Are Secret Scrums Killing Democracy In B.C.?

AccessingEvil
BehindClosedDoorsVille

Yesterday, we wrote a post about how the Republican Playbook has come to the Great White North in the form of Sandra (neeRove?) Buckler's devious efforts to deny select media outlets 'access' to 'exclusive' interviews with the horse she is currently riding, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, if they don't toe the party line.

All of which led to some very fine linkage from The Galloping Beaver and some even finer discussion in our very own comment threads, including the following post from the very appropriately monikered 'il postino':

The press manipulation tactics of all the righties are coming from the same songbook. Right here, in little ol' BC, Emperor Gordo is the single politician in the Legislature who will never stop for an old-fashioned hallway scrum. Instead, he holds "secret scrums" in his office in the West Annex and our muckraking friends in the fourth estate dutifully troop on over there on short notice whenever the King's minions let drop that he will be holding forth.

I used to think that this was just gutlessness on the part of our friends in the media. That's only part of the story. Another part is that too afraid of losing access to the Preem. But the biggest thing is that there's no great incentive to trying to embarrass this government. There are no decent editors telling their reporters to get out there and tell the story behind the story: what is the government trying to hide by being so controlling? Instead, those selfsame editors and their corporate bosses are telling these reporters that the context-free pieces that come out of these "secret scrums" are just fine, thank you very much.

Secret scrums?

To go along with super-secret deals protected by super-dooper-double-secret probation solictor-client privileges that are being used to hide the specifics of how they selling off all of our most valuable assets?

Hmmmmmmm..... Perhaps the time has come for some wayward loose-headed prop to drive the holder of such secret scrums right through the wall of the West Annex back out into the light of the public playing field for all to see.

I mean what the hell are these people afraid of?

Oh, ya.

Now I remember.

They have seen the enemy.

And the enemy is.....

Us.

OK?


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