Harper's New Gag Order is Fine

[Black Dog]

All Harper's doing to asking people to vet their message through is office and he's demanding they stay on message.

Except that's not all he's doing. He's controlling the media's access to public officials.

He's demanding people vet their message through his office so they don't become and embarassment to the party. He cannot afford one of those.

In other words, you know the Tories have idiots that can't be trusted in front of the microphone. You just don't want to hear about them.

Oh look! A Tory shoots his mouth off!

A backbench Conservative MP has retracted a statement he made earlier while blasting the media for its testy relationship with Prime Minister Stephen Harper: that reporters who write distorted articles should be jailed.

I guess with clowns like this around, I can't blame Harper for trying to keep a tight reign on them. But I think maybe his main concern should be keeping his party free of these dummies in the first place.

[Hicksey]

All Harper's doing to asking people to vet their message through is office and he's demanding they stay on message.

Except that's not all he's doing. He's controlling the media's access to public officials.

He's demanding people vet their message through his office so they don't become and embarassment to the party. He cannot afford one of those.

In other words, you know the Tories have idiots that can't be trusted in front of the microphone. You just don't want to hear about them.

Oh look! A Tory shoots his mouth off!

A backbench Conservative MP has retracted a statement he made earlier while blasting the media for its testy relationship with Prime Minister Stephen Harper: that reporters who write distorted articles should be jailed.

I guess with clowns like this around, I can't blame Harper for trying to keep a tight reign on them. But I think maybe his main concern should be keeping his party free of these dummies in the first place.

Every party has its extremes and I think its smart to not let the extremes run a political party.

I don't want to hear from extremes as they usually have nothing helpful to add. In most parties they're just a butt in the seat and nothing more. Harper's just making sure of that.

[Black Dog]

Every party has its extremes and I think its smart to not let the extremes run a political party.

I don't want to hear from extremes as they usually have nothing helpful to add. In most parties they're just a butt in the seat and nothing more. Harper's just making sure of that.

If he was just muzzling the backbenchers, I'd be inclined to agree. But he's muzzling both cabinet officials and civil servants, who don't represent the party anyway. So this goes well beyond party discipline.

[Hicksey]

Every party has its extremes and I think its smart to not let the extremes run a political party.

I don't want to hear from extremes as they usually have nothing helpful to add. In most parties they're just a butt in the seat and nothing more. Harper's just making sure of that.

If he was just muzzling the backbenchers, I'd be inclined to agree. But he's muzzling both cabinet officials and civil servants, who don't represent the party anyway. So this goes well beyond party discipline.

We are used to the leaky governments and offices there of that this is a seemingly a new thing. What's wrong with the government coordinating its messages to the press instead of members of the offices selling it? I really fail to see the problem here. I'll admit it doesn't make for many exciting headlines, but if I am correct that's not what we elect a government to do. Now the media is mad and they're making one out of a non-issue.

[Black Dog]

What's wrong with the government coordinating its messages to the press instead of members of the offices selling it?

Argh. You keep ducking the fact he's not just controling the message, but he's restricting access. It's one thing to have everybody singing from the same songbook, as they say, another to slink out the back door.

[wellandboy]

What's wrong with the government coordinating its messages to the press instead of members of the offices selling it?

Argh. You keep ducking the fact he's not just controling the message, but he's restricting access. It's one thing to have everybody singing from the same songbook, as they say, another to slink out the back door.

This is a perfectly acceptable practice at this point.

[Hicksey]

What's wrong with the government coordinating its messages to the press instead of members of the offices selling it?

Argh. You keep ducking the fact he's not just controling the message, but he's restricting access. It's one thing to have everybody singing from the same songbook, as they say, another to slink out the back door.

I'm not ducking anything. Unless they have something new and substantive to say, why avail then until the do? They don't need to send the press an itinerary of each persons day and make them available for a press conference in between items. The last I checked Canadians expect more from their elected reprsentatives than just talking to the press.

Maybe instead of holding a perpetual press conference Harper would rather have his people doing their jobs. When they accomplish something, then they can stop and pay attention to the media.

I like it this way.

[Nocrap]

What's wrong with the government coordinating its messages to the press instead of members of the offices selling it?

Argh. You keep ducking the fact he's not just controling the message, but he's restricting access. It's one thing to have everybody singing from the same songbook, as they say, another to slink out the back door.

I'm not ducking anything. Unless they have something new and substantive to say, why avail then until the do? They don't need to send the press an itinerary of each persons day and make them available for a press conference in between items. The last I checked Canadians expect more from their elected reprsentatives than just talking to the press.

Maybe instead of holding a perpetual press conference Harper would rather have his people doing their jobs. When they accomplish something, then they can stop and pay attention to the media.

I like it this way.

Thanks for the link Black Dog. I too can understand why Mr. Harper wants to censor his MP's, because frankly there are many who could embarass him if they were allowed to speak. However, IT IS NOT HIS JOB. He does not pay the salaries of his MP's. WE DO. He did not elect his MP's. WE DID.

I want to know what their beliefs are, since they will be voting on important matters that affect us all. I don't want reports coming from a PR firm, I want them coming from our ELECTED officials. If he feels that they have nothing intelligent to say, then perhaps we may have to rethink putting them in such important positions.

When the next election rolls around, we will remember how little faith the Prime Minister had in their abilities, and will look for candidates WILLING to do their job, and SPEAK for us!

I think he's making a big mistake that will come back to bite him in the butt next time around.

[Hicksey]

What's wrong with the government coordinating its messages to the press instead of members of the offices selling it?

Argh. You keep ducking the fact he's not just controling the message, but he's restricting access. It's one thing to have everybody singing from the same songbook, as they say, another to slink out the back door.

I'm not ducking anything. Unless they have something new and substantive to say, why avail then until the do? They don't need to send the press an itinerary of each persons day and make them available for a press conference in between items. The last I checked Canadians expect more from their elected reprsentatives than just talking to the press.

Maybe instead of holding a perpetual press conference Harper would rather have his people doing their jobs. When they accomplish something, then they can stop and pay attention to the media.

I like it this way.

Thanks for the link Black Dog. I too can understand why Mr. Harper wants to censor his MP's, because frankly there are many who could embarass him if they were allowed to speak. However, IT IS NOT HIS JOB. He does not pay the salaries of his MP's. WE DO. He did not elect his MP's. WE DID.

I want to know what their beliefs are, since they will be voting on important matters that affect us all. I don't want reports coming from a PR firm, I want them coming from our ELECTED officials. If he feels that they have nothing intelligent to say, then perhaps we may have to rethink putting them in such important positions.

When the next election rolls around, we will remember how little faith the Prime Minister had in their abilities, and will look for candidates WILLING to do their job, and SPEAK for us!

I think he's making a big mistake that will come back to bite him in the butt next time around.

Honestly, do you think that you're going to see what they believe by their voting?

I'll be the first to admit that Harper's concept of free votes was out the window as soon as he realized his victory was a small one. He'll be demanding that everyone tow the line on all important votes to his cause. The only vote likely to be a truly free vote will be the SSM he promised to the reformer bunch because he knows they'll lose it and that will still have satisfied that committment. Its not going to matter what they think.

And they haven't been made wholly unavailable. That's an outright lie. I just read Macleans this month and there's a 2 page spread each on 11 cabinet members. People are getting to them, maybe just not the people you want. I still think we're better served for them to be doing their jobs, not spending all day as glorified mouthprieces. That's what we elected harper for.

And to be honest I don't want to know. I know that most aren't nearly as conservative as I. Knowing what they believe would likely be a grande disappointment to me. I am out there right. That doesn't mean I am not thoughtful about my beliefs and willing to explore them at any time. Canadian right isn't close. I'm much closer to American right. I am closer to the Rush Limbaugh right only I don't give my elected officials a pass on anything because I'm even more distrustful of them than he is.

[margrace]

I think Mr. Harper is an exellent example of American Politics. Mr. Martin was embarrassed several times by his own MP's and I get the idea that was one of the reasons people voted for Harper. They thought these people were right and that Harper would be better. However Mr. Harper does not allow any critizm of himself or his government by his own elected associates. So if we are to have free and open government we are not going to get it from him. It would be interesting to know exactly what all he is going to hide,and you can be sure he will limit what the Audit people tell him. He would never have allowed information on items such as the Adscam to be made public.

[Nocrap]

I think Mr. Harper is an exellent example of American Politics. Mr. Martin was embarrassed several times by his own MP's and I get the idea that was one of the reasons people voted for Harper. They thought these people were right and that Harper would be better. However Mr. Harper does not allow any critizm of himself or his government by his own elected associates. So if we are to have free and open government we are not going to get it from him. It would be interesting to know exactly what all he is going to hide,and you can be sure he will limit what the Audit people tell him. He would never have allowed information on items such as the Adscam to be made public.

What I find interesting is how Canadians from different political sprectres feel about Mr. Harper's performance so far. What some here view as Lefties, are saying I told you so (guilty as charged), the Right Wing, like Hicksey above; feel that Mr. Harper is not Right Wing enough, and those in the middle, while still taking a wait and see approach, are having second thoughts and looking ahead to the Liberal convention.

He tried to be all things to all people, but that didn't work. Now he appears to be just a figment of our imagination, because the brief glimpses we see on TV, do little to reassure us that he is the right person for the job. This latest 'gag order' may be the last straw, and the media will not be kind.

[Hicksey]

I think Mr. Harper is an exellent example of American Politics. Mr. Martin was embarrassed several times by his own MP's and I get the idea that was one of the reasons people voted for Harper. They thought these people were right and that Harper would be better. However Mr. Harper does not allow any critizm of himself or his government by his own elected associates. So if we are to have free and open government we are not going to get it from him. It would be interesting to know exactly what all he is going to hide,and you can be sure he will limit what the Audit people tell him. He would never have allowed information on items such as the Adscam to be made public.

What I find interesting is how Canadians from different political sprectres feel about Mr. Harper's performance so far. What some here view as Lefties, are saying I told you so (guilty as charged), the Right Wing, like Hicksey above; feel that Mr. Harper is not Right Wing enough, and those in the middle, while still taking a wait and see approach, are having second thoughts and looking ahead to the Liberal convention.

He tried to be all things to all people, but that didn't work. Now he appears to be just a figment of our imagination, because the brief glimpses we see on TV, do little to reassure us that he is the right person for the job. This latest 'gag order' may be the last straw, and the media will not be kind.

Let set things straight. I DO think Harper is as far right as I am. But this is Canada, he can't lead that way if he wants to form any kind of government. Harper knows that. The reason I voted for him is because I believe, like Harper that the federal government cannot and should not be everything to everyone. There are just some governmental services that are better and more efficiently supplied by the provinces (and stipulated in our constitution that they are) and still others that by municipalites. As such, it should be they who are responsible for gathering the monies for it. The federal needn't be taking more than needed for their operations and should divest the power for the provinces to tax for what they are responsible for as well as municipalities. No government should be able to tax beyond their own obligations. If there's one thing I hope he'll do it's making government more efficient. I'm not naive in that I don't think that Harper will be able to affect meaningful change anywhere close to where I stand politically.

From where I stand, the Liberals are perpetual liars having not delivered on 90% of their promises over the last 13 years. the NDP are a bunch of wealth redistribution, unionization, dope legalizing, socialists that are only slightly more useful to me than used toilet paper. I can't support the others and because they stand closest to actual conservatism, I vote CPC.

I don't think Harper is the be all and end all. I'll bitch when he screws up, and I was quite vocal over his solicitation of political prostitution with Emerson, and his hypocrisy with the Fortier appointment. But most of all I'm taking the wait and see attittude as are many because he really hasn't done anything of substance, and comparing Emerson and Fortier to the Liberals over the last 13 years leavers him lily white. Judgements on Harper are coming way too soon. He hasn't yet presided over a single session of parliament. Let's at least wait for his first budget. Most of the opinion pieces aren't based in fact and contain nothing but supposition because they've no prior actions to base their opinions on. I'll pile on and dump on him when he screws up just like you will, but the difference is that I am waiting until he does instead of making big issues out of non-issues to fill time until then.

[margrace]

Ah but he will keep our interest inwhat he wants us to know. Behind the scenes he can destroy a lot of what we consider important. For Example Mr. Harris's MPAC which is only now coming to light for the rip off it is. I protested mightily when our taxes on a non lake front property tripled. I was completely ignored It wasn;t until the change of government that I was finally acknowledged and our taxes where cut back by one third. Well that still leaves a property that is being taxes away above its salability.

How many other little things will Mr. Harper steal from us.

[cdnazzurri]

I'll pile on and dump on him when he screws up just like you will, but the difference is that I am waiting until he does instead of making big issues out of non-issues to fill time until then.

While I respect your opinion, there is no way that taking away press access is a non-issue. THe media (for better or for worse) is where most people get their information about the happenings of governments. As I said in my post upthread, if the PMO is scheduling access times, and dictating what pieces of equipment reporters can use, what can we expect next? Harper distributing ready-made articles for the press to print?

[GostHacked]

So with the MPs and media going through the 'office', it is looking more like a White House press conference with McClelland saying not much of anything important.

Government Accountability Harper, you said it yourself.

[mcqueen625]

At the risk of more conspiracy theory accusations, I am going to pass on a bit of information that is not theory but fact.

We all know about Mr. Harper's new gag order, which does not allow his MP's freedom of speech. If you watched Rick Mercer's 'Rant' this week, you get an idea of how the media feels about this, but as Canadian citizens we should also be concerned.

New Gag Order

With Hill & Knowlton firmly entrenched in Stephen Harper's inner circle, we will be fed information that has been edited and spun to best suit Hill & Knowlton clients.

David Emerson's advisor Dale Flood, represents MDS through H & K- Gordon O'connor was a lobbyist for H & K - Brian Mulroney is director at H & K - and the list goes on and on.

With their track record, Canadians should be very concerned about getting our government press releases from this PR firm.

Who are Hill & Knowlton

Incubator Baby Hoax

This is not about Conservatives vs Liberals and you don't even have to follow these links to confirm the reputation of the company; it's longtime task of selling war to the American people; and their questionable tactics in achieving this. Use the keywords Hill & Knowlton Kuwait, or Hill & Knowlton Bush and there are lots of sources.

My concern is the fact that our elected officials are not allowed to speak freely on important issues, despite the fact that we elected them do so; but insead have left the job of keeping us informed to a paid PR firm.

At least with this gag order we are not constantly subjected to the liberal media who spent a great deal of time portraying the Conservatives as boogeymen, and as a Party that would destroy Canada, our traditions and values. I think the Liberal's a;ready did a fine job of destroying Canadian traditions and values to the point that having Liberal values and morals meant having no values and morals at all.

[Drea]

At least with this gag order we are not constantly subjected to the liberal media who spent a great deal of time portraying the Conservatives as boogeymen, and as a Party that would destroy Canada, our traditions and values. I think the Liberal's a;ready did a fine job of destroying Canadian traditions and values to the point that having Liberal values and morals meant having no values and morals at all.

SO you are saying that it's better to have a "gagged" media than a "liberal" media.

I say it's better to have a wide open media (rightwingers feel free to have all the media you want -- the Western Standard comes to mind...) regardless of who is reporting (right or left).

The office of the Prime Minister shutting out the media and feeding the public information in "canned news bites" authorized by the govt smacks of facism.

The job of the media is to investigate. Not to simply accept.

If you don't like the msm, read Ezra. Although he is not mainstream (not for lack of trying LOL), he is the voice for the right and I would not deny him his soapbox.

[Wilber]

I don't like it. It was secrecy and what was done under it that sewered the Liberals and will eventually do the same to the Conservatives if it goes on long enough. I don't send my MP to Ottawa just to have the party leader stick a sock in his mouth.

[geoffrey]

So with the MPs and media going through the 'office', it is looking more like a White House press conference with McClelland saying not much of anything important.

Government Accountability Harper, you said it yourself.

Since when is a government unaccountable when they don't have a press conference every 25 minutes to tell you nothing like the former government did.

All in the while, they were shoving money out the back door.

The amount of press conferences and media access is clearly not linked to the ethics of the government. Silly silly silly.

Have Harper tell us when it's something important or at least new and relevant. It's not like the auditor general has been shut up, if anything bad is happening, you'll know. Plus parliament isn't even open yet, so the obligation is very small.

Watch CPAC, you'll get a whole hour of questioning of the government everyday starting Monday.

[Hicksey]

Ah but he will keep our interest inwhat he wants us to know. Behind the scenes he can destroy a lot of what we consider important. For Example Mr. Harris's MPAC which is only now coming to light for the rip off it is. I protested mightily when our taxes on a non lake front property tripled. I was completely ignored It wasn;t until the change of government that I was finally acknowledged and our taxes where cut back by one third. Well that still leaves a property that is being taxes away above its salability.

How many other little things will Mr. Harper steal from us.

Any self-respecting Canadian that follows politics, regardless of political leaning, has to admit Harper's got a LONG LONG ways to go to catch up with the Liberals. I have no doubt in my mind Canadians won't have nearly as much patience with Harper as they did with the Liberals while they screwed us for the last 13 years.

[Hicksey]

I don't like it. It was secrecy and what was done under it that sewered the Liberals and will eventually do the same to the Conservatives if it goes on long enough. I don't send my MP to Ottawa just to have the party leader stick a sock in his mouth.

If we guage how long Harper has to screw you by how patient people were with the Liberals, Harper's got a decade or so left. I'm not that worried.

I'd rather they be doing something constructive instead of talking to the press. When you have something new or constructive to say, an event to announce or something else of value to say, then talk to them. If not, they can wait. It's not up to them to do the jobs of the journalists and give them things to write about. I think the main reason the Ottawa press corps is angry is because they'll actually have to look for stories now instead of having them handed to them.

[GostHacked]

I don't like it. It was secrecy and what was done under it that sewered the Liberals and will eventually do the same to the Conservatives if it goes on long enough. I don't send my MP to Ottawa just to have the party leader stick a sock in his mouth.

If we guage how long Harper has to screw you by how patient people were with the Liberals, Harper's got a decade or so left. I'm not that worried.

I'd rather they be doing something constructive instead of talking to the press. When you have something new or constructive to say, an event to announce or something else of value to say, then talk to them. If not, they can wait. It's not up to them to do the jobs of the journalists and give them things to write about. I think the main reason the Ottawa press corps is angry is because they'll actually have to look for stories now instead of having them handed to them.

Handed to them? It will now take longer for the media to get at the MPs. Before it was nice and easy, session ends, talk to the press, go home. Now with that gone. The Media has to bang on doors to get what they need, and I bet this will waste more time on both sides part.

Again, government accountablility?

[Hicksey]

I don't like it. It was secrecy and what was done under it that sewered the Liberals and will eventually do the same to the Conservatives if it goes on long enough. I don't send my MP to Ottawa just to have the party leader stick a sock in his mouth.

If we guage how long Harper has to screw you by how patient people were with the Liberals, Harper's got a decade or so left. I'm not that worried.

I'd rather they be doing something constructive instead of talking to the press. When you have something new or constructive to say, an event to announce or something else of value to say, then talk to them. If not, they can wait. It's not up to them to do the jobs of the journalists and give them things to write about. I think the main reason the Ottawa press corps is angry is because they'll actually have to look for stories now instead of having them handed to them.

Handed to them? It will now take longer for the media to get at the MPs. Before it was nice and easy, session ends, talk to the press, go home. Now with that gone. The Media has to bang on doors to get what they need, and I bet this will waste more time on both sides part.

Again, government accountablility?

When they do something worthy of a pat on the back or something worthy of a kick in the ass I'm sure the press will make it their business to get to them. Until then there's nothing to be held accountable for.

God forbid a member of the press corps have to go farther than the front foyer of the HOC ...

Again, if there's nothing new to add or nothing new to announce how is talking to the press anything more than a waste of taxpayer time and money?

This thread's television show equivalent is Seinfeld, because it was a show about ...

[betsy]

Last Friday on Mike Duffy, I was surprised with Jane Taber's comment regarding this "gag order" and "banning of the press in the lobby. She explained that ALL NEW ADMINISTRATIONS had done something like this one way or the other. Then she went on to explain what it was that Chretien and Paul Martin did. Mike Duffy was the one who looked miffed with this press ban in the lobby.

Coming from Jane (who only several days ago seemed to be fuming about this new criticism of Harper) it was a complete turn-about. She had some good things to say about Harper with Bush in Mexico. My husband joked, "Is she dating a conservative?" Because she suddenly sounded like a conservative!

[Hicksey]

Last Friday on Mike Duffy, I was surprised with Jane Taber's comment regarding this "gag order" and "banning of the press in the lobby. She explained that ALL NEW ADMINISTRATIONS had done something like this one way or the other. Then she went on to explain what it was that Chretien and Paul Martin did. Mike Duffy was the one who looked miffed with this press ban in the lobby.

Coming from Jane (who only several days ago seemed to be fuming about this new criticism of Harper) it was a complete turn-about. She had some good things to say about Harper with Bush in Mexico. My husband joked, "Is she dating a conservative?" Because she suddenly sounded like a conservative!

Now here's a revelation! The Liberals did it too?! This is great. The hypocrisy continues.