on to them, and one of these days, there is going to be an enormous scandal....
hi mizdarlin....there should be a fuss. For many Canadians who don't follow politics as closely as you and I the debates are what help them decide who they are going to vote for. So this is an assault on our democracy and should not be treated lightly....
hi Mogs...I try not to let my personal feelings about Harper influence what I say about him. Like most Canadians that foul bully disgusts me and I just want him gone...
hi Noah...thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I know a lot of progressives are feeling frustrated and angry about the way Harper is screwing with the instruments of our democracy. And I just wanted to cheer them up by pointing out that his wretched behaviour stands to hurt him more than it does our side. And yes, you're right to worry about what the Cons might do to diddle the electoral process further. Because after the robocalls and the Unfair Election Act they are clearly capable of anything. And yes I also wonder whether this debate scam is jet another way to make Canadians so sick of politics they are completely turned off and don't bother to vote. That's why they've turned parliament into a Roman circus, it is all about suppressing the vote...
hi anon....let's hope not. I pray for those poor kittens in the hands of that monster. And I can never forget how his personal chef once sued him for forcing him to bury a cat in the back yard, and then firing him when he refused. I tell you I wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near his haunted house, especially not when there's a full moon... ;)
hi e.a.f...yes once upon a time the debates were important, but now Harper sees them as a liability, and is trying to diminish their impact. As well as being a coward the man has no morals. But as I said in the post hopefully that will only do him more damage, and make him even less popular....
hi David...yes I read that article. I thought it was a bit scattered, but it is true that after attacking Trudeau for so long Harper is going to have to switch gears if Mulcair's momentum continues....
hi anon 2:26....yes I think you've summed it up well. He has grown so accustomed to controlling the message he can't stand the idea of a completely fair debate. For me that's the absolute limit, and hopefully many other Canadians will feel the same way...
hi JD...As I told another commenter, I can never forgive the MSM for taking so long to see the real nature of the man. But better late than never, and hopefully during the campaign they won't let him get away with as much as they did in previous elections. When this nightmare is finally over a lot of people in this country are going to have some explaining to do....
hi anon...I wouldn't put it past Harper to do anything to cheat or jimmy the process. Although the difference between Harper and Dubya is that Steve thinks he's smarter than everyone, and even when he was high poor old Dubya could never believe that... ;)
We all know how much Harpo loves answering questions. The only questions he would allow in a debate are softball questions he would have approved in advance.
http://www.shd.ca/question_periods
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