Steve Kent was quick off the mark on Thursday to pledge his unswerving, unstinting and constant loyalty to the ABC cause.
Yes, the Family Feud is on.
CBC's David Cochrane reported this evening that the Premier was so unsettled by a recent blog post at Meeker on Media that he fired off an e-mail demanding government caucus members declare their support for the Feud and indicate which candidate they would be supporting.
The post, based on comments by Loyola Hearn's communications director, suggested there were leaks inside the Tory caucus heading to Hearn and that not all Provincial Conservatives were comfortable going to war against their kith and kin. The post also indicated that the Premier and his team were organizing a trademark astroturf campaign.
Hearing Kent of the Williams Conservatives commit to defeat the "Harper Conservatives" in the context of the Premier's e-mail only serves to confirm the background to the Meeker post and other commentaries.
First, the e-mail is a clear signal that not only are there Provincial Conservatives who are not happy with the Family Feud, the premier himself is so conscious of it - and worried about it - that he is looking for declarations of loyalty.
Second, Kent's use of the talking point "Harper Conservatives" invites the obvious conclusion that the Family Feud merely pits the Harper Conservatives against the Williams Conservatives, a phrase that only slightly morphs the "Williams Government" phrase so popular in official government news releases.
Third, having Kent pledging to campaign throughout his district against the federal Conservatives is only fitting for what is - essentially - an internal spat among people on the same end of the political spectrum. Only a decade ago, Kent was being courted by and apparently considered running for the old Reform/Alliance Party.
One could almost hear Kent's talking points as a bizarre mix of 1984 and Pogo:
Mount Pearl has always been at war with Eastasia.
We have found the enemy and they is us.
-srbp-