Friday, July 30, 2010

Harper's Incredible Shrinking Image

Lawrence Martin had a great column yesterday about Harper and his shrinking tent.

Martin is also laying much of the blame on Guy Giorno, a man more power hungry than Harper himself. However, he is forgetting that there was a reason for Harper alienating his supporters and choosing a master of image politics.

His image was tarnished and he knew it.

For five years Giorno made Mike Harris look like a premier by choreographing his every move, until Harris may have just got tired of it all and quit.

Because underneath the image presented to Ontarians through photo-ops and scripted press releases, was a government in trouble. Bad decision after bad decision was wearing them down.

But while Martin may believe that Stephen Harper is being given bad advice, he forgets how much Stephen Harper loves this stuff. He feeds off it. Giorno has made him a king.


They used to call Giorno Rasputin, but I think a more apt name would be Dr. Frankenstein, because the only thing Giorno creates is monsters.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks again for another insightful and well crafted article on governmental abuse and backroom shenanigans. Layton seems to like to go to the oil soaked well again and again. I no longer have any faith in his supposed 'principled' stance on anything. Why he wants to to 'chat' with Harpo about the census debacle is beyond me.

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  2. Emily you have lately been endorsing the Liberals and Iggy. What do you make of them passing on several opportunities to really put Harper's feet to the fire? When they had him on the ropes on the redacted document scandal, they caved in. I really felt let down on that one. When they could have voted against the big budget bill in the Senate, they stayed away from the vote. What impression does this give ? I mean you get people worked up in support of all this protest and then you walk away ? What gives ? . . . not that I won't hold my nose and vote ABC, but I sure wish there was a new fresh party in the centre.

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  3. I decided that it wasn't good enough to simply oppose Harper but I had to promote something. Therefore, I am promoting the Liberals, because despite the media spin, I think that Michael Ignatieff will make a good prime minister.

    As to taking down Harper, remember what happened when he said he was no longer going to prop him up? The meida went nuts, Haper played it as a power grab, and Ignatieff dropped in the polls.

    He now says that he has to wait for the right time and I think that will be in the fall.

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