One of the less-discussed aspects of the Klander scandal has been the second way in which Klander's blog went off the Liberal message. Not only did the posts in question completely undercut the claim of senior Liberal staffers to hold anything but complete contempt for racial and gender equality, but they also showed that Liberal higher-ups in Ontario see the NDP as a far more immediate opponent than the Cons. To anybody paying attention, that would surely indicate the relative irrelevance of the Cons in the region, and thereby undermine the usual Lib entreaties to vote strategically.
Fortunately for the Libs as well as the Cons, the CP does its best to undo the damage on the second point, giving Stephen Harper a separate article in response to Klander's resignation based on his close connection to the incident as...well, another person involved in Canadian politics. Meanwhile, no such courtesy has apparently been extended to Layton and/or Chow: the NDP's reaction cited by the CP is limited to a spokesperson's response in the original story centred on Klander.
It struck me as amazing that anybody would conclude that the effect of Klander's blog would be to lead to increased Con support - particularly given the propensity of many Con members to issue equally outrageous statements. But that result seems much more plausible as long as media outlets feel free to decide that the actual injured party doesn't deserve to be heard, and that even a wrong against the NDP should be taken as a reason to support the Cons instead.
Update: In fairness, I'll note that the CP eventually did give coverage to Layton's response - albeit while giving additional publicity to Harper on the issue as well.
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