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It was a simple and direct question to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a town hall meeting in Regina Thursday, politely asked by a young woman, that spoke volumes about today’s politics.

About how you don’t have to yell at politicians to be effective in challenging their views.

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And about how the prime minister – and politicians in general – routinely brush off questions they don’t want to answer by using the tired, old and cynical political spin technique called blocking and bridging.

It means blocking the question you’ve been asked and bridging away to answering something else.

Media consultants and political handlers think it’s clever.

What it really demonstrates is the politician’s contempt for the questioner, which is fine in Question Period because that’s essentially political theatre, or when a politician does it to the media because it’s our job to interpret political bafflegab.