Turnabout Is Fair Play

Thanks to Ed Tanas for bringing the following to my attention:

Taking its cue from the Conservative Party, the Liberals Party is attempting to turn the tables on reckless, unjustified and overtly partisan political ads masquerading simply as useful public information (meted out to the public at taxpayer expense, of course).

The Liberals said people are angry about what they view as wasteful government spending, and they wanted to remind Canadians how much the Tories have spent since 2006.

“After 10 years, Stephen Harper thinks he owns the government — he doesn’t. The people of Canada do,” Liberal party spokesman Olivier Duchesneau said.

The party would not disclose how much they are spending on the limited Stanley Cup playoff ad buy.

As usual, the government is showing its egregious contempt for the intelligence of the public:

The Conservative government defended the spending.

“Advertising is a key way for the government to inform Canadians about important issues such as tax credits and public health issues," said Stephanie Rea, spokeswoman for Treasury Board President Tony Clement.

Let's hope the above whopper sets everyone's spider sense tingling.

Robogate: Another Explosive Revelation From The Star

As I noted in my last post, a pattern is emerging in the voter suppression crimes owing to the consistency of the telephone script received in upwards of 30 ridings in the last federal election.

The Star has just made another startling discovery: Automated phone calls that directed people to the wrong polling stations in the last federal election overwhelmingly targeted older voters, all born between 1947 and 1949, directing them to the wrong polling station.

Even more damning, most of those who received the misdirecting calls say they were previously contacted by the Conservative Party and indicated that they would not be supporting their local Tory candidate.

As noted in the article, this kind of information suggests the existence of a database that goes far beyond the names and addresses provided by Elections Canada to all political parties and campaigns.

And of course everyone knows which political party is obsessive in maintaining databases that go well beyond the norm.

A Few Thoughts Going Into The Last Weekend Before The Election

While it would be presumptuous to try to predict the outcome of Monday's vote, I am heartened by what I perceive to be an awakening of the Canadian electorate. If political polls and advance voting numbers are any indication, we are demonstrating, counter to the much-discussed assertions of voter apathy, that we are listening and following this campaign like few in recent memory.

I have been convinced for some time now that if we are ever to rid ourselves of the scourge of political arrogance that has characterized our elected representatives for far too long, we have to begin by showing that we do care about our country. And the best way to do that is by turning out in huge numbers on election day. To abstain from voting is to tell our Members of Parliament to do what they will and that like sheep, we will be led wherever their whims and self-interest take us.

But I think we will prove far less docile than our leaders would like us to be, their platitudes about the importance of political engagement notwithstanding. If I am right, I think there will be a number of factors accounting for the change, including the following:

The turmoil in the Middle East, starting with Egypt's indefatigable protests that led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, can have left few unaffected. The resolve, the passion, and the courage of so many people willing to risk everything, even their lives, for a principle that we have so frequently taken for granted or openly disdained, has left an indelible mark upon our collective psyche. And of course, those gyrations continue to this day in Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and Libya.

Rick Mercer's rant to young people, so amply and effectively disseminated through social media, is undoubtedly responsible for the rise of voter flash mobs on university campuses throughout the country. The energy, enthusiasm and passion so evident in the mob videos, I think and hope, will result in significant youth turnout at the ballot box which, in turn, will contribute to establishing a lifelong voting habit.

Then there is the dreary and relentless campaign of negativity that has characterized the Harper Conservative regime's bid for reelection. What does a strategy based upon the cultivation of fear, anger, suspicion and even hatred, along with the party's well-documented anti-democratic behaviour, tell the voter? It tells me that it is a party without vision, a party lacking the capacity to help Canada realize its great potential, a party that spurns logic and reason in favour of a demagogic manipulation of the people it purports to want to represent. In other words, a party unfit to govern.

And so as the campaign winds down and we move quickly toward May 2, I join with all others of goodwill and hope as I reflect upon the possibilities for the country that I love.

Student Voting at Guelph, and A CBC Appeal

Hot on the heels of news suggesting that more young people are making efforts to get politically involved in this election is the disturbing action by the Harper operatives to get a special ballot overturned at the University of Guelph in which 700 students voted. The people at Leadnow.ca are fighting back with an online petition demanding that the Conservative regime drop its challenge and let the vote stand. You can sign the petition here.

On a related note, Friends of CBC is offering a handy guide and downloadable campaign signs for those concerned with the political threats to the funding of the Corporation. Click here for that information.

John Ibbitson on Voter Suppression

John Ibbitson has an interesting online article entitled 'Voter suppression' the Canadian way. I have long-suspected that the Conservatives, with their extensive record of contempt for democracy, are using this election campaign to both appeal to their base and to discourage non-supporters from voting, thereby giving a minority the ability to help determine the future shape of our country.

Harper's efforts at fear-mongering, his sowing of suspicion and anger, his relentlessly negative ads may indeed serve the goal of voter suppression.

Take a look at the article and see what you think.

Lawrence Martin On The Dire State of Democracy Under The Harper Regime

Writing at i.Politics.ca, Lawrence Martin, author of Harperland, (a revealing look at the Prime Minister and his contempt for just about everyone outside his narrow clique), does us all a service in his article, By the way prime minister, this is not a police state, reminding us of some of Harper's more egregious and flagrant violations of democratic norms over the past few years. Given that there have been so many instances of these abuses since the Harper regime took power, I am grateful for the brief refresher course Martin offers here.

What Do Harper's Tactics Reveal About the Man?

If we really stop to think about them, the overwhelmingly negative nature of Prime Minister Harper's government and his campaign tactics reveal something that should deeply concern everyone. It occurs to me that all of the contempt his government has shown for Parliamentary democracy, all of the corrosive hatred and fear-mongering infesting his attack ads and his poisonous public pronouncements that so far substitute for a platform, are predicated on a core philosophy: that the people of Canada are stupid and easily manipulated, that power is to be won at any cost, and that collateral damage, i.e., the moral and psychological health of the nation, is of no consequence.

Is this really the man we want to be leading our nation?