Saturday, November 21, 2009

Harper is Spinning Out of Control and May Wear a Hole in the Ground

There was an excellent column by Jeffrey Simpson that I wanted to share, describing the way that Stephen Harper and his Reformers control the spin. This should be unacceptable.

Jeffrey Simpson
And the Conservative spin machine spins on …
This week it turned its attention to diplomat Richard Colvin
November 20, 2009

Stephen Harper's Conservatives just cannot help themselves. They carry on for a while sticking to a carefully controlled message, appearing reasonable and sensible. Then, the temptation for ferocious partisanship gets the better of them. This temptation is deeply ingrained in the Harper party. It shows itself in the Conservatives' propaganda attack machine, in which opposition leaders' physical mannerisms are mocked and patriotism is impugned. It is displayed with how Conservative MPs use their mailing privileges, as in the recent outrageous mail-outs playing politics in the Jewish community against the Liberals.

It is revealed almost daily in the Commons and beyond in the ad hominem partisan attacks on previous Liberal governments. But, most starkly, it appears in the verbal muggings given anyone – even civil servants – who dare get in the way of the government's massive, well-financed and all-pervasive spin machine. Two weeks ago, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan, attacked, of all institutions, the RCMP for having dared to suggest that the Canadian Firearms Program's latest statistics “highlights the importance of the program to law enforcement.” ...

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