Doug Rutherford

I’ll start this off with the comment that I do think most of the media in Canada are quite good at their jobs. I’ll also admit that some of them suck, but that’s not where I’m going with this.

My biggest complaint is that most are so tentative. Let’s talk about the “H” word. I’ve heard the process named, (i.e., hypocrisy) but no one has used the word “hypocrite.” Stephen Harper is running around using the word coalition as an evil; however, he, himself, attempted to form a coalition with the NDP and the BQ in 2004. No, there is absolutely no difference between his efforts to bring down the Paul Martin government and what Stephane Dion did in 2008.

Almost no one in the nartional media has brought much of this forward. Yes, Andrew Coyne at MacLean’s has said it’s hypocrisy. Why not just say that Stephen Harper is a hypocrite. There’s this reticence to actually hold politicians to account, hold their feet to the fire. No, I’m not saying we should brand the letter “H” into their foreheads. But, maybe we should stop calling a spade an implement for excavation and just call it a god damned shovel.

(By the way, Stephen Harper isn’t the only hypocrite in this election. He prorogued parliament to save his tail after refusing to put a stimulus package in place. He later went out and brought forward a budget that either the Liberal or NDP party could have brought forward. Complaining about running up the deficit for doing what you wanted might also bring the “H” word up in polite conversation.)

Oh, the forehead branding thing. My disapproval probably doesn’t run to repeat offenders…

“Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.”
W. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar.

Well, it’s election time again. This is the 4th time in recent years we’ve done this and the last few have resulted in a minority governments. Don’t think this is a complaint. A minority probably represents the most democratic of situations, where governments must work with other parties to make government work. Think of it as a second chamber of sober second thought.

The problem inherent though, is that the last government really hasn’t been that interested in dealing with the other parties. The last budget was obviously designed to force an election, although the historic and somewhat sad situation of having a government found in contempt of parliament was the actual catalyst for non-confidence. The onus for making government work in a minority situation is directly on the prime minister, so this could have been equally named a motion of non-competence. My only assumption is that the Conservatives think they will win, so forcing an election, while at the same time calling it unnecessary, may be a good idea for them.

So, we will be innundated with polls (only one of those really counts and pollsters even say that they’re next to useless), innudated with telephone calls and innundated with doorbell ringing. Everyone of those callers will be more than willing to tell you everything you need to know.

You just might want to keep a grain of salt on hand, though, to help you deal with that.