Some days I sit at my desk, drinking my coffee, pouring over the major Canadian dailies, worried that I may not get good Megalomedia fodder.
Today was one of those days. . . then I got to the Post.
Belindagate: Day II
The Stronach coverage carried on today, given a boost by the appearance of slighted Tory Peter MacKay, turining sod on his dad’s farm in Nova Scotia. The papers seem to be upset on MacKay’s behalf, sympathetically describing his sleepless appearance and crestfallen voice.
Not one reporter summoned the balls to ask: “So Peter, has the name David Orchard crossed your mind through all of this?”
However, the Post really stepped it up a notch. On A6, along the top of the page where they usually run news briefs, the Post had two of their reporters give MacKay some advice on how to move on with his love and political lives now that Belinda has cut him loose.
That’s A6. In the “News” section. Two legitimate reporters giving relationship advice to an MP.
I really, really hope I don’t have to go into why this is mind-bogglingly stupid and amazingly inappropriate. Check it out and weep.
For the record, the Toronto Sun did something very similar, running some advice to MacKay in their news section, but at least they had the decency to have their sex and relationship columnist write it.
Oh, and the Sun is a tabloid! The Post isn’t, or at least that’s their claim.
God Save the Queen from Martin’s groping
Sigh.
Phronetic Man, you may want to skip this section, we’ve had this debate a few times and in the interest of preserving our friendship, I’d rather not have it again.
I don’t like the Queen. I don’t like the fact that our Queen is chosen by divine right of birth from a depressingly shallow gene pool based in another country.
This site, however, is not for my anti-monarchy ranting, it’s for whimsical and scathing commentary on the media.
So, instead I will focus on the Citizen’s coverage of Gropegate – also known as Paul Martin offering a steadying hand to the Queen as they walked across a rain-soaked pathway.
Why on earth does the Citizen see fit to dedicate six paragraphs, almost one third of the story, to the fact that Martin may or may not (apparently not, according to every source they cite) have violated royal protocol by touching Her Royal Highness?
The fact that lowly commoners like the Prime Minsiter of Canada can’t touch the Queen is ridiculous enough, but why must the Citizen try to create a controversy where there isn’t one?
Ipperwash. . . Oh yea, that thing
I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome the National Post and Ottawa Citizen to the Ipperwash Inquiry. Nice of you to come.
Yup, allegations that Mike Harris was a racist, Native-hating redneck come out and CanWest finally wakes up.
Let’s see how long they stick around.
Oh wow, in searching the Toronto Star website for their Ipperwash coverage (I wanted to link to it but you have to register for their site), I noticed that they have a sidebar link to their corrections right off the main page. That’s amazingly responsible. That paper impresses me more and more each day.
I’m gonna be completely honest with you. I don’t understand your David Orchard reference in the least.
David Orchard was the guy who, during the federal PC’s last (and final) leadership convention, threw his support behind Peter MacKay upon the condition that MacKay would not attempt to unite the PCs and the Alliance.
Orchard secured MacKay’s victory of the leadership. A few months later, MacKay entered into talks with the Alliance, which lead to the formation of the New Alliance, i mean, New Conservative Party.
Joe’s point, i believe, is that poor old Pete MacKay can play the betrayal game with just as much finesse as Stronach.
snort. i don’t think stronach’s little stunt is close to the same scale of backstabbing as what our man did to orchard. in fact, though i might break a finger typing it, i have to say, she did good by him. i mean if she’d TOLD him her plans, he’d be up the creek, no? he’d either have to a> tell boss and rat out girlfriend or b> keep it to himself and bugger the party for this woman. then again, this is all based on the fact i don’t actually consider her defection any kind of personal betrayal of mackay.
that’s my $.02 [cdn]
Actually, as someone who has been been paid to watch 24-hour news channels all day, I can say that David Orchard WAS brought up. It’s just that nobody asked him about it because the only person to interview him before the day of the vote itself was that one CBC reporter – who, obviously, had a story in mind.
That having been said.
The Conservatives have been approaching this like retards all week. Stronach’s defection is NOT the biggest one in Canadian history, despite what some people say. Lucien Bouchard leaving the Conservatives to eventually form the Bloc as a result of Meech Lake is, IMHO, when the long view of what the BQ has meant to the Canadian political landscape is taken, larger. And I don’t give two shits about who Belinda was knocking boots with before all this.
But here’s my take:
1. The point that was shaded over was that the talk of high principles is rather obviously bullshit. All you have to look at is how she could have achieved her stated goals (not bring down the government) and how far she diverged from the least possible way to achieve them.
She could have left the caucus, served as an independent and voted with the government. The mental douchebags who suggest she could just have voted with them from the CP caucus are retarded. Her ass would have been kicked out in half an instant.
If she wanted the protection of a party (which is natural, given how much this vote meant to the Liberals) she could have sat as a backbencher and still accomplished her stated goals.
The cabinet seat is what clearly makes this ugly. How do people – party loyallists who’ve been working for years – deal with this? Check out Dan McTeague’s biog.
Now, that having been said. I am actually glad that the vote was defeated (shock! awe!), because I was saying ALL FUCKING WEEK that they could just amend the more retarded aspects of it in committee if that’s what they wanted to do. And then if the government decided to call an election based on that, they could just say ‘Hey. We saw the finances of the nation as being threatened and took steps. If the Liberals want to buy votes with taxpayers’ money, they’re not going to do it on our watch.’ That would have been the INTELLIGENT way of handling it.
Anyhow. Most of me is glad the budget bill is passing, because most of me (even conservative me, yes) thinks most of the budget is good. I thought the corporate tax cuts were maybe a wee bit much initially – I would have preferred, given the rather fucking disturbing news on the economic state south of the border, a little more money put into debt reduction so that when the Other Shoe drops in several years (in case they elect another retard) we’re in a better position to pay for what services we do offer for many years to come.
But that’s just me.
And now I go BACK to work to watch more of this shit. Yay.