The Citizen, 1987-08-26, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 1987.
Opinion
Debatable debates
Given they have so much to gain and so little to lose, is it any
wonder the two opposition party leaders continue to demand
more televised debates with Premier David Peterson. It is any
wonder that Mr. Peterson continues to refuse.
For the guy out front in popular support in an election
campaign, televised debates are a no-win situation. If you
agree to debate, you’re in a situation where everybody gangs
up on you as the guy they most want to diminish. The sheer
numbers of two against one mean you ’re unlikely to look good
(just as the sheer numbers of those federal provincial
conferences where it’s 10 against one means a federal prime
min is ter can never look good). Yet if the leader refuses to
debate, he’s painted with the brush of not wanting to play fair,
of trying to hide from the public. Even ifhe does agree to a
debate, as Peterson did, he is hounded to hold more debates so
more topics can be discussed (and the opposition can have more
opportunity to chip away at his image).
The problem isn't just with the debates but the impression
that one party leader “won” the debate. Although hard to
judge in real terms unless one leader totally falls flat on his face,
the preception that one leader won a debate can change an
entire campaign. People who didn’t even watch the debate
accept the common kownledge that one leader won the debate
and two others lost it. If the campaign front-runner “lost” the
debate then the other two won it.
Last week’s Ontario debate for instance, is generally
accepted to have been a victory for Bob Rae of the New
Democrats who won the debate. A Toronto Star poll flashed that
news before the party leaders had barely left the studio. The
poll however didn’t show that Rae “won” the debate, (the
actual numbers were 36.6 per cent for Peterson, 35.6 per cent
for Rae), just that the percentage of people who said they
thought he had won the debate was higher than those who had
supported him earlier. Peterson had fewer people who thought
he did well in the debate than had been prepared to vote for him
even though he and Rae were virtually even in numbers of those
who thought they’d done well. Thus, Rae was declared the
winner and will ever be known as the winner.
Whether that perception will change this election campaign
or not but it certainly underlines the kind of crap game election
debates have become. It also makes it clear why the underdogs
want the debates to go on forever while Mr. Peterson wants to
leave well enough alone and run as fast as he can to new
campaign strategies.
Tough times for senators
Being a Canadian Senator may be great for pay and working
hours, but it’s tough if you have sensitive feelings.
Senators have become the brunt of many jokes in recent years
for thefact they get paid so much and seem to do so little.
They’re regularly portrayed as flacks and hacks, people who
have been paid off for long years of service to their parties with
the closest thing to heaven Canadian politics has to offer.
Yet if that abuse isn’t bad enough, just let the Senators do
something to earn their money. Recently, for instance, the
Senators refused to approve a bill pushed through the House of
Commons by Prime Minister Mulroney’s huge majority. The
Senators proposed amendments to the Drug Patent Act which
would have decreased the number of years inventors of drugs
could have exclusive use of the drugs before cheaper ‘ ‘generic’ ’
copies could be made.
Mr. Mulroney, who usually complains the media is against
him, found plenty of support from members of the press in
declaring that the Senators, appointed, not elected, were being
undemocratics in the opposition to a bill that is passed by the
elected Commons. This despite public opinion polls that say
the Senators are more in line with the thinking of Canadian
voters than the government. (Naturally enough since the short
term benefit of the bill would go to drug companies at the
expense of consumers.)
So what are senators supposed to do: take their money and
sleep? Vote for government bills even if they don’t believe in
them? Surely thentheywouldbehacks, leaches living off
taxpayers without doing anything for them.
The solution, of course, is Senate reform which would see
elected Senators provide a democratically legitimized chamber
of sober second thought. The problem is, under the Meech Lake
agreement which says senate reform must be unanimously
approved by all 10 provinces. The chances of getting a truly
democratic Senate seems remote. We may be stuck with an
appointed Senate for many years to come.
That being the case, we should insist governments put the
best possible people in the Senate and then be happy when they
do thoroughly examine proposed legislation, even to the point
of throwing a monkey wrench in the works now and then.
Preparing for show season
Mabel’s Grill
There are people who wilt tell you
that the important decisions in town
are made down at the town hall.
People in the know, however know
that the real debates, the real
wisdom reside down at Mabel's
Grill where the greatest minds in
the town [if not in the country]
gather for morning coffee break,
otherwise known as the Round
Table Debating and Filibustering
Society. Since not just everyone can
partake of these deliberations we
will report the activities from tim e to
time.
MONDAY: Talk was this morning
about the big television debate
between the Ontario Party Lead
ers. Ward Black asked Hank
Stokes ifhe was going to watch the
debate. “Only if I can’t find
something I’d rather do, like clean
out the hogs,” Hank said.
Julia Flint said at least it would
be a break from reruns of old
television shows from last winter.
“Yeh,” Tim O’Grady said, “ii>
stead you get reruns of old
arguments from question period
last winter.”
TUESDAY: Tim was saying he
hoped those Canadian stew
ardesses over in Saudi Arabia had a
good time at that party because
they sure were paying a good price
for it after being thrown in jail
because they were at a party where
booze was served.
Julia said these girls might be
drummed out of the stewardess
union. Here the stewardesses have
been trying to get the point across
that they aren’t just good-time
party animalsforyears and now
some girls who couldn’t pass up a
good party create an international
incident over it. Hanks said he
heard they went to work over there
not so much for the money but for
the adventure and they’ve certain
ly had that.
WEDNESDAY: Billie Bean has
been scheming again. Always
trying to find ways to improve the
local economy Billie had a new
proposition this morning.
Everywhere Premier Peterson’s
plane lands these days, Billie was
saying, he seems to drop a few
million dollars of the taxpayers
dollars. “Why don’t we rent a
plane and force his plane down in
the field at the edge of town. He’s
probably so much in the habit he’d
give us a few million before he
realized he’d landed by mistake.
Ward got a good chuckle out of
that one but Tim said that Larry
Grossman seems to be making lots
of wild promises too so maybe they
should make him land here too. But
Billie said from the looks of Larry’s
chances, we might as well save the
rent for the airplane.
THURSDAY: Tim was talking
about all the fuss about the refugee
billinOttawaandwas saying he
was glad they hadn’t made the bill
retroactive or his family might be
kicked out since they were refu
gees from the U. S. at the end of the
American Revolution.
Hank said the Mulroney govern
ment better hope other countries
don’t get refugee legislation that’s
too tough because if things contin
ue the way they have for the
Conservatives they might be run
out the country by the next
election.
FRIDAY: Having given up his idea
to kidnap the premier Billie had a
new scheme for a business this
morning. He figures everybody
else seems to be doing it so he’s
going to start a polling company.
Hank said he didn’t think we
needed another polling company
but Billie said he’d been watching
and there had been one day in the
last two weeks when there hadn’t
been results of some poll or other in
the paper and figured the papers
would be desperate to find a poll to
fill the gap.
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