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a rare, borderline serious point from this corner…

The federal parties invest major cash in their election war rooms. They put enormous resources at the disposal of the people who run them. And then these war rooms routinely distribute to media “reality checks” like the one below, which was released today by the Liberals:

Senior Conservatives Jumping Ship Before Election Call?

ISSUE:

David Emerson and Loyola Hearn have both announced they will not seek re-election.

REALITY:

Why are so many members of the Conservative caucus afraid to face the voters?

After two and a half years of serving in a government under Stephen Harper -a government known primarily for its disastrous economic mismanagement and ethical lapses- it’s no surprise that so many Conservatives are abandoning ship.

In fact, 12 members of the Conservative caucus have announced they will not be seeking re-election this fall.

Senior ministers like David Emerson and Loyola Hearn are confirming that Canadians just can’t trust Stephen Harper. Clearly they aren’t willing to stand as candidates under his leadership.

Ministers Emerson and Hearn join the growing list of Conservatives who aren’t interested in watching the Canadian voters pass judgment on their harmful two and a half years in government, a list that includes:

. Norm Doyle (St. John’s East, NL)
. Loyola Hearn (St. John’s South – Mount Pearl, NL)
. Joe Comuzzi (Thunder Bay – Superior North, ON)
. Brian Pallister (Portage – Lisgar, MB)
. Brian Fitzpatrick (Prince Albert, SK)
. Dave Batters (Palliser, SK)
. Carol Skelton (Saskatoon – Rosetown – Biggar, SK)
. Art Hanger (Calgary Northeast, AB)
. Ken Epp (Edmonton – Sherwood Park, AB)
. Bob Mills (Red Deer, AB)
. Myron Thompson (Wild Rose, AB)
. John Williams (Edmonton – St. Albert, AB)
. David Emerson (Vancouver Kingsway, BC)

Canada’s economy can’t handle another two and a half years of Stephen Harper’s so-called ‘leadership’, and it seems like even Conservative Members of Parliament agree.

I’ll spare you any prolonged tirades or fancy joke-ifying. The truth of the matter is that most members of the media completely ignore most Liberal “reality checks” – and, to be honest, many of those from the other parties – because they’re every bit as moronic and useless as this one. Joe Comuzzi is, like, 120 years old. Does anyone with a functioning brain think David Emerson and Loyola Hearn are “confirming that Canadians just can’t trust Stephen Harper”? (Answer: no.) Is there any compelling evidence to support the accusation of Harper’s “disastrous economic mismanagement”? (Answer: no.) Could this “reality check” be any less persuasive and professional? (Answer: yes, it could have been released in limerick form.)

To the war room of the Liberals, the party I once worked for, I say: come on. Come on. You’re embarrassing yourselves and you’re embarrassing the party. Plus, you’re reducing the likelihood anyone will take you seriously later if you happen to make a real and important point. If you don’t have the basic intelligence required to mount a convincing argument against Harper and his government, if you don’t have the discipline to hold your fire on issues that don’t warrant an assault, then you might as well pack up and save your body the pain of subsisting on Coke Zero and Cool Ranch Doritos for the next five weeks.

Put out one or two releases a day, not 25. Make them good and convincing, not bad and stupid. There’s an argument to be made against the Harper government. But to see it you’ll need to remove your heads from your asses.

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