No Further Questions!

Harper shuts down his own press conference.

On Thursday, Harper was asked to explain why — when Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and NDP leader Jack Layton provide news conferences with no limits on questions — he insists on no more five questions.

Harper chose not to answer that question and moved on to the next questioner.

When journalists then pressed him for an answer to the question he ignored, Harper said. "If there's another subject I'll answer it."

That led to another question from a journalist, who noted that politicians such as himself promise openness and accountability. With that in mind, he was asked again, why the limit on questions during the campaign?

"If there are other subjects I'm not addressing, I'll take them. What's the subject? One subject."

Journalists asked another question, about Canada's position about the conflict in Libya. Harper answered and then ended the news conference.

We are about two days away from full meltdown.

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Will I Take Harper At His Word?

Let's say I buy into Harper's paranoia about an evil coalition. Then is he encouraging me to vote Liberal in order to strengthen the number of potential coalition members in the House? That is the rational response to his message, since the Liberal finished second by 17 votes, in my riding last time. However, I would have thought he would rather have me vote NDP, out of principle, and allow the current Conservative MP to get in on the split vote. Am I missing something, or is the Vulcan chess master as crazy as he seems?

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Hebert Speaks

About the debate debate:

The larger reality is that the federal leaders are only on a level playing field for the time of a debate or two.

But the options of a two-tier debate or a duel between Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff both involve an even greater level of distortion.

A one-on-one debate between the Liberal and Conservative leaders would be completely divorced from the electoral reality of regions such as Quebec and the Prairies.

In a pre-election CROP poll, the Liberals barely beat the Greens for support in francophone Quebec.

In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, shifting votes from the NDP to the Liberals is usually a formula for electing more Conservatives.

Perhaps, if a one on one is inevitable, it should be broadcast on TVO and in the Atlantic Provinces, the only two places where a head to head race between Iggy and Harper mirror some sliver of reality. Or, they can keep things as they are, messy, just like our country.

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And They Call Iggy An Out Of Touch Elitist

Maybe instead of debates we should have the various leaders try on work gloves. Is this Harper's "George Bush at the grocery checkout" moment? H/t to Warren K.

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Are The Conservatives Toast?

Too early to tell, but the buzzards are definitely circling. I will know for sure they are done, when I read the first "We have to pull Alberta out of this Goddamn country" post from a Conservative blogger.

Update: This line:

Conservative officials later announced the national Harper tour would no longer take questions on local campaigns.

means things are really going down hill fast. The next to go will be questions about the national campaign. All that will be left are questions about who will succeed Harper.

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Attention MSM

Why is Doug Finley working on the Conservative campaign? After all Sébastien Togneri is only under investigation by the RCMP. Finley, on the other hand, has been charged under the Elections Act. H/t to BCL.

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The Tale Of Edmonton Strathcona

Is the tale of the Harper presidency -- big money backers, unelected, hand-picked candidates pretending to be elected MP's and a guest appearance by a flunky under policy investigation. Harper and company depend on the niceness of Canadians. They count on Canadians to not say or do anything about their deviant brand of politics because it would be unpleasant. It is time that the Conservatives were shown the door. We have a Canadian way to do it, quietly, behind a cardboard partition. Let's show those bastards we are fed up.

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