Welcome to the weekend and welcome to The Buzz.
And a warning, there’s a lot of politics ahead in today’s newsletter. But it was that kind of week.
Jagmeet Singh had obviously seen enough. "What's the matter with Canadians?" he must have been thinking. They spend the whole summer focused on politics south of the border, where even he must admit it’s been pretty exciting. While here it’s been the customary snooze through summer, the last thing you want is a political debate. But one was brewing the closer summer got to its end. And Singh wasn’t doing well in the rumblings of that debate. Not with Canadians at large, and not with his own party.
And then, there was that guy in the branded black tee shirt running around from lake to mountain to park, trotting out his latest axe the tax slogan. And blaming not just Justin Trudeau, but now going for the jugular, calling Jagmeet “sellout Singh.” The slogan had caught on. It’s on signs all over the Manitoba riding of Elmwood-Transcona, where the NDP are in a real byelection fight to protect what has been considered an NDP bastion.
So Jagmeet had to do something, had to come up with an idea to change all that.
He called up his favourite video production team, climbed up on a nearby building, and said he’d figured it all out. Liberals bad, kill their deal. Conservatives even more bad, never give them power.
And bingo there we had it. A parliamentary crisis loomed. Could an election be the next step?
Lots to talk about here, so let’s get cracking.
When you want the story behind the story, you call for Aaron Wherry … here’s his take:
The NDP-Liberal deal is no more — here's what could happen next
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Here’s another take from another columnist I have a lot of time for because he always makes me think.
Max Fawcett of the National Observer:
Jagmeet Singh just played himself
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Where does all this leave the Liberals? Especially with Singh claiming, although no one seems to believe him, that an election could be very close.
According to the Toronto Star’s Althia Raj, the Liberals are in a more difficult position than we had already thought when it comes to election prep:
Liberals’ national campaign director tells Justin Trudeau he is quitting
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Want more? Tune into this week’s Good Talk with Chantal Hebert and Bruce Anderson. You can find our YouTube edition at nationalnewswatch.com
Okay, moving south now.
For years, watching the Sunday morning news shows has been part of my regular weekend routine. Whether it was the David Brinkley show or Tim Russert or many of the others who have hosted those programs, I’ve been a loyal viewer. Not so much anymore.
Maybe it’s just the old, retired guy syndrome, convinced the modern Sunday morning shows just don’t hold a candle to those golden days of television (hey, they were never that golden!).
Or maybe it’s more. Maybe it’s because they have just become so predictable. Too predictable. Especially in an election year. Let me explain.
Here we are in the middle of a critical US campaign where voters need the real story on the real issues. Where truth is what matters. It’s all that matters. But how often are they getting it on Sunday morning? Not very often, I would say.
Last Sunday morning, I watched the two leading Sunday morning shows. NBC’s Meet The Press which likes to claim it’s the world’s longest-running TV show. And ABC’s This Week, which landed in the seventies when the legendary David Brinkley was the host. Both shows suffer from what’s happened to US (and to a degree Canadian) politics in the 2000’s and it gets worse every week. The hosts, all good journalists, know they are going to be pushed for time in the interviews, especially if the guests are trotting out party lines handed to them by party organizers before they get to the studio.
Here’s the line on abortion, say this about inflation, this about Ukraine, this about Gaza and the list goes on. Sometimes you can even see the guests, usually party Senators or members of the House of Representatives, looking down at the pages of typed-out notes in front of them. The hosts do push, constantly saying “Quickly now let me ask you this and give me a yes or no answer.” Of course, you never hear yes or no, you just hear spin, or sometimes outright lies.
So, what’s the point? I don’t know anymore. I do know this doesn’t work.
We are just days away now from the Harris-Trump debate. It should be a corker, right? I don’t know how it can’t be. If Harris wins the debate, it’s all over but the hand ringing in my view. If Trump wins, look out. If it’s a draw, we are in for a nailbiter right ‘til the end.
But none of that stops our old friend Allan Lichtman, the 77-year-old American University professor who has the answer to the “who will win?” question already. I’ve mentioned before that I first met Lichtman in 1988 in Washington. He was little known outside campus at the time, but he had a theory about how to pick winners. He’s a bit odd and so are his “keys to victory,” but he’s never been wrong. So, over the years more people listen to him, not just a visiting CBC reporter.
This week, Britain’s Daily Mail sent its top political reporters to get the latest Lichtman prediction:
‘Polling Nostradamus’ who predicted elections since 1984 gives final verdict on 2024 race
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Did you read the stories about the latest evidence of how Russia is trying to impact the US election by hurling misinformation into the system?
Hard to miss the stories because they were everywhere. If they were only in, say, Mother Jones, many of you might kind of ignore them. But they were everywhere so it’s worth reading the Mother Jones angle to all this. Here it is:
New Indictment Alleges Conservative Media Company Took Millions in Kremlin Cash
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There’s a Canadian angle to this Russia story as well and it’s not pretty.
Luke LeBrun of Press Progress is on that:
Far-Right Media Outlet Linked to Secret Russian Influence Campaign Produced 50+ Videos Focused on Canada
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You know a campaign, any campaign anywhere, is in trouble when the finger-pointing starts on the inside.
Or when they start warning staffers not to talk to reporters. Not to leak. Guess who seems to have sent that warning out this week?
Trump Campaign’s Internal Email Warning Staff About Leaks to the Press — Gets Leaked to the Press
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Okay, one last political story.
This is the take on the situation in Ottawa that Reuters sent out to its worldwide clients, some of whom apparently care what happens here:
The rise and fall of Canadian PM Trudeau's political fortunes
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When I was just a kid, I found an old book at some corner stall that fascinated me. It was about the sinking of the Titanic.
It really interested me because it had been published just weeks after the actual sinking in 1912. I grabbed it and still have it. When the James Cameron film came out in the 90’s, I figured my little book would be worth a fortune. It wasn’t. Apparently, tens of thousands of copies were still floating (sorry) around.
I thought of my little book this week when this Titanic story surfaced (sorry again):
Iconic Titanic Bow Railing Falling Apart Amid Deep Sea Decay
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It’s going to be a fascinating week between the Singh story and the US election story.
Enjoy. Back in seven days.
The Buzz is a weekly publication from National Newswatch that shares insights and commentary on the week’s developments in politics, news and current affairs.