Reflections from the trough

So now that Deceivin' Stephen is done his "I had no choice" moment, a few thoughts on the desperation Senate appointments announced today.

- It's amazing how so much of the "liberal media" seems to fit comfortably into the Conservative caucus.

- On a related note, the most important consequence of the Senate appointments may be less the addition of anybody to the Senate than the removal of Mike Duffy from CTV: surely whoever takes that role figures to have at least the potential to do far more to shape Canada's political scene than any of the appointees.

- Who else is relieved that Harper rushed the appointments to avert the Con-fueled threat of any separatists in the Senate?

- I'd wondered if Harper might try to soften the PR blow of a massive dose of patronage in the midst of a recession by matching PMPM in giving at least a couple of token appointments to supporters of other parties. Apparently even I can still underestimate Harper's degree of blind partisanship.

- Finally, it's worth noting that Harper's messaging today is still based on the real likelihood that the coalition will indeed replace him in government next month. Which should offer a fairly strong signal that however many pundits are eager to declare the coalition to be finished, even the Cons can't deny that it's still a force to be reckoned with.