After reading these post mortems by Chantal Hebert, Don Martin, Greg Weston, one can only conclude that Susan Delacourt wrote the outline for her report on the Liberal leadership debate a couple of days before the event, then filled in the blanks after calling someone who was there. Someone like a Liberal organizer.
Not that it matters.
Though, this bit of "drive-by journalism" by Ms. Delacourt merits an explanation;
"Harper's hard-right governing style is also galvanizing the Liberals."
What precisely does she mean by "hard-right"? That's her descriptor, not that of a political rival. One trusts she can provide examples, because I certainly can't think of any.
If Harper's governance is representative of the political hard-right, then how does she explain the continued existence of the Canada Health Act? Provincial equalization payments? Spending on foreign aid? Federal child care payments? The absence of major income tax reforms to reduce the punitive effects on high income earners?
Or is "hard-right" just Star-speak for "unlikely to appoint journalists to the Senate"?
The funny thing is: Weston, Martin and Hebert all named Harper as the winner or the debate!!
And if they were truly hard right, the CBC would be toast, also the failed gun registry!
""Or is "hard-right" just Star-speak for "unlikely to appoint journalists to the Senate"?""
Thanks for that chuckle!
If it was "Hard Right" there'd be more liberals going to jail!
Wow, and which debate was Susan at? While I wasn't there myself and can't comment directly, the fact that three other journalists that were there differ so much is interesting. Ms Delacourt has the spin turned up to say the least. I almost expect her to throw her hat into the electoral ring herself.
All of this makes you wonder how the poor souls that only read one paper or listen to one news source like CBC, can make an informed opinion on anything. Thank G*d for the internet. and thank you too al gore (humour, eh)
I watched most of the debate. Dion, standing on past Liberal success, like the environment - apparently, they created policy that the Conservatives should have implemented but didn't. Yet, here he was taking credit for the environment as if there was something to take credit for.
Meanwhile greenhouse gas emissions up 25% over the duration of the Liberals tenure.
The rest was an equal measure of posturing, over the top emotion, arrogance, and Harper bashing.
I think Harper was the most mentioned name in the entire debate. Sort of reminds me of Henry Ford's famous maxim.
Great post Kate. Harper has increased spending on social programs and introduced the brand new Childcare plan, hardly "hard-right" stuff. Abortion is still unregulated, immigration is higher than under Martin, Harper appointed a progressive to the Supreme Court, and gay marriage is still legal. Compared to the slash n' hack job FinMin Martin did back in '95 - when he gutted social spending - Harper is a flat-out socialist, though by any reasonable measure he is, according to the numbers, a centrist.
Ms. Delcourt's article is so factually inaccurate she should be fired immediately.
Susan Delacourt's husband used to be a wheel in Paul Martin's PMO, so I guess Harper made him redundant.
"The absence of major income tax reforms to reduce the punitive effects on high income earners?"
The only thing I'd add to this exceptional post is that the punitive effect of taxes tends to kick in around the $28,000 level, well below what can reasonably be considered high income. A middle class tax cut for working people should be THE next election issue.
Oh, and Susan Delacourt is rumoured to have named her dog after Paul Martin's mom.
Hard Right means not sleeping with Tie Domi.
Even Warran Kinsella seemed very unimpressed by the whole thing.
Well, I still think it will be hard for Rae to win, especially when Kennedy and Dion seem to be coming out against him.
Iggy's such a waste... frankly I'm having a real hard time being "awed" by his academic record, and his political record is almost non-existant...
Well, good on the Liberals if Iggy or Rae is where they want to go. We'll kick their ass' in the next election regardless.
"Hard right"?
Delacourt's lost it.
She sounds like a moonbat troll on a blog, doesn't she?
Amateur leftist spinning galore!
Proves what I say about MSMers. Bunch of overpaid glorified bloggers and commentors wallowing in their slimy delusions of grandeur... who needs 'em?
Things are going to get fun again... the MSM will dig itself in deeper along with the Liebrano$$$!
Hard right? WTF??? If anything, the new government is centrist...
"Hard Right" as in follows through on election promises.
"Hard Right" as in sticks to his principles regardless of what public opinion seems to be.
"Hard Right" as in doing what he feels is in Canada's best interests, not his own.
Never thought I would see a defence of moderate conservatism, one would almost call it progressive conservatism :-> on this board. (sorry I couldnt resist)
Hard right compared to what the looney left, which definitely exists.
I am still amazed that there are no conflict of interest guidleines for journalists, i.e. who their spouses are, who they work for, who they are dating. If they were in politics then there would be a hue and cry, but journalists are "professionals" (hah!) and therefore they have professional ethics and can keep all of this seperate and be nice and objective.
Susan is definitely out to lunch on that one. Harper's government is not terribly hard right. They are conservative and focussed.....unlike Mr Dithers....what a change.
I assume she was writing an opinion piece.
How about? - "Susan Delacourt, Liberal lickspittle journalist."
The phrase, "hard right" is so utterly meaningless that Delacourt might as well have said "hard on right"... (pardon the underlying vulgarity, but Delacourt's unbecoming conduct is hardly much more acceptable in polite society!)
How come the MSM never slurred the Liberal gov't as "hard left"? Certainly it'd be far more apt!
The Harper gov't is actually quite moderate. Why would Delacourt think otherwise? What an idiot!
Delacourt is just upset she lost her shot at a senate seat.
This is all part of the Star’s vaunted “Atkinson Principles,” which demand loopy left-wing thought regardless of reality.
TorStar also owns the Harlequin Romance line; fiction is what they do.
Her brother was Volpe's Director of Comms and now works for BC MP Sukh Dhaliwal.
I didn't watch the Liberal love in on CPC yesterday...there was a discovery chanel documentary on about the green tree frogs of Borneo...riviting viewing by comparison.
I thought you people were more perceptive than this! Don't you see Ms. Delacourt's article was written, tongue firmly planted in cheek. (ROTFLMAO)
Used to work at the Star but had to quit because I couldn't stomach riding the elevators with the academic unwashed that thought they were reporters and columnists.
Green Tree Frogs in Borneo or Lieberal wanna bees?? No contest there.
How to explain the existence of the Canada Health Act, equalization, etc...A minority government.
Mississauga Matt, when you say "Atkinson Principles", do you mean Rowan Atkinson? You know, the guy who plays Mr. Bean?
I think that'd be logical!
Delecourt knows that the "Harper Scary" is no longer feasable so now the new word for the day is "Hardright" The left believe that word association is how to win back power.
Re: "I didn't watch the Liberal love in on CPC yesterday...there was a discovery chanel documentary on about the green tree frogs of Borneo...riviting viewing by comparison."
...and let me guess....
..the tree frogs were a lot less slimey..
:))
" What precisely does she mean by "hard-right"? ""
to a socialist "hard right" is anything that smacks of CFS - "Common Frikkin Sense", good judgement and fairness.
All the things that socialists and their liberal bedmates hate.
when you live in lefty trudopian for this long, even Bob Rae can pretend he is right. and to the lefty journalists, Iggy is right, Steve is hard right.
ask Bob Rae, "think left, act left, none left"
Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty speaking today in Ottawa to the Canadian federation of chartered accountants has announced that Canadian's are taxed too much.
Do ya think
Thanks to 12yrs of liberal feel good programs the money had to come from somewhere.
John williamson of taxpayers federation said if there is a budget surplus then that means we are overtaxed
Do ya think
Thanks to 12yrs of corruption the money had to come from somewhere.
And Delecourt thinks Harper is to far right?
WLMR: Riveting viewing, or "ribbit"-ing?
On topic though, just wait until Harper institutes actual right of centre policies. THEN we'll see the myopic MSM in a tizzy about their lost entitlements (senate seats, inside information, cash in brown envelopes).
The Conservative Party's current policies are anything but hard-right. They are moderate at their most right-wing.
Heard Susan Delacourt on Adler last week smugly proclaiming that the Conservatives' dropping the GST by 1% has not resulted in "all the riches that were promised".....HUH??????
The woman is a total twit!
"I thought you people were more perceptive than this! Don't you see Ms. Delacourt's article was written, tongue firmly planted in cheek. (ROTFLMAO)"
Posted by: Antenor at October 16, 2006 03:26 PM
If that were true then Ms. delaCourt has to be the most misunderstood satirist in the country, or perhaps even in the world.
Didn't she appear regularly as a spokesperson for someone during the election. And where is that other Susan that was always on Newman.
Is Christina Lewand still with cbc, haven't seen her for weeks. Imagine, Newman talking about the cdn wheat board today. Bet he had to google it first to find out what it was. Didn't see it all as our cable blacked out cbc, other channels working fine. Is there a message there.
It's obvious that none of the candidates is qualified to carry Stephen Harper's proverbial jockstrap. Avowedly Liberal commenters like Hebert seem resigned/disappointed about what went on, and even Keith Boag acts like he's off-the-hook, showing a sort of "oh well, what the hell can I do about it?" attitude.
The debate itself is what matters, I guess, but I found the GTA audience's seat-bouncing excitement at the possibility that the old empire will rise again sort of, um, disgusting in its own right. Apparently, if enough people pretend, you're not pretending anymore.
Susan Delacourt's promo-piece showed what a pretender she is: "Leadership rivals no longer resigned to opposition roles". Hmm, apparently the candidates are on a fine roll, already looking past the leadership vote and towards winning the next election. "It was Dion who put it most bluntly: 'Liberals, we need to get back into power as soon as possible'."
Why yes you do. It's as palpable now as when it wafted fulsomely around Ottawa for years, rendering our government corrupt, self-serving and odious. That craven need, to saddle up the nation for your own benefit, status and ego continues to obviate for Liberals other considerations like, oh, say, integrity or good government. It's what brought the Liberals down in the first place, and it's displayed also in the "reporting" of Ms. Delacourt, who has an obvious need to return her hubby to "in" status, but no apparent need to be a real journalist.
Delacourt's a shill for the Liberals. ALL her articles are biased in their favour (and against the Conservatives). There will always be partisan hacks like her. I fault the Star for running her stories on the front page as if they were news, instead of on the Opinion page where they belong.
If Harper's governance is representative of the political hard-right, then how does she explain the continued existence of the Canada Health Act? Provincial equalization payments? Spending on foreign aid? Federal child care payments? The absence of major income tax reforms to reduce the punitive effects on high income earners
harper won't show his true stripes unless he wins a majority, which looks less likely all the time.
in the meantime, people like you have to make due with cheapshot spending cuts aimed at womens groups and literacy programs to get the warm fuzzies provided by conservative governance.
Jeff..Conspiracy?
Sure that's it! Just one big (Hard) Rightwing Conspiracy. And Susan Delacourt is a briliant journalist digging deep to get at the truth.
Perhaps Jeff is a "Phantom" Lieberal. Jake
Jeez Jeff and SOW isn't about warm fuzzies?
Syncro
Lawand is no longer listed in the CBC internal directory, though I do not know the specifics.
Meanwhile, to remind one of what the soft left achieves, a very good post by Damian Penny:
"Flashback"
www.damianpenny.com/archived/007874.html
Pity that PM Harper is not willing to support the former ambassador to the US. But, perhaps, with a majority...
/www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=7fff31cb-16fc-4d5f-b67f-d3add1a4b3f9&k=23004
Mark
Ottawa
I don't have time to read all the responses here so if this is a repeat, please accept my apologies.
It seems there's been something of a shakeup at the Red Star.
Publisher? OUTTA HERE!
Editor-in Chief? OUTTA HERE!
Not that I think it will suddenly become a bastion of honesty in journalism.....
Why do So-called journalists like Delacourt want to scuttle their reputations to gain favour with the Liberals?
We can put her on the growing list of media fabricators and ignore her.
We can't let them take us for fools any longer.
They must all still be stunned by the defeat of 'their" Party, and frustrated at how well Harper is performing.Many are intertwined with Liberals through family and spouses jobs they're desperate to get them back in power. Desperate people do desperate things. We can expect more .
""They must all still be stunned by the defeat of 'their" Party,""
Ha! Stunned for sure!
If what Rob R is claiming is true I wonder if that odd noise I just heard was Ms. Delacourt's sphincter puckering up so tight you could cut washers off it?
Syncro
Do New Brooms Sweep Clean??
""Jagoda Pike, a veteran Toronto Star executive and former publisher of the Hamilton Spectator, has been appointed publisher of the Toronto Star. Fred Kuntz, group publisher of the Torstar-owned Grand River Valley Newspapers, has been appointed editor-in-chief of the Star.""
These two may be just some old unused brooms from the closet!
Aahh hell....I guess that was just the front gate swinging in the wind....damn kids.
Syncro
What most of these bozos in the MSM don't realize is that the whole Canadian political spectrum has shifted.
The Conservatives of today are roughly where the Lester Pearson Liberals were 30 or so years ago. The Liberals of today are WAAAAY left of where they used to be and the NDP...well, 'nuff said.
The Canadian Conservative party is just a shade right of the American Democrats for Gawd Sake!
So Susan D calling Harper 'Hard Right' is absolutely laughable.
I see that Ashley McIssac has thrown his support behind Volpe.
looks like nothing going right on Volpes campaign.
first your own party urinates on you in print then Ashley might do it in fact.