PPG v. PMO…Everyone’s a Winner
The Parliamentary Press Gallery, or some of them, walked out of a Harper press conference the other day to protest the fact that Harper was unwilling to ask questions to reporters on a list prepared by the PPG. The Zerb is all over this.
What I find interesting is that the lefty bloggers seem intent on making the argument that Harper’s media strategy = Bush’s media strategy. What is sad is just how clearly this shows the rock solid ignorance of the left.
A Canadian Prime Minister faces the House of Commons where is is obligated to answer the questions elected MPs put to him. An American President is under no such obligation.
The effect of the differing systems is apparently lost on the lefty commentators in their rush to paint Harper as a Bush mini-me. If the President chooses not to talk to the press there is literally no way that his policies can be questioned in a public manner. A Canadian PM does not enjoy this luxury. (Martin tried to arrogate it to himself during the May confidence crisis by simply not showing up in the House…but it really didn’t work and simply underscored the fact that the poor man was now afraid of the House. His defeat was inevidable from that point.)
Sensibly, Harper has announced he is going to bypass the PPG and go direct to local media. He has a perfect right to do this given the fact that the PPG has apparently decided to stop reporting the news until the PMO plays by the PPG’s rules rather than organizing its own press conferences.
Now, if I was a managing editor of a newspaper or the news editor of a tv network, I might wonder why I was keeping people on staff who refuse to cover the news and who the principle newsmaker has said he has had enough of.
May 26th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
Well, jeez, it’s not like Harper has given anyone the finger yet. I don’t think he’s told the press to go Fuddle Duddle themselves yet, either. Not that it would hurt him—the last PM who engaged in that sort of behaviour was honored by lying in state after he shuffled off this mortal coil.
May 27th, 2006 at 7:04 am
Pardon me Jay.. For a minute there I thought I was on a Blogging Tory site.. then I realized I really was on your site.
I’m not going to get into arguing the differing opinionns we have on the “progressive” side of the ledger with your stance. Personally, I dont think this is going to help Harper at all.. so I hope he keeps this childish charade up.
My question is when did you start drinking the Tory Kool-Aid?
May 27th, 2006 at 7:27 am
By the way Jay.. I see from one of our progressive folks that Canadian Press is reporting that Vic Toews insisted that all questions be pre-screened in a “town hall” format they were going to be doing on questions about some legislation to do with crime.
Guess who’s famous down south for doing that? Must be another big coincidence eh?
May 27th, 2006 at 9:15 am
Nice to see you dropping by Scott. You know it is possible to reach these conclusions independently of the Tory Party. It’s well worth going over to the Zerb’s to see the fireworks.
And I have thought Vic Toews was a goof pretty much from the go and it is entirely typical of the man that he’d look to screen questions.