Liberal Media Endorses Harper… Again
Chalk up another example of the supposed “Liberal” media in this country and its hidden bias in favour of… you guessed it, Stephen Harper. The Globe & Mail has released its 1-year review of the government which they endorsed last spring, and, wonder of wonders, they’ve endorsed them again. Last spring, you may recall, they endorsed Harper because they said they liked kowtowing to a “bull-headed” leader. This year, alone among the responsible major newspaper outlets (the Sun chain is not responsible journalism), they impsoed virtual self-censorship on the robocall file.
With this endorsement, though, it’s worth beginning to ask exactly what the Globe is getting out of the Harper government in exchange for their support. The professional media is a constituency like any other; if you want something from them, you have to give them something. So what is the Globe getting?
Whatever it is, it’s enough to overturn their arguably limited ability for critical thinking. This editorial says that Harper had “a good first year” and that “Stephen Harper got it right.” The basis for this assessment could have come straight out of a Conservative press release: moving the Old Age Security age limit up 2 years will be enough to solve the demographic crisis, and the finance minister is “well on his way” to eliminating the federal deficit (a deficit he created, it’s worth mentioning).
And the other side of the balance sheet? Harper hasn’t done really anything on healthcare, says the Globe — and somehow that’s a plus for them. He has shown appalling lack of leadership on environmental policy. His crime law is “foolish.”
It’s worth asking, if this was a “good year” for Canadians, what a “bad year” would have looked like.
Even by the standards of the Globe‘s editorial last year, this endorsement doesn’t seem worthwhile. Last year, they said that a new Conservative government would restore the power of Parliament. Instead, Parliament’s powers have been further eroded. They said the equalization program needed to be overhauled. It hasn’t been. They praised him for getting the HST introduced into B.C.; oops, it’s now being pulled out of B.C. They said the Conservatives were about to create a national securities regulator, but that plan is now permanently shelved.
They called for private delivery of healthcare. That, thankfully, hasn’t arisen.
Harper still has three years left to live up to the expectations set for him by the Globe & Mail, most of which, it’s worth mentioning, can’t be found anywhere in the Conservative 2011 campaign platform, and instead were simply conjured out of thin air by an editorial board so convinced of the essential rightness of a Conservative government that they have willingly set aside every basic principle of the journalistic profession. And in three years’ time, when he has continued to fail to do so, the Globe & Mail will again endorse him for Prime Minister.
Because that’s the way the left-wing media works, you see.
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saskboy
Here’s an *interesting* perspective on the AG report
http://en.princearthurherald.com/news/detail/auditor-general-s-largely-positive-report-negatively-spun-by-media/?language_id=1
I found it thanks to a certain Guelph campaign worker for a big C conservative party. The large Steyn ad on the side hints at what kind of bias is expressed by the author.
Sixth Estate
The Herald is an explicitly conservative outfit, I understand.
This person obviously has not read the Auditor-General’s report. It so happens that I have.
Bill Longstaff
I understand the Globe refers to itself as moderately conservative. That sounds about right to me although sometimes I wonder about the moderate.
Sixth Estate
To clarify: if the F-35 chapter hadn’t been included, then we’d have another, slightly smaller scandal over the fact that Transport Canada’s new safety surveillance regime is a massive passenger airliner crash just waiting to happen.
And if that was not included, we would still have the useful if not quite scandalous information that minister Gail Shea does not require the Canada Revenue Agency to chase down all corporations who choose not to file income taxes, and that Vic Toews’s “Single Window Initiative” project at the border is way behind schedule and drew up its project plan, schedule, and costing estimates only “after project development had been under way for two years.”
Kind of like the F-35 planning, you might even say.
The A-G did give good grades to the management of the Canadian Dairy Commission, the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, to which this government has appointed the current wife of Peter MacKay as a director. So I suppose if you care very deeply about dairy supply management or bureaucrats’ pensions, yes, the A-G report was positive.
sushi
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I understand the Globe refers to itself as moderately conservative.
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The G&M is all about where to go in Toronto to get the best pedicure. You do not generate profits if you scare your fashonistas with rumours of change.
It is also important to note that 18% of Canadian advertising revenue is derived from the Federal government. Would you want to run the risk of diminishing your share of that pie?
Mogs
How about this pie:
“Stephen Harper is the Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party, with a net worth of $5 million. Stephen Harper has earned his net worth through his years in politics, as the MP of Calgary, the head of the Canadian Alliance and helped to form the Conservative Party of Canada. He was born in Toronto, Canada.”
“…Stephen Harper has earned his net worth through his years in politics….” swell we paid for this are we a masochistic society?
Mogs
Sorry above quote from:
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-politicians/stephen-harper-net-worth/
Mogs
If he’s really serious I think he should donate his net worth, all $5 million so some government employees can keep their jobs. And as a further measure work for minimum wage and donate his salary as well to cutting the deficit and all Con’s should follow suit. In my sweet dreams………………
Sixth Estate
Mogs — I would be satisfied if the Cosnervative Party gave up its tax-exempt status. They are obviously a political advocacy organization… so by the government’s current rhetoric, they should not be receiving tax-deductible donations.