Recalcitrant Consortium Member
Once again, CTV, oops, I mean the Broadcast Consortium has denied the Green Party admission to the Nationally televised Leaders debate. While it comes as no surprise whatsoever, it still begs the imagination. What is going on in the broadcast consortium’s collective heads? The criteria by which they exclude the GPC seems to change from election to election. Apparently, the requisite is that there be representation in the house of commons. I don’t know about you, but I do not believe that the rationale has much to do with the actual reason. By any other measure, the Green Party is a National Party that commands the support of approximately 10% of the electorate. That is not a small and insignificant number in a first past the post system. In fact, the Green Party is so significant, that their presence has changed the face of Parliament in a fundamental way. It is not an accident that the Liberal’s (Paul Martin Jr.’s) last majorities shrunk at the same rate that the Greens grew. A Conservative minority Government would be impossible without a fourth national party opening the door to Ontario. The Green Party raises and spends millions of dollars, fields a full slate of candidates, and has a policy platform that covers the full range of Federal responsibilities. So much for them being a fringe party.
So why did they (the consortium) do it again? I assume that this time out they have decided that it is better to give the Green Party a whack of free publicity, and a bullet proof issue in the first week of the campaign than to give them their ten minutes of fame before the whole nation. The communications job for the Green Party is now to have their cake, and eat it too. By this I mean that they need to get the petitions rolling, keep the outrage in the press, and apply more and more pressure and reel in the tens of thousands of new supporters this move will motivate. They also need to keep up the pressure on the consortium in general, and the CTV in particular for their ultimate inclusion in the debate. I wouldn`t hold my breath waiting for a turn about this time, so start preparing the ground for the couple of days before, and immediately after the debate
The issue will fade a bit as Ignatieff, Harper, and Jack slip on assorted banana peels, and trade hollow sounding invective over the coming days. In a couple of weeks though, the debate will start to loom closer, and this issue will come back in a big way if it is tended properly. The other 4 party`s have been smart enough to pretend that Elizabeth May ought to be in the debate, but that it is all the broadcasters fault. They are pretty well bullet proof on this issue, but the broadcasters themselves have stepped way over the line… So use this fact, and start bludgeoning them now. It will likely pay off with improved coverage, more or less as it did in 2005. Actually, there are plenty of neat things to do with a recalcitrant media consortium. Start speaking to the fact that the airwaves are publicly owned in Canada, and the broadcasters get to use them on sufferance. How about the fact that the only corporations that are legally allowed to provide free publicity for political party`s are the media companies? Use your imaginations folks, since the media consortia are trying to directly influence the political process, they should be reminded that they are accountable too.
So there it is. The deed has been done, and the issue is live. Let us hope that there are at least one or two people still working on it for the National Campaign at GPC headquarters in Ottawa. I know this isn`t about electing Elizabeth May in SGI, but perhaps the Party could spare a few thoughts, and a little time for the other 307 Green Party campaigns. They will need some kind of, any kind of support from the Party, and this is a good starting point.
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Filed under: 2011 Election, Election Tactics, Greens In the News |
Not an Official Green Party Canada Site 
CTV is not the only target,, BCE just bought them and threatening to boycott all servies from BCE unless CTV revamps its editorial board and this decision is a good start
Re “So why did they (the consortium) do it again?”
Who cares? The GPC, and global “Green” movement in general, is a travesty for furthering the core principles of eco-politics. The poisons of political correctness and multiculturalism need be challenged and thwarted. Such is not to be undertaken by a globalist political institution that has been co-opted by a gaggle of stringent and babbling feminists.
Where it is rotten kick it, kick it, kick it. The oddest of allies come on board to do so, the Broadcast Consortium inclusive. Elizabeth May must be allowed all opportunity to take down the GPC in a ball of self-righteous flame. Once it, with its false agenda, is out of the way then possibly things can resort back to basics. Let the liberal detritus flow back to where it truly belongs so that the purists can pick up the pieces and address the decline of a civilization, the Post-Peak Oil collapse and devolution of the industrial nation-state, and the genocide of the White race to which the GPC is a major contributing factor.
Kick it! Let it fail. All power to the Broadcast Consortium. The enemy of my enemy is a friend.
In 2008, 2 more out of 100 voted Green. Can this be attributed to May participating in the debate? what’s the expectation this go? at this rate how many decades before Greens get any influence in the house?
Meanwhile it took $14 trillion to prop-up the ponzi economic system after the bubble burst 2.5 years ago. AND NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION IN CANADUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
What’s the definition of insanity? but keep playing the game by the rules set by the plutocracy. Vote ABC!!!??? Wouldn’t want to rock the boat and end the patronage plums that trickle down.
Most no longer expect anything of substance will get changed anyway but May may get her pension yet.
Save the whales. Boycott Toyotas & Hondas.
@REM
Whether or not the bounce inthe polls was attributable to May’s presence inthe debate is a very good question, and is….debatable.
I wish I had access to serious polling data on the question, but in it’s absence, I guess we will have to hypothesize.
In my opinion, May performed well enough and probably put a fair few votes in the bag through the exposure the debates offered. She didn’t talk about the Green Party platform though, so the Green Party didn’t actually put forward much in the way of ideas to capture voters imaginations.
May went on to publicly call for strategic voting, which was enough to turn away a fair few votes.
Had May called for people to actually vote Green, there would have been (duh) a much stronger Green vote. By much stronger, I would think one or a little more percent of the popular vote.
In short, exposure matters in a big way, and the debate is the best exposure going. What you do with that exposure counts a lot though.
@ bluegreenblogger: years back I looked to the Greens (even donated) as an alternative. The others all get a falling grade on the ‘democracy front” (see Democracy Watch website). None have dealt with issue of overtaxed working poor (even big unions have looked after themselves at expense of others). Martin balanced the budget on the backs of the working poor. Canada already has a two class health care system, which suits the others fine. The majority now are co-opted by entitlements. There is no representation for the overtaxed working poor-young and old.
When Greens vote ABC they must be blind to what goes on the social front and so become part of the problem.
40%+ don’t bother showing up on voting day. I now boycott the fraud they call democracy by spoiling my ballot. Next time round make pro. rep. the defining issue. Just don’t wait till ground hog day.
Her Debate performance took us from 14 % to 6.8% who are you guys kidding
It was an embarrassment to watch and with my hands tied I could have done better
I knew we were toast and some of my team cried actually
Instead of selling us…she coddled her master harper…..or at best played a bad shrill windbag
No sorry I had hundreds and hundreds on the streets protesting last time..this time…..not even a phone call was made
I look forward to showing what a cretin she really is when I win my BC Appeal Court case…see
shavluk.com
Every one totally also forgets the second there was a sniff of a coalition what was the news to hard working green members who had just dealt with her “canadians are stupid” and “” strategic voting “””
What happened politicos??
There was elley may our ..ummm…er…umm..sorry I cant say leader..but there was old elley begging for a SENATE SEAT from the Coalition !!!!
Yeah I know a memory is a bitch…maybe the networks have one too…
I went and got all my signatures and am running in Delta Richmond East BC instead of SGI BC as I actually care about the future hahhahhahhaha unlike how may does though
I mean more than just my future hahhaha
cheers all
Who the H. E. Double Hockey Sticks is the Canadian Media Consortium anyway???
Oh! Meet them here:
http://cautionstudio.ca/election2011.html
The ndis alowement of the Green party from partisapating in the Nationally televised debate for this upcoming election, and the past ones I might add, is a demonstration of the prejedisms present in our social news reporting agencies, and should be grounds to have these agencies barred from brodcasting any relevent social happennings ever again due to the fact that they only are interested in producing self serving material. Social accountability and trueth are as they see fit. This is self serving and not Canadian content, defenetly no fredom of speach will be tolerated. Maybe it’s due to kick backs from the big political parties, I’m sure the papers have already been shredded.
I feel you should be held financially responsible for any wrong doings that the political parties perform, because you limited Canadians exposure to the full spectrum availiable to them at election time. It’s like telling people they have three choices to choose from, when there is realy four, or more cause I really don’t know what my options are because you are filtering them.
The ones you are highlighting are a bunch of liars and self serving crooks looking to fleece canadians ounce again thanks to you and your selective coverage and reporting practices. You should be disalowed from any national broadcasting and news reporting services.