"Harper has fast become the kind of governing politician he once professed to abhor"

Same old patronage games in Harper's 'new' Senate < read me.

Like the prospect of devouring the leftover Christmas turkey, many Canadians might find it hard to digest Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to stack the Senate with party loyalists.

Conservative supporters point out that every prime minister before Harper has done exactly the same thing, and that the PM has encountered nothing but roadblocks in his attempts at genuine Senate reform.

But Harper sold himself to Canadians as a different kind of politician, one who'd refrain from using patronage appointments to the Senate. A man who could be trusted to keep that and other promises.

Instead, Harper has fast become the kind of governing politician he once professed to abhor -- one who routinely breaks his word.

Naming 18 Tory senators Monday -- the most ever in a single day -- is just the latest example of a promise made, a promise broken.