The article is here.PM won't say if he threatened debate boycottBy THE CANADIAN PRESSOTTAWA - Websites and watercoolers are abuzz Tuesday over the exclusion of Green party Leader Elizabeth May from the election leaders debates.
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn't want to talk about it. The snub of May - and Harper's role in keeping her out - is all the rage on the Internet.
Harper refused to confirm that he threatened to boycott the televised debates if May was included.
He deflected the question after apologizing for another awkward matter - a tasteless Conservative ad depicting a bird defecating on Liberal Leader Stephane Dion.
Harper has said it would be unfair for May to take part in the debates because she has already touted Dion as a better choice for prime minister
There was a photo accompanying the article but it failed to get a good head shot of Harper. I've fixed that little problem.
UPDATE: Layton is attempting to defend the indefensible. (h/t - Scott)
JimBobby
4 comments:
As I've noted previously, Layton is the key. No one expects Harper to behave otherwise, but if he stood alone, one could hammer away and hope to shame the media into changing their decision. Layton has shown politics trumps fairness toward all voters who might consider voting Green whereas in the past he has said he supported proportional representation. I personally know a couple NDP supporters who have written Layton expressing their outrage.
Layton apparently knew of all this a couple days before it hit the press, so I suspect his heels are dug in. What do you think?
Thanks for the comment, Catherine. I think Layton's heels are dug in, like you say.I notice a few NDP blogs are playing up the idea that Elizabeth has "endorsed" Dion. That was the excuse put forth by the Harper/Layton tag team.
If Elizabeth were to say that she is running for PM, they would rightly call her a lunatic. No sane person could think that the Greens could go from 0 seats to 155 in one election cycle.
Initially, I was heartened to see a good number of NDP supporters slamming Layton's cynical, self-serving power play. That seems to be dying down.
The Greens and Elizabeth are actually looking very good in this whole thing. I've seen a few commenters on the G&M boards saying the move by Harper and Layton has helped them decide to vote Green. After all, if these guys are afraid to debate her, she must have some pretty strong arguments.
There's an old saying about making lemonade. At this point, I think we've won the debates without even being there.
JB
Whoops! I spoke too soon. I've been busy with election stuff and hadn't had a chance to see the good news before I posted that last comment. We're in!!! Woo Hoo!!!!
Congratulations! The people spoke.
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