One thing is clear – the Globe and Mail cannot stand having Mr. Harper and the Conservatives in power. The newspaper obviously longs for the day when the Liberals, Canada’s supposedly “natural governing party”, will repossess the mantle and Crown of government to set Canada back on the right – that is, the left-track again. The newspaper is doing all it can to make this happen.
This is proving to be tough sledding for the Globe & Mail, however, because of the confusing flip flops by Liberal leader, Stéphane Dion. Mr. Dion is trying to move his party to the left - presumably to out-maneuver the NDP and Green parties. This has resulted, however, in the three major left-wing parties falling all over one another in a confused heap on the left, making it difficult to discern where each of the parties stands on which policy. Also, Mr. Dion is experiencing dissention within his own caucus over Canadian troops in Afghanistan, the renewal of some provisions to the Terrorist Act, and the environment. Further, Mr. Dion has not soared in the public’s estimation because of his flip flops on issues earning him the moniker of “Flipper”.
Despite this, the Globe & Mail is still striving to re-live the giddy days it experienced during the June 2004 election when it managed to portray Mr. Harper as “scary” by resurrecting an old interview by Conservative MP Bob Merrifield (Yellowhead), who had put forward the not unreasonable notion that women should have counseling before they undergo an abortion. The Globe & Mail built this old news into new news by repeating the story and all derivatives thereof, day after day during the 2004 election – managing to convey an image of Mr. Harper and his party as being scary, right-wing extremists. Pro-abortion organizations, right on cue, did their bit to assist the Globe & Mail by holding press conferences, etc. about how Mr. Harper will surely set back the clock for women on abortion. Never mind that Mr. Harper said no such thing – but there you have it – spin and fantasy over fact is the Globe & Mail’s apparent delight in order to manipulate the outcome of the election.
To resume its glory days and pursue its objective of undermining the credibility of the Conservatives, the Globe & Mail has been trying very hard to build a case against Mr. Harper. It first tried, in blaring headlines, to show that Mr. Harper had no interest in the environment and that he was ignoring the Kyoto Treaty on the environment that Canada had ratified. Unfortunately, this avenue faltered for the Globe & Mail when Mr. Harper piously put on a mantle of green and expressed his heart-felt concerns about the environment, and put his “bull dog” Minister John Baird in charge of the environment portfolio. Also, Mr. Harper pointed out that Stéphane Dion, when he was the Liberal Minister of the Environment, had achieved - well nothing – to improve the environment or enforce the Kyoto Treaty. It did not help either that Mr. Dion had previously admitted to the press that the Kyoto objectives were not achievable. In short, Mr. Harper expressed his deep sorrow over the state of the environment and that he, at least, was willing to do something about it (unlike the Liberals).
So, the environment issue did not do the trick of undermining the Conservatives.
The Globe & Mail then had to turn to another “terrifying” tale about the Conservatives – this time that the Conservatives were actively placing some conservatives as well as police representatives on the committees that advise the Prime Minister on judicial appointments. The advisory committees, called Judicial Advisory Committees (JAC), had previously been filled to the brim with Liberal appointees. The Globe & Mail’s shocking news was picked up by several other newspapers but the story did not have “legs” in view of the fact that the Liberals were even more partisan in their selections to the JAC’s and in their judicial appointments than the Conservatives.
The Globe and Mail was quickly inundated with letters and articles pointing out its hypocrisy: why did it not express concerns about the Liberal government’s bias in its appointments to the bench when it was in power? The Globe & Mail was soon spinning in deep waters, and therefore began a tactical retreat on the Conservatives’ judicial appointments story.
At the time of this writing, the Globe & Mail is still looking around for further inspiration for a new avenue to attack the Conservatives. Meanwhile, while we wait for its next great exposé on the Conservatives, the Globe & Mail should be reminded that its role is to report the news, not to make it. The newspaper’s credibility is at rock bottom with its clumsy maneuvering. |
