Has the Canadian media become part of Conservative Election Campaign?

To the reader:

Please take the time to read this and then sit back and think about it for a while. Let me know what you think.

Sue

From the gate - Stephen Harper while not taking questions as he exited the Governor General's residence claimed the opposition parties were attempting to form a coalition.

He controlled that message from day one. This was a carefully crafted PR move by somebody and Harper played his role perfectly.

Election called - first message - unquestioned - they want a coalition.

Then came a week of:

The coalition wanted an election - Canadians did not.

The coalition have a plan to take over power - Canadians do not want a coalition.

The coalition will... and so on.

The media for their part - despite any evidence of the foregoing - reported and re-reported that the coalition was the election issue.

Harper played the media like a fiddle - all the while blocking open access to them and limiting questions and controlling the physical environment.

The media like a part of the Harper team - chased Ignatieff here and there and would not allow any questions but those on the coalition. Then Harper "suggested" to the media that they need to get a commitment from Ignatieff that he would not form a coalition. They almost dutifully tracked Ignatieff and asked and asked until - Ignatieff - exhausted from the inability to get to any other subject - mistakenly - promised no coalition.

All the while Harper skirted the real question - on why he was limiting questions and controlling the media - which they have since capitulated and now follow his rules. This did not help the voters or our democracy. It was - in my opinion - one of the greatest media blunders of recent memory.

Next we had Harper segue into the economy - he would say it would not be good for our economy if we had a coalition - it would damage our progress he would add. So then he had the media reporting that Harper's concern was now all about the economy. Throughout this dog and pony show - the public were not treated to a question posse by the media - wherein Harper should have been asked about his problem with democracy and why he felt that Canadians should not be allowed to choose their own democracy - including the possibility of a coalition.

Now the real duping might finally be revealed to our investigative journalists. Harper wanted a commitment in the media from Ignatieff - to not form a coalition - for two reasons. The first is to ensure that if he formed another minority - he would hold on to the job of Prime Minister (or be able to state to Canadians that Ignatieff lied if a coalition were formed) and second to do what the party started today. The Conservative candidates now have the media reporting that even if Ignatieff did not want a coalition - they might vote down the budget and then the Governor General might ask Ignatieff if they might be able to form a coalition.

Where is Stephen Harper in all these games? Unavailable to the media!

Now the coup de grace has arrived as Harper above all people complained that the Liberal ads have him misquoted. This man - a proven liar - a cheat - in contempt is complaining about a quote on universal health care. Now the media has yet another shift in coverage - essentially accommodating Stephen Harper.

Tomorrow it is Quebec and how if a majority is not achieved - Gilles Duceppe will be in a position to move the separatist agenda forward into another vote on sovereignty.

If the media is at all interested in constructive criticism - they might want to consider how they have been used as part of a Harper re-election campaign and begin the process of returning to independent journalists giving Canadians the information they need to make their own minds up.

To the handlers of Michael Ignatieff and to Ignatieff himself - talk to Canadians about our issues and continue addressing problems of contempt, lies, cheating, right-wing fanaticism, and one scary Harper who gets up every day plotting to get and keep power.