On the one hand, their mere existence hurts conservatives all over the place. Every day, they hammer the conservatives’ brand. They remind voters why they need to vote liberal. That certainly was the case in the last provincial election, in the GTA and beyond.
The New York Times is preoccupied with the practice from another angle. Me, I do it for all of my books – and always in situations where I think there is a possible libel action lurking in the wings. Quote approval isn’t the defence of consent, per se, but it’s been legally useful to me more than once: due diligence, responsible communication defence and all that.
That’s what I did, in fact, in this case involving me and the CBC, which went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada – and which we won.
A coincidence because a DNC guy was in here yesterday, and I told him (a) I once reviewed West Wing for CBC, and said I didn’t really like it because nobody in politics is ever as smart as the characters on the show, or is walking around and talking so much, and (b) everyone in Ignatieff’s office was obsessed with West Wing, which suggested to me that they were headed for a thumping, which they were. Because they secretly considered West Wing to be what really happens in politics. Um, no.
Funny, because it is. A bit too long, but it makes its point (over and over).
Now, start hectoring me, West Wing maniacs. If you must know, Star Trek is really the best politics series: fly in, convert the locals (by force, guile or good looks), dress it up as “values,” and then fly away. That’s politics.