Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

Damn liberal media

by Aaron Wherry on Thursday, August 27, 2009 12:51pm - 45 Comments

Leave! Stephen! Harper! Alone!

Tags: John Williamson, Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin, peter kent, Stephen Harper

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Boethius

With such an infiltration of American television up here in Canada, it's far too easy for conservatives to falsely claim the "liberal media" myth. In Canada, 2/3 of our media is centre-right or right, even if our national broadcaster is not.

It's such a B.S. argument.

http://fullyoffset.blogspot.com Jon

You're so right Boethius.

17/35ths off all people know that Boethius is right.

Making up fractions does not make your point valid.

Dakota

You, an obvious Liberal hack, are commenting on other journalists having a political slant! What a laugh!

Are you simply jealous or are you truly that delusional?

Anon

It's just a computer, hon. No can really hear you screaming.

Wayne

In cyber land : no one can hear you scream!
http://intensedebate.com/people/avr avr

It's just a computer, hon. No one can hear the smug, preening tone in your voice as you righteously smack down your enemies.

Anon

Calm down, dear.
Sigh

Funnily enough, we can hear it in yours.

http://intensedebate.com/people/OntarioTown OntarioTown

Yup, another attack the Dakota – everyone who doesn't agree with him or sees something he doesn't like is a Liberal hack………yawn

http://intensedebate.com/people/doug_rogers doug_rogers

Four vacancies allows for the promotion of one of each. Balance in the media.
http://intensedebate.com/people/john_g2708 john g

One journalist and 3 long-since-ex journalists are your evidence of a balanced media?

Great. I'll see your four of a kind, and raise you a Jim Munson, Susan Murray, Krista Erickson, Christina Lawand, Shawna Richer, and Aaron Wherry.
Cue

Aaron Wherry really isn't even a journalist. He's just a taller version of Jason Cherniak.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

Pamela Wallin always seemed completely impartial to me. In her younger days, she was a member of The Waffle, a left wing faction of the New Democratic Party of Canada.

Ted

And Harper was a Trudeau Liberal when he first started in politics.

http://intensedebate.com/people/TJCook TJCook

To be fair, 80% of Canadians use air quotes when describing Duffy as a "journalist".

Also: please, can we lay off the cheap attacks on Wherry? If you have a complaint about his writing, be specific. Calling him an "obvious Liberal hack" every time he posts makes you sound like petulant children.

http://intensedebate.com/people/avr avr

Also: please, can we lay off the cheap attacks on Wherry?

He's free to lay off the cheap attacks on the PM/PMO/Conservatives/conservatives/etc. any time. When he does – or at such time that he shows himself capable of attacking other parties in similar volume and tone – then we'll talk.

Ted

Hey, I thought quoting a politicians own words back at him by definition couldn't be considered an "attack". Or does that only apply to Conservative advertising campaigns?
http://intensedebate.com/people/TJCook TJCook

Cheap attack: "Wherry is an obvious Liberal hack! Wherry isn't even a journalist!" "Here goes Wherry again, being all biased!"

Not a cheap attack: "Wherry's juxtaposition here doesn't make sense because…" "That quote is understandable, given…" etc.

How about instead of "cheap", I ask you to lay off the "ad hominem" attacks? If you don't like what he says, go after that, don't attack the man. All the bloggers here seem to operate in good faith, it's an ongoing disappointment that you shrieking harpies attack people who say things you don't like.
Anon

Can you stop shrieking? You're upseting the Internet.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Jack_Mitchell Jack Mitchell

To be fair, 80% of Canadians use air quotes when describing Duffy as a "journalist".

They certainly hold their arms out and wiggle their fingers.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Nich Nich

Anyone I disagree with is unbalanced.

I disagree with the media most of the time.

Therefore the media is biased against me.

Finally, I understand abstract victimhood.
Terren

I love the liberal media
http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

Senator Aaron Wherry will be appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2030.

Wayne

maybe sooner say 2014
http://fullyoffset.blogspot.com Jon

I just threw up in my mouth.

Ted

Here is Harper's new Director of Communication (one "s", please) communicating about Harper and the Harper government:

On The Harper Torys spending habits:

"The lazy, hazy days of summer are here and Conservative MPs are crisscrossing the country and showering it with money. According to news stories, the federal government has announced some $3-billion in spending priorities since Parliament recessed for the summer less than a month ago. That is roughly $100-million a day or more than $4-million every hour. Weren’t the Conservatives elected to root-out waste in government and spend tax dollars judiciously? [...]
Unhappily, there is nowhere for voters to turn for reform."

"The Conservatives' program of massive deficit spending is bad news for taxpayers because it will mean paying more interest to service the national debt. "

For links, visit Big City Liberal

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

There's no need to cut and paste BCL's entire blog post. Why not just provide a link?
http://www.intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

There's no need to cut and paste BCL's entire blog post. Why not just provide a link, instead of spamming?

Ted

" Why not just provide a link"

I did.

But the quotations are just so good.

Here's another… and it's not from BCL: John Williamson in National Post: "no contest between Harper (and) Chrétien; Grits exercised greater fiscal discipline" in a long post about why Harper is no conservative but a super huge spender who is even worse that the Liberals.

And that was his view before the Harper recession and deficit.

http://intensedebate.com/people/john_g2708 john g

And yet despite all of this, somehow this guy is Aaron's example of Conservative bias in the media.

Jason

Or, if you read it correctly dummie, an example that not all media is liberal biased.

That's one of the problems with many conservatives: they are so rooted in their black or white, good or evil dichotomies that, to them, saying something is not pro-liberal is interpreted as saying something is pro-conservative.

In this case, Williams is in fact clearly pro-conservative, just anti-Conservative, which makes his appointment all the more interesting.
http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

It's spelled "dummy". Get it right! Also, I'm not sure that a few cherry-picked quotes are sufficient to establish that Mr. Williams is "anti-Conservative". I somehow doubt Harper would have picked him if that was the case. He's just opinionated, which is probably an asset in his new job.

Anon

"There's no need to cut and paste BCL's entire blog post. Why not just provide a link, instead of spamming?"

Den mother.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Crit_Reasoning Crit_Reasoning

Someone has to do it.

Ted

And some more…

Licking the 3rd rail of Candian politics:

"John Williamson, executive director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, told The Interim it is “obscene that having an abortion at 20 weeks triggered maternity benefits. No birth, no benefits.”"

Trashing Quebec Delis:

"John Williamson, the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, thinks the loan is another example of corporate welfare and Conservative vote buying. “There is only one way to describe a zero-interest government loan to business and that is corporate welfare. And with a possible fall election, I think it is safe to also call this vote buying in la belle province," said Williamson."

On last year's election:

"Williamson says the spending binge is exactly the kind of pre-election splurge Prime Minister Stephen Harper criticized the Liberals for in the run-up to the 2006 federal election. "

Jenn

Ahh, he isn't called TheStrategist for nothin' you know. If you can't shut him up by ridicule, browbeating, etc., hire the guy! Now you control every word. Buahahahaha!

And in the same vein, the reason we have a damn liberal media is because Harper keeps making politicians out of the right-leaning media!

Ted

For a comm director pick, he seems pretty perfect. He certainly has a lot to say.

And still more. …

On PM Stephen Harper:

"And Happy New Year to you Prime Minister, but I hope it’s not as dark as you anticipate. With Maclean’s and with other reporters in year-end interviews, Stephen Harper warned Canadians of tough economic times ahead. To make matters worse, he says the federal government will introduce tough policies to reduce carbon emissions and the public will most likely gripe about it. On taxes, Canadians, it seems, can get stuffed. If the economy slows there will be no relief for taxpayers. What kind of message is this?"

On Jim Flaherty:

"For the record, I think Mr. Flaherty will keep his job. But he sure is making a mess of the nation's tax code."

Even more on (Tory) government spending:

"After the March 19th federal budget, I am becoming a convert to PR. On spending and taxation, the New Government™ is increasingly indistinguishable from the old government. "

MJ Patchouli

You will find the new tune he dances to very different from the song he usually sings. And he won't have nearly as much to say.

It reminds me of the day in SK when the very vocal head of the nurses' union suddenly announced she was a candidate for the government she was in talks with.

Politics makes hypocrites and liars of its participants. And they are always opportunists, shallow hypocritical opportunists.

dan in van

"Hey, it's not easy being honest AND a Harper windbag – tho apparently its an apples and oranges thing…"
Gene Rayburn

Anyone else find it a bit disconcerting that Pamela Wallin, a Canadian Senator, has the American flag in the top right of her website? I'm far from anti-American, but I find it odd that a national politician would display the flag of another nation on his/her website.

http://intensedebate.com/people/Stewart_Smith Stewart_Smith

Back in the day, I thought Wallin was a complete lightweight in conducting interviews. However, clearly others saw things I did not. From that web site

Pamela was Consul General of Canada in New York from 2002-2006. She continues her work as the Senior Advisor on Canada-US relations at the Americas Society and the Council of the Americas in New York.

So no I don't find it the least bit odd or offensive that someone who works on Canadian-American relations would have a 2 flag mottif on her site. She was every careful to make the Canadian flag much more prominent (bigger and higher)

http://fullyoffset.blogspot.com Jon

Stewart,

You missed your chance to slur the US for no reason…

Are you even Canadian?

guest

what flag does Iggy fly on his? The US is his country after all. Or was it Algonquin park.

Anon

No, someone doesn't have to do it.
http://www.askbuyusu.org Aşk Büyüsü

Senator Aaron Wherry will be appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2030.