One of the not-so-solemn duties of the blogosphere is to hold the Main Stream Media in check when they go a little astray. I’m not sure if I should hold Andrew Coyne’s hand as I walk him back to where he was a week ago, or if I should slap it for being caught in the Conservatives’ propaganda cookie jar. Mmmm, raisins.
Here’s where Coyne was last week:
Here he was 3 weeks ago:
Now, on to a new target; starting a new news cycle so we don’t get bored worrying about how a secretive, extortive Prime Minister is running his office or his party:
https://twitter.com/acoyne/status/400084789795237888
You know you’ve taken a wrong turn, when Sun News is gloating that you’re trying to do their job as Conservative Propaganda Distributor (CoPD):
https://twitter.com/davidakin/status/400106700172054529
COPD is a fatal lung ailment, brought on typically through a sufferer’s own abuse through repeated consumption of harmful material (smoking). CoPD is killing the usefulness of political pundits, who’ve consumed so many Conservative propaganda attack ads, they’ve begun to accept them as fair ways to frame criticism of targets in those ads.
Any message from a political attack ad should be taboo for a political pundit on TV who isn’t paid by a political party. These messages have been crafted, after they’ve been study-grouped to gauge their psychological damage. To later become a distributor of such a message should be the greatest sin of journalism.
Coyne: “the reach of Justin Trudeau’s intellect keeps exceeding its grasp”
Conservative propaganda since last year: #InOverHisHead
Yeah, the attack ad was dumb. It’s also working on even a leading Canadian political commentator who recently was concerned that Trudeau’s opposition is BLACKMAILING A SENATOR.
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“On the other hand, there are gaffes of a kind that tell us much. Ted Kennedy’s inability to answer a simple, obvious question — why do you want to be president — was all too revealing of the empty sense of entitlement at the heart of his 1980 campaign. They tell us, not so much of a candidate’s thoughts, but his thought process.”
I wonder what the Prime Minister’s “clear” answers around blackmailing a Senator into taking a bribe from his Chief of Staff, can tell us about his thought process and fitness to govern? Could we perhaps focus on that a bit more until we have clearer answers?
Is criticism of Trudeau out of bounds just because he’s had an attack ad thrown at him? Not at all. His cynical or sincere promotion of the disastrous KXL pipeline is ample fodder to criticize Trudeau and the Liberal Party. Clearly they are playing chicken with the climate in order to win votes in oil country.
Obviously Coyne isn’t the only national columnist to have fallen prey to an attack ad, but I really think he stepped in it this week. Why try to change the channel on a story that involves the Prime Minister blackmailing a Senator, and his office hiding documents? The Senator has since handed over those emails to the RCMP. Don’t you sense there could be a much more important angle on national politics than what Coyne has followed his nose to? “Get your hand out of that cookie jar!” Keep sniffing around the PMO, please.
Saskboy's Abandoned Stuff 
If bribing and lying mattered to voters Chretien would have been PM for only 4 years, Clinton would not be an icon, and, McGuinty would never have been elected the 2nd time. Its about jobs and the economy and leadership. Warren Kinsella’s column today is outstanding and an insight into partisans. The right wing base is solid, the left wing base is split 3 ways. Add that to a solid economy and how or what was said in the PMO really doesnt matter, Clinton, McGuinty and Chretien are proof that leadership and jobs win elections.
Just because the economy is like a lead balloon, doesn’t mean it’s “solid”.
http://albertadiary.ca/2013/11/polishing-a-tarnished-reputation-the-national-newspaper-as-stephen-harpers-pathetic-enabler.html
Democracy doesn’t need enablers like you BillG, willing to overlook bribery and lying in the pursuit of the all mighty dollar. How was 2008 for your economic genius, by the way?
We have included your post in our ‘Around the Blog’ section at looniepolitics.com
Rant away, but, history has proven that lying and misleading mean nothing to left or right voters if they see any kind of leadership and they see a strong economy, and, the pursuit of the almighty dollar to most is a paycheque on Friday, where, in almost every part of Canada that paycheque is connected to oil in some way or another, and, young Mr Trudeau understands that, which I call leadership, and you dont.
So tell me, was this the line you were talking back when “deficit slayer” Paul Martin was presiding over the Sponsorship scandal? I’m sure it was. I’m sure you were telling your fellow conservatives that they shouldn’t be going after the Liberals on this, that the economy was strong, the government was running surpluses, and any minor matters of lying and misleading were beside the point.
Oh, no, wait, of course you weren’t, because conservatives don’t understand the concept of consistency, they just make up whatever crap serves their interests.
Coyne responds:
https://twitter.com/acoyne/status/400336136771358720
Apparently at one point he “defended” Trudeau from the CPC attack ads.
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/04/17/andrew-coyne-3/
Coyne: “I’d give my left eyeball if the Tory ads were not based on polling and focus group research”
Me: “These messages have been crafted, after they’ve been study-grouped to gauge their psychological damage.”
Perhaps he called me a “deranged partisan”, and malnourished “fool”, because he disagrees with my conclusion:
“To later become a distributor of such a message should be the greatest sin of journalism.”
Well, to be honest I do think Justin Trudeau says some pretty dumb stuff. And I mean, it’s relevant when in a much cruder way Rob Ford says dumb stuff, why shouldn’t it be relevant when Trudeau does?
The point is, why are we talking about this opinion right now? Is Justin just so awesome and important he must be talked about, or is there a more vital Canadian political scandal afoot?
Trudeau wants to be PM, the things he says and does should be scrutinized, criticized or applauded.
Last week Trudeau proved the ‘in over his head’ ad.
Harper wants to be PM too. Do you think we should scrutinize, criticize or applaud him for being “clear” on lying to us about what he knew about blackmailing a Senator?
If it took until last week for Trudeau to prove he was in over his head, what proof were the Cons using back in April?
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