With Duffy gone, what political TV will I be able to watch without my blood pressure rising precipitously?

Help!

It's hilarious that the Liberals and the NDP depend on the ignorance of their own supporters for their smear campaigns to work. Anyone with half a brain knows it is normal for the PM to appoint Senators. Most people on the left do not want an elected Senate, the commies want to abolish the Senate; so, by all rights they should approve of the appointments since that is their preferred method. It is too bad that Harper can not directly ask the opposition if they would prefer Senate elections because they seem to be arguing both sides.

More jouranalists receiving reward. I like Duffy but I cannot stand this practice, whether it is done by Cons or Libs.

Honestly, no journalist should ever accept an appointment like this from a government. But that of course assumes journalism is a profession, which it isnt.

Did Lew McKenzie make it in, he and Dallaire can wrestle it out in the Senate...of course I think McKenzie makes a more credible GG than does Mme Jean and could actually fulfill the role as Commander in Chief...but while the role is cermonial, Greeter General, then a appointing telegenic journalists works fine until they actually have to do something.

So, regarding Duffy. Will we now see journalists getting all upset now, when they didnt over Jim Munson and Mme Jean.

I wonder if Craig Oliver is all upset now.

The full list is up over at stephen tayor's site, including the offical release from the PMO.

More jouranalists receiving reward. I like Duffy but I cannot stand this practice, whether it is done by Cons or Libs.

Ditto. I laughed inside when paranoid Libs kept saying Duffy was angling for a Senate appointment. Geez, I hate it when they're right. And I hate it more when the principles I believe in get stomped by the party I now kinda, sorta believe in.

The only thing Pamela Wallin and I have is that we are both cancer survivors, because we differ in gender and I have certainly never considered Pamela a conservative.
And as far as Duffy goes, geez he will be kissing Liberal senators asses in the senate.
If Harper had any conservative balls still attached to his body he would have at least named kate McMillan as a Saskatechewan to a senate seat.
And Happy Hnaukkah to Kate's Jewish visitors!

Harper had a caveat that these guys would step aside or run for election. did he keep it?

would the press report it.

It'd be nice to work for The Duff. ;)

Rat, power corrupts. That's why reducing the power and scope of government is a good thing and making it bigger is a bad thing.

I vote CPC because they are making bigger at a slower rate, not because I believe they are paragons of virtue. If we watch them really close and kick them when they stray, we may be able to de-fund and disempower government in this country to the point where it isn't actively dangerous to us.

Harper being able to sling around billions and billions of dollars to broken companies, appoint buddies to nice cushy Senate jobs, that's dangerous. But the Liberal's green shaft, that would be frickin' suicide.

Just thinking of the consternation of Mansbridge and Oliver makes me smile--very broadly.

Schadenfreude, for sure: it couldn't involve a more deserving twosome!

Hey Rat, do your principles include having members of the Bloc Quebecois in the Senate?

Just like the "CPC was shut out of Canada's three biggest cities" lie the media was pushing, I am getting sick of this "stacking the senate" line.

What stack? Is Harper going to appoint more than there are vacancies? No? THEN THERE'S NO STACK.

Section 26 of the Constitution Act allows for a stack - that's it. I can't describe how much I detest allowing the left to purloin legitimate words in order to twist them in their media to advance their biased agenda.

Does anyone know if the people who were "senators in waiting" after being voted for in provincial elections were appointed?

I am happy to see the Duff get a senate seat. I will miss MDL the only thing I've watched on TV other than Fox. I was also hoping for Don Cherry who would have brought lots of life to the senate. Maybe next time.

Tis hard to reform the Senate when there appears to be no appetite for democracy from the provincial governments. Although B.C. has senate election on the books they have never acted upon it. The senate setup as is, is quite unfair to the West, but on the whole is idiotic at best. At least Pamela Wallin has agreed to step down and run in a senate election in Sask. as soon as it happens. Regretably this is the best that can be done now. Craig Oliver and Don Martin must be positively apoplectic over this turn of events.

Imagine my surprise to learn that the US Senate is not always filled by election but by appointment as well. As usual, Mark Steyn hits it right on the nose:

"Gov. Paterson is said to be considering appointing Princess Caroline of Kennedy to Hillary Clinton's vacant Senate seat. After two and a third centuries of republican experiment, America has finally worked its way back to the House of Lords."

Including Richard Neufeld, BC MLA and Minister of Energy, from the northern BC Peace region...

Excellent! Excellent!

Appointing journalists into the government should be illegal. It promotes bias. We have enough of that already.

I cant get over the amount of Disrespectful comments towards Duffy on the G&M's comment board re: these appt's
Some are just plain disgusting ref: Duffy's weight

Well, I think the Senate is waste of taxpayers' money.

However, were I appointed to it, I'd have to take time for some reflection ("parliamentary tradition," "need to balance the Commons," "sober second opinion of the Upper Chamber" etc., etc.).

$134,000 per annum, eh? You don't say.

I don't like unelected government figures who make laws that affect us. Period.

With that said, I appreciate what pundit Norman Spector said this morning (paraphrasing) :

What was Harper to do? If he appointed no one then the Liberals would just fill it with their own folks when they achieved power.

Also, there must be a Senate or else no laws can get passed in Canada.

Finally, the Senate can never get removed because it requires a Constitutional Amendment and we know for all intents & purposes that this will forever be a Practical Impossibility. Thanks, Mr. Trudeau.

Duff what a great pick could not happen to a better Canadian in my opinion.

I am getting sick of this "stacking the senate" line.

besides, what in hell would you call what the coalition was going to do, particularly their intent to give that repulsive, loudmouthed slob May a senate seat?

Would have liked to see Mario Dumont in the Senate from the Action Democratique Party.

I had to laugh at the pick of Michel Rivard - maybe for two seconds the singer Michel Rivard of Beau Dommage fame and the Culture in Peril YouTube video that sank the Conservatives in the Quebec election thought he was picked!

One more nail in the coffin for the MSM, as this is one more proof that journalists are biased and refuse to admit it. Kudos for Ms. Wallin for being able to feed out of both ends of the patronage trough in one lifetime!

In all of the reporting they neglect to mention the total number of seats in the Senate and the total number who call themselves something other than conservative, like Liberal!

There are currently 58 members called Liberal, 35 called CPC, 4 Ind, 3 Progressive Conservative (heh), 1 Ind NDP (lol) and Cools who shows no affiliation.

Just out of curiosity I looked up the Martin appointments and noticed that he appointed 16 members in 2005. While not 100% partisan he appointed 11 Lib, 3 CPC, 1 PC and the lone NDPer. Of course he had the ability to be magnanimous since the Liberals held, and continue to hold, the majority in the upper chamber for some years to come.

So the PM appoints people to these seats knowing full well that had he not done so they would be filled by someone else not quite as friendly to the CPC.

Here is an idea, for all the proportional representative people out there, how about using the Upper Chamber for PR and leave the Lower Chamber the way it is. Seats in the Senate would be allotted based on percent of votes and appointed by the leader of the party. A minimum of 2% of popular vote would be required to earn a seat and there would be no need to worry about allotment based on region... of course the provinces would have to approve the change and that would never happen, but it is an idea.

Also conspicuously absent in the snarly CP report is mention of the fact that PMSH has tried to introduce Senate reform, passed in the House but...stalled in the Senate.

Duffy needed to retire anyway.

Hey Rat, do your principles include having members of the Bloc Quebecois in the Senate?

No, my principles include appointing people who, you know, deserve it, have "earned" it in the way someone can earn a gift like that, and they don't include paying off friendly journalists, bagmen, and failed politicians. Jeez! Another journalist? It's nothing but payoff and that's just plain wrong.

congrads to mike Duffy..
I also would have like to seen Don Cherry in the senate. and how about rex murphy. the lone cbc radioo Conservative man. he is fair and Balanced.

minuteman at December 22, 2008 1:43 PM,

I prefer the term Senator-elect; after all, that's what they are. :)

Bert Brown now sits in the Senate with Betty Unger and Link Byfield next in line. Neither was appointed today because they were no Alberta vacancies.

My guess is that Harper is appointing journalists to the senate as a carrot to other journalists to be more fair. Journalists now know that they have pork in their future by being a conservative suck up and not just by being a liberal suck up.

While all the commentators here live in the fairy tale land of Small Dead Animals, Harper lives in the real world of Canadian politics. He has to deal with the world as it is and not as place where whatever some Conservative ideologue wants gets done. Changing Canada back to a Conservative country is a long slow process that will be fought tooth and nail by media, academia, unions, public sector, culture industry, etc. If you want a conservative country roll up your sleeves and start working towards it - don't just whine every time Harper isn't 100% ideologically pure. Besides who are you going to replace him with?

Rat,

I can understand your distaste for appointing bagmen, but really, what's so horrible about Duffy? He's been covering politics for years, so he knows the issues, he knows how things work in Ottawa - and I have yet to work in any organization where there isn't an "official" way to get things done, and then there's the real way - and he's not a raving loony like Oliver. Does have a bit of a thin skin, though; I remember him suing Frank magazine for calling him "The Puffster".

As for Wallin, she's the senior adviser on US-Canada relations to the Council of the Americas in New York, and was Consul-General there for 4 years. Presumably she knows many of the movers and shakers in American politics and business, and could provide an informed perspective on bilateral issues. And, like Duffy, she probably has a very good idea of how Ottawa works.

I don't like appointed Senators either, but you can't say that's Harper's fault. He followed through on his promise, and the Liberals blocked it. I would like to know if Harper was able to extract a promise to resign from all of the new Senators if elections are brought in, however.

It's no wonder us Canadians are taken so lightly by Americans. The Puffster and Over-the-Hill Greene named to the Senate. What a disgrace. One has an out of control eating problem and the other has done little of note since the sixties.

The $83K or so after tax money wouldn't even keep my plane in the air and my Porsche on the road.

Nothing against the duffster but I am also of the opinion that journalists should not be in the running for any government appointment. The conflict of interest in trying to do fair and balanced reporting and trying to curry favour for your next career is too great.

I love the "stacked" reporting comments even though the Lieberals still have a majority in the Upper house. Poor buggers will now have to show up all the time just in case there is a vote on anything. Bummer, eh.

Remember the Senator who was cashing her daughter's pogie cheques and sending her the money in California? What ever happened to that?

Remember the Senator ......

What about the Liberal Senator that spent more time at his Villa in Mexico then his Senate seat.

question. did he appoint the people who were elected?

I'm crushed ... completely crushed.

Robert (conservative knuckle draggers)Fife didn't get an appointment.

I am rather disappointed with most of the senate picks.

Mike Duffy has never appeared to me to be fair and balanced on his show. He has a decided left wing tilt in my opinion, just like his MSM colleagues.

And I agree with the other posters here who question the continual selection of members of the MSM.

What the hell have any of them ever contributed to Canada?

Collectively, they have done more to confuse Canadians and misrepresent the actual state of affairs than any other group in our history.

My question as well old white guy, he sure as hell had better have or he just shot his own foot off.

Is there NO principle "Conservatives" won't
abandon at the drop of a hat?
(It's a rhetorical question, no need to answer. But let me guess.
That diabolical coalition made me do it, along with the evil msm.

"Opposition parties questioned whether Harper has the political legitimacy for a patronage spree, having averted the defeat of his minority government only by suspending Parliament until the new year.

They also questioned the timing of the announcement - given the dire state of the economy and public finances. They said filling those 18 seats will cost taxpayers $6 million a year.

"Stephen Harper keeps telling Canadians to tighten their belts," said the NDP's David Christopherson."

6 million per year? Isn't that about the amount of the subsidy the LPC gets from the taxpayers?

http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&id=2363

The conditions are posted at the website.

Cheers and cheerup, you know, rock and a hard place....

Duffy gets TWO seats, though, right...?

/mean

So Harper says Dion is out to "destroy Canada" by working with the Bloc in Parliament just like Harper did, but then he goes and appoints a separatist into the senate? A guy who actually did work hard in Parizeau and Bouchard's governments to actually "destroy Canada" in the referendum and he is rewarded with a plum job.

So I ask readers here: which is Harper's biggest flip flop of the day:

1. appointing separatists to the senate?

2. appointing unelected senators when he promised he would never do so?

3. appointing a Supreme Court justice when he promised to only appoint them after a public hearing?

Folks, that's your Right Honourable Stephen Brian Jean Harper.

Pamela Wallin? The same PW who refused to interview a single Reform party member on her old CBC show? How the hell did she get classed a 'conservative?'.

I wonder if the clip is still around of Duffy giving Sh**(on air) to the liberal hack who tried to get(during the commercial break)Duffy to say what the liberals wanted him to say.

"question. did he appoint the people who were elected"

What people who were elected - Alberta is the ONLY province to have senate elections and Bert Brown was the ONLY appointment prior to this slate. Alberta did not need a seat; therefore no - he did not appoint any senators in waiting because there are none anywhere in this vast country - except Alberta.

Lots of talk that the PM does not have the confidence of the HofC. When did he lose a vote of no confidence since Oct 14. That is a coup d'etat term and a media term. Until there is a vote, he has not lost one. And he did win a vote re the Throne Speech.
I believe Paul Martin ignored a vote of no confidence, said it wasn't one, and then got some blond to walk across the aisle to save his job.
Funny how the media and libs forget these things.

"Is there NO principle "Conservatives" won't
abandon at the drop of a hat?"

The Cons only pretend to have principles. I'm sure they'll argue that "Harper was reaching out" when he appointed a seperatist to the senate. Fat Stevie has made so many flip flops in the last few month that he should be on a gymnastics team.

Of course there was not confidence vote Mary. Harper undemocratically cancelled an opposition day that would have had one, then cancelled a vote on his own fiscal update, then cancelled Parliament altogether to avoid facing Parliament and save his own skin.

I believe Paul Martin ignored a vote of no confidence, said it wasn't one. No he didn't. A committee resolution is not a vote of non-confidence by the House. He also delayed an opposition day though and Harper (rightly) went nuts and then he faced Parliament rather than cancel it like Harper did. He won that vote even though Harper tried to buy Cadman's vote.

But he won it in such an appalling way that he lost a lot of the moral authority to govern after that. Harper cancelled Parliament and has not allowed it to sit since May 2008 in order to avoid being defeated by a confidence motion. His cowardly maneuvering has lost him a lot of the same moral authority to govern.

Funny how the media and libs forget these things.

Actually, in case you didn't realize it, Martin is no longer the leader of the Liberals. He actually lost an election 2 leaders ago. It is the Conservatives who have forgotten these things and are trying hard to make sure us Canadians do too.

I had no idea Pamela Wallin was from Sask. BUT on Steven Taylor's site it says she will step down to face election once we have our first Senate elections here.

A partisan report, about partisan actions. Same old grease - Chicago style.

Besides, even if the report was less partisan, you still can't polish a turd.

Ted you a$$hat

we cons don't forget these things, remember the 93 election

why don't you compare apples to apples, or were there SO many brown envelopes that you are unable to count that high?

Harper is playing politics, and is proving better at it that you lieberals, must really pi$$ you off. Now that the senate reward is shut down you lieberals fools had better start donating so's the coalition of fools have something to put in those brown envelopes so's they can BUY favours

Niall Mor ;
You took my comments away. (O:}
Like you, I'm sick & tired of these bloated no nothing's getting cinctures’ for life. From misleading the public for so many years. They are part of the corruption in Ottawa, not its balm.
Where was the MSM while Chrétien with his cronies, stole Canada blind? It goes on & on this merry go round of back scratching. Its Canadians in the end that lose. Just like where buying a car none of us will see, to bail out workers who will not compromise for their own jobs, or with there Nepotistic Management counting their 20,000,000 a year bonus‘s. After all their entitled to their entitlements as well.
Wasn’t it Pamela Wallin who refused to Interview the official opposition leader Preston Manning, or Alliance leader Stockwell Day in conjunction with Barbara Frum? Between them they sandboxed the reform Party from the public. These will be conservative reform Senators? Yeah right. I told people the choices will reflect his true intentions. You guys decide if this is a reform Senate? Personally I don’t see it.
All though I do agree he had to make the appointments.

"Harper had held off filling the appointments, in hopes of Senate reform bills passing in the last couple of years, but neither the opposition nor most provinces agreed to his proposals for fixed-term limits of eight years or electing senators."

From a nice little Canwest article... He had numerous empty seats but held off until this latest threat... can you imagine the Coalition doling out the seats instead?

"Harper's move angered New Democratic Party MP David Christopherson who calculated the 18 new senators would reap about $50 million in pay and perks over their eight-year appointments, while some of his Hamilton, Ont., constituents face unemployment and can barely afford Christmas presents."

As for that asshat, all I can say is since you will never elect a government through the normal process you should be supporting senate reform! Stupid NDP for supporting the Liberals... count the number of senators claiming NDP allegiance... one and only one, and appointed by Paul Martin, probably in payment for the NDP support of his tottering government back in '05.

"'Patronage for retiring or defeated Lieberal candidates and various other hangers-on was dispensed on scale unprecedented in recent memory' (Meisel 1981). These included 'at least 200 of the Order-In-Council appointments and no fewer than 59 judges', all of whom were former Liberal candidates or spouses of the same. Meisel notes that as well the 'blatant' electoral purpose for which appointments were used: the appointment and therefore 'neutralization' of non-Liberals to the Senate and the Canadian Grain Commission. As well, 'electoral opportunities were enhanced through wholesale appointments to the International Joint Commission, the National Parole board, the National Energy Board, the Immigration Appeal board and the Canadian Pension Commission, and similar bodies'." - Aucoin

Clearly, the scumbag Liberals thought so little of the country that they were even willing to damage/taint the Canadian justice system thru their selfish swilling at the public trough.

The Toronto Star's Jim Travers is on CKNW right now [http://cknw.com] attacking Stephen Harper and most all of the Senate appointments.

I'd respect him ... IF he criticized the Liberals the same way. Why do I think that he has never uttered a word when Liberal PMs made Senate appointments?!?

"cant get over the amount of Disrespectful comments towards Duffy on the G&M's comment board re: these appt's
Some are just plain disgusting ref: Duffy's weight"

Well, how about There's no whore like an old whore.

Hannibal Lecher:

Imitating my handle does nothing but make me hungry.

Sincerely,
HL

Surely Andrew Potter must have something vaguely humanoid to say about the Duffster's appointment?

Heil Harper!

It's an ugly thing to watch senate appointments of any kind, but it exists and Harper would be foolish to ignore it. Every step like this is a step closer to the normalization of a conservative government, and the libs drift a little farther away from being the Natural Governing Party.
Besides, isn't it fun to watch liberal pissants get self-righteous?
And revenant dream, I can't resist guessing: "cinctures" is supposed to be "sinecures"?

Pamela Wallin to our senate, as a Conseravtive ?

No shi* !!

Brain Mulroney was correct in his assessment about Brian Mackasey and old whores. the senate, etc.

"Stephen Harper keeps telling Canadians to tighten their belts," said the NDP's David Christopherson.

"Mr. Harper should be focused on the 71,000 Canadians who lost their jobs last month.

Course the NDP will not worry about the hundreds of thousands of instant Canadians who get affirmative action who show up yearly and who this 71,000 will have to contend with.

Save your crocodile tears Christopherson.

I had the misfortune this afternoon to hear on the car radio that old trough-wallowing swiller, Senator Sharon Carstairs, bad mouthing Mr. Harper for making appointments to the Senate while Parliament was prorogued. Funny she didn't have anything to say about the appointments made by her idol, the Cretch.

There is nothing "honorable" about the Canadian political culture. It is sports event...winning is more important than principle,always! Harper is just invoking the tactics that the liberals were always so good at.

We in Saskatchewan have seen this movie before. A large majority was won by a "conservative" government in 1982. No similarity in that but the approach so called conservative premier Divine took towards the left was to cozy up to them, naming liberals (red torys)into his cabinet...(giving him plenty of bad advice), as judges, running up the debt, befriending the press...which was like petting a rattle snake, it was just a matter of time and he would be bit.

It is very demoralizing to the Conservative base and eventually they will stay home or start another movement or party. The West certainly has a history of that.

I think there's a bit of misunderstanding here. Duffy and Wallin are openly liberal. They were thrown in as balance, which is the fair thing to do. Harper is simply offering a token.

Duffy might be liberal, but I'm pretty sure he'll be a stickler for protocol and tradition. He's been studying it longer than most people.

wyatt salt :
Correct

Stephen Taylor has the list of the 18 appointments on his website.

I'm disappointed that Chief Clarence Louie wasn't appointed, but apparently he isn't into federal politics.

I have to agree with some of the posters above; CTV's Mike Duffy does seem to be fair. I'll never forget him blasting Scott "beer and popcorn, kill him (Harper) kill him dead" Reid - on air - when Reid apparently tried to cajole him into saying things on CTV that made the CPC look bad.

That was classic TV!

Senator Carstairs? Is she still around? I thought she OD'ed on a cylinder of helium.

I for one am glad Manning got in for NL. He took the full brunt of the ABC campaign, was originally kicked out of Danny's provincial cabinet for questioning the Rhodes Scholar and was sandbagged by the pathetic Evening Telegram the day before the advance polls were to open in NL.

The man didn't complain about not getting a fair shake from anyone and wouldn't throw Harper under the bus like the media and Danny thought they would be able to get him to do. He hung in there and took it, everywhere he went he stood there and took all their crap.

Just knowing that he has all the @sshats down there frothing at the mouth makes me grin from ear to ear.

Merry Christmas Fabian

Of course Liz May weighs in over on her "blog" http://www.greenparty.ca/en/contact/staff about how Mike Duffy hurt her feelings and then rails away against Harper.

I'll bet she would appreciate some emails to let her know what we think of her!

leader@greenparty.ca

Patrick Brazeau is a good pick. He's got a good website. He's a conservative native, so you won't see him on the CBC or CTV though he's been on CPAC a few times.

Will Jim Travesty of the Star have his regularity scheduled column tomorrow or will he be in bed with the flu since he missed getting a senate seat?

Ever get the feeling that Harper picked Duffy and Wallin just to pi$$ off Turkey Neck, Travesty and Stronach's puppy Don Martin?

Sharon Carstairs!!!Gawd that brings up some scary memories. She was my grade 12 Social Studies teacher in Calgary during the heady days of Trudeaumania. Her father was a Lieberal senator. She paraded him around the school (St. Francis) on a few ocassions. Her class was more of a political indoctrination rather than actually teaching something useful. Fortunately some of us grew up and developed our thought processes. Slightly off topic, sorry.

As for Harper, he's stuck beteween a rock and a hard place but is bright enough to walk around the rock. Good choices all around if not a bit controversial.

Alberta Girl, the Lizzie May blog piece you shared with us should be a must read for SDA readers, as well as every psychologist on the planet!

Two things immediately come to mind:

1. If a Radical Leftist accuses someone of being "biased", what precisely does that translate into in English? Perhaps "center of the road & sane"?

2. How rich is the irony that Queen Lizzie May is criticizing the appointment of Mike Duffy when she, who has done NOTHING positive for this country, but was entirely ready to accept a Senate seat from Monsieur Dion and the Video Professor merely for mouthing a few words of support for them? Vancouver's despicable ex-mayor, Larry Campbell, pulled such a trick for Paul Martin and look what it got him.

January's going to be fun, watching Lizzie May and countless Liberal MPs mouthing off about the senate seats. I truly wish a reporter would ask one of them, "How precisely do you keep your hypocrisy from staining your clothes when you utter so much 'dirty' hot air from your front orifice?"

My take on Oliver,Taber,and Mansbridge on these appointments. They will all criticize the 'bully' and his flip-flopping,partisan ways. They will not say anything about the facts,it will just be an attack.... Oliver has gone way past the point of caring if he gets a senate position,he is happy if he wakes up in a dry bed in a familiar room... Taber will be upset,very upset. She KNOWS,she just KNOWS,that she is more deserving than that bitch Wallin, the scars on Janie's knees are the proof...Mansbridge will shrug it off,he knows that a senate seat is piffle.His eyes are on the GG's ass as it walks out the door.

I just strolled on over to Lizzie May's site,thanks Alberta girl and RW,. Lizzie is,and always will be amusing. These are her words," The normal latitude for asking for a re-ask, and a chance to get a taped interview right, is generally quite generous".Ahh,Lizzie,no it isn't...You may get a lot of chances because ,well,you are a twit,and the media follow interesting twits,but in the real world where the sky is BLUE,and people work for a living,neither you or Steffi should recieve any advantage over anyone else. You two are the runts of the litter that the emotional pull for,but reality sets in and for the good of the rest,you will fade away into a gentle sleep. So STFU.

Wally, your dual posts of hilarity will keep me laughing for a few days!!!

I would have sworn Pamela Wallin was known as an NDP supporter?

"What people who were elected - Alberta is the ONLY province to have senate elections and Bert Brown was the ONLY appointment prior to this slate."

AB Girl, I'm assuming you mean that Bert was the only one Harper appointed from AB to date. Of course Stan Waters(R) was the first elected senator to be appointed to the senate.

"Duff what a great pick could not happen to a better Canadian in my opinion.

Posted by: Momorider at December 22, 2008 2:10 PM"

I second that! Mike Duffy would be my FIRST choice, journalist or not.

He's a great Canadian.

"Duff what a great pick could not happen to a better Canadian in my opinion.

Posted by: Momorider at December 22, 2008 2:10 PM"

I second that! Mike Duffy would be my FIRST choice, journalist or not.

He's a great Canadian.

I have never gotten the impression that Duff favours Conservatives. Rather, he has been one of very few journalists to try to be fair-minded and treat everyone graciously. If he seems Conservative to others, I suspect it is because he is more balanced (rather than left-leaning) than most. I think he will make an excellent Senator -- he won't be a cypher like most. Having said that, I'll bet he will miss being a journalist.

"Having said that, I'll bet he will miss being a journalist.

Posted by: LindaL at December 23, 2008 4:13 AM "

Yeah right.At about 4 times the pay,and only 70 days/year work as a "Senator",he'll miss the good old days of journalism.Are all you people stupid,or just dumb? The only good thing Duffy has ever done,is save the guy at MacD's from asking him if wants that supersized.It's a given he does!

Being a senator will very likely be a pay cut for Duffy. I wonder how long the media will continue to trash Pamela Wallin as a "former broadcaster". She's been an active member of Canada's foreign diplomatic corps for quite a few years now. Arguably, she's better qualified to sit in the senate than Iggy is to lead the Liberals, and light years ahead of May on any level.

The senate does a tremendous amount of committee work, which is the underpinning of parliament's knowledge base. Many of these people have been chosen not for what they can contribute sitting on their butts in the upper house, but what they bring to the committee tables.

I sent this note to Elizabeth May:

Ms May

Your windy comments about Senator Duffy sound like the diary venting of a grade ten student rather than the thoughtful comment one might expect from the leader of a national political party.

Your lack of propriety—your disrespectful behaviour toward the Prime Minister of Canada during the debates was a disgrace—is a serious drawback to your party: I would say it’s probably why the Green Party still has no seats—including in your own riding. I do not support your party in any way and am glad to see it in the wilderness, where it fully deserves to be. So, some unbiased advice to you: how about showing some gravitas, manners, and grace for a change?

I guess you’ll disagree, but I will miss Mike Duffy’s quite fair approach: it was about the only commentary on the MSM that even tried to give a semblance of balance. I do understand your pique at Senator Duffy: you and your ilk are given a free ride on the other, all left-wing, all the time shows, and he actually had the audacity—and sense of professionalism—to give you a run for your money: just what journalists are supposed to do, unless you’ve forgotten. (Conservative politicians and commentators are used to the third degree, which they endure on a regular basis form the overwhelmingly left-wing MSM: they suck it up and get on with it. You might try such fortitude sometime.)

Prime Minister Harper has made a prudent political choice in adding a few more non Liberals to an already stacked Senate: in my opinion, far better Michael Duffy than you in the upper house. Ms May, you win some, you lose some. With the MSM and a whole lot of other decks (on our dime) most definitely stacked against us, I think it’s about time to see my side, c/Conservative in this country, win a few. Hey, that’s politics!

Merry Christmas!

how can P Wallen speak for Sask. when she doesn't live here

When will Pamala give up her 10 million dollar government funded Park Ave apt?
Who will move in when she moves out.
Will Pamala now be a triple dipper at the trough or put her snout in 4 times?

Ted, Philboyd, thanks for the hypocritical "analysis." It's laughable to hear "critcs" blast Harper's Senate appointments, when they would, and have, done precisely the same thing.

I guess the argument is "we can be corrupt cronies, but Mr Harper you said you wouldn't, but according to our 'analysis' you are just as slimy as we are."

Good point, you should sieze power.

Yeah right, that argument is right up there with "we don't need to ask the Canadian people, in an election, who they want as government. No, it's 'decided' that 62% voted for our coalition (that's a BIG majority right?), even though we would get creamed if an election we're held now."

Nope, no hypocrisy there. Get it straight moonbats, you will not be seizing power anytime soon, with our without an election. Mr Harper is the PM and appointing Senators, despite your joke of an argument that he is going down.

If your fellow moonbats in parliament are stupid enough to defeat the government next month, there will be an election, no doubt. Then you can run against the Senate appointments while you explain why you tried to run away from, indeed around, the Canadian electorate.

IOW, up yours.

The long tradition of appointing media hacks to plumb gov't gigs continues. It's a proven method used by all parties to give them control over ambitious media types who covet a gov't sinecure. It also draws into question media ethics and impartiality.

Can anybody please clarify? Was it Chretien or Martin who ignored Albertan's election choice and appointed the piano player Tommy Banks to the senate for the Liberals?