CBC Calgary: Is Ron Anders still alive?

Finally, someone in the pro-Harper media -- the Canadian Press -- noticed something many of us in the progressive movement have for weeks: Local Conservative candidates are refusing to debate their opponents in their respective districts. Head office is saying there is nothing preventing them from doing so, but the excuses being come up with are bordering on the laughable.

While most Canadians vote for the party or the leader, about 5% still vote for who they think is the best local candidate. That's actually as it should be, since it is legally not a national race but 308 local ones.

To prove how evasive the Conservative candidates are being this round, exactly like the Gingrich Republicans in 1994 who were actually forced by the RNC not to make any media appearances without permission -- and when they did, made such incredulous statements such as homosexuals ought to be in prison -- CBC Calgary has launched a contest to anyone who can prove Ron Anders of Calgary West is still alive. Seriously.

Heck, even Terry Anderson, a former local councillor here in Hamilton, has been more readily available on behalf of the Cons than most; and it's only because here in Hamilton Mountain where I am it's essentially a Liberal - NDP battle anyway.

Most politics, if not all, is local. If a Harperite wants to throw away 5% of the vote and possibly a plum MP post, that's his or her problem. But the issue is that too many don't want to acknowledge their opponents' right to exist; and because of that it's a national problem. Harper should crack the whip and demand his candidates put their best face forward. If he can't or is unwilling to do that, then Steve Harper is not a leader.

Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.