Monday, July 13, 2015

The NDP Finally Fires an Attack Ad at the Corrupt Harper Cons



About a week ago I wrote about how disappointed I was to hear both Tom Mulcair and Justin Trudeau declare that they would not attack Stephen Harper like he attacks them.

And I even wondered whether they were trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. 

For no government in Canadian history ever deserved to be attacked more than Harper and his depraved Con regime.

And this sobering article by Bruce Livesey only reinforces what I have always believed. 

For while I think Livesey underestimates the desire for change, which is Harper's biggest enemy.

He makes a lot of good points, including reminding us that vote-splitting is our biggest enemy. So we are always fighting the Cons with one hand tied behind our backs.

And when it comes to whether progressives should or shouldn't use attack ads, this couldn't be more true:

"It’s an ethic of ‘I am willing to burn the house down so I can own the lot’,” explains Mike Casey, a veteran Democratic communications consultant based out of Virginia. “Stephen Harper is willing to burn the house down to own the lot. ‘I will bring a gun to a knife fight. You can call foul while you’re lying bleeding on the floor' — that is the kind of ethic.” 

 “The American political left took a long time, thirty-plus years, to learn this about the American right,” Casey continues. “They lost election after election after election. Throughout my career, I watched Democratic or progressive politicians get their heads handed to them by conservative politicians and they cried foul over dirty tactics after the election was done. It just doesn’t change anything. I call it principled loserism.”

Stephen Harper always brings a gun to a knife fight, and unless we fight fire with fire we will end up lying in a pool of our own blood. Watching our country being destroyed. And looking like principled LOSERS.

So needless to say I was very happy to see this new NDP ad today...



The ad remains true to what Mulcair said, it doesn't attack Harper personally, it just attacks his foul record of corruption. It is a step in the right direction.

And hopefully there will be many more. 

For we do need to attack that foul Con regime with all the strength we can muster. Our poor country is lying in a pool of its own blood, screaming out for justice.

To ignore those screams is to betray it, and to ultimately betray ourselves.

Do we really want Livesey's prediction to come true? And spend the next four years wondering whether we fought the Cons as hard as we could have. I don't think so.

Attack them, attack them, attack them, grind them down to dirt.

Destroy that foul, corrupt, un-Canadian regime.

And cage its monstrous leader...



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23 comments:

Gyor said...

Just have to be careful not to make Blue Orange Switchers feel stupid for voting Tory, it will breed resentment and they stay with the Tories.

Thankfully I don't think this ad does that, its talks about Harper's promise, which sounded good and betrayed that, so it makes it seem that voting Tory at the time was reasonable, but that bastard Harper betrayed your trust, just like a Liberal, which Blue Oragne Switchers hate, so vote NDP who will do politics different. It makes Harper look bad, without making his voter look bad, making it easier to convert them to the NDP.

davemj said...

Keep them coming Tom Terrific

Anonymous said...

Its a good factual ad, unlike the Con ads that take a 3 second comment out of context and spin it into a whole story. Hopefully we will see more as there is so much more to tell and the beauty is that it can all be truthful unlike the Con lie that Trudeau will cancel income splitting for seniors if elected.
RT

David said...

Great ad! As I said the other day..... The Libs and the NDP have to fight fire with fire.

Fight Fire with Fire - Kansas [Lyrics]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-ze0oQ_b6c

There is nothing wrong with attack ads that attack and refute the fraudulent information found in Con attack ads. Don't attack the man (Harper), attack his foul and anti-democratic policies by refuting them with the truth! If the Libs and NDP don't start airing attack ads soon (like by the end of July-August) then the relentless Con attack ads airing on television NOW will have succeeded in what they have done before--define/smear the opposition leaders before they have had a chance to define themselves and present their own policies. "Bible-believer" Stevie should dust off his Bible (if he has one) and read what it says in Exodus 20:16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."

lagatta à montréal said...

It is a very intelligent ad. No personal attacks; only facts. And extremely clever to start out with the Conservative pledge to clean up politics after the Gomery commission.

mizdarlin said...

To play devil's advocate here, I think the ad is too intellectual for most Tory voters; they just won't understand that it was Cons who created this mess..but you are right, it is a good start..
And have to admire the NDP for not stooping to personal attacks..it would be so easy to do, but the higher ground f hopefully will be maintained, while the Con jugular is the target...
Loved the sly reference to to 'Liberal corruption, " too.. talk about two birds with one stone!

Anonymous said...

It's about time and I love it. Harper will be having a conniption fit over poor old Deano going in the paddy wagon. Keep them coming Tom, and JT? Sunshine and lollipops aren't going to cut it.
JD

Adam T said...

Good ad from Calm Tom and there is nothing wrong with it. It is not an 'attack ad' despite what Harper's enablers in the media say as their are no personal attacks here.

https://youtu.be/PCSMyFWTjRc

Sandra Harris said...

Very poignant and well stated. You always are. Thank you for all you do, Simon.

e.a.f. said...

What the cons are doing with their ads regarding Trudeau, those are attack ads. They are bullying ads. They actually are so infantile they "attack" the fact he has great hair. its not like he could help that. He most likely got that from his Mother's side of the family.

What the NDP is doing is simply giving a recital of the facts, nothing more. the facts may not be flattering from a con point of view, but the truth is the truth. Just as the ads regarding the cutting of health care to the tune of $36billion. That is not an attack ad, it is simply advising the public of what steve and his cons are planning on doing come 2017.

There is no reason to run attack ads against the cons. All the other parties have to do is remind people of "deceivin" Stephen's record. His has not demonstrated good judgement by appointing all those senators who got caught with fraud, appointing people who turned out to be not so good like Arthur Porter and the vice chair of the parole board, etc. if ads are used to remind the public/voters of steve's record they aren't attacking him, they are simply telling people what steve did. the truth is never an attack. Letting voters know more Veterans and Military personnel killed themselves than were killed in the middle east wars is not an attack ad. its telling the truth. Reminding people Veterans and active duty members could not get adequate mental health care, that Steve closed Vet. Affairs offices, those are all fact.

We are simply not bearing false witness.

Adam T said...

My favorite part of the Conservative ad is in regards to legalizing marijuana, one of the people say "looks like somebody has some growing up to do." (which is the very definition of a personal attack, fwiw.)

Something like 60% of Canadians favor either outright legalization of marijuana or, at least, decriminalization and only around 20% favor the status quo. So, way to insult the voters Conservatives. They're not just corrupt, cynical and bullying, they're also pretty stupid.

Simon said...

hi Gyor...yes I've heard of that theory. I believe Brad Lavigne once explained that to me personally. But of course it went in one ear and out the other, because I believe that anyone who ever voted for the Cons is too dumb to be finessed one way or the other....

Simon said...

hi davemj...yes that's my feeling too. The Con record is too hideous to ignore. And I want it splattered all over the TV screens of the nation....

Simon said...

hi RT...you're right it was a factual ad, there were no distortions in it unlike every Con ad. I thought it was well produced, and the shots of Del Mastro at the end shuffling along, were by themselves worth the price of admission. I think the Deaner is going to be the star of a lot of attack ads, and I promise you he will be in all of mine...

Simon said...

hi David...well I can't be as noble as you when it comes to NOT attacking Stephen Harper. I practically have to put on a straitjacket to restrain myself from saying what I REALLY feel about him. But yes as far as the parties are concerned, just taking aim at his ghastly record should be enough. What I would like to see from them especially are ads that take one of Harper's many lies, and totally demolish it...

Simon said...

hi lagatta...yes it was well produced, and contrasting what Harper once said, with what he actually did, is very effective. Particularly since everything he promised he did the opposite. Harper already has a major credibility problem, and anything that can be piled upon that can only add to that liability...

Simon said...

hi mizdarlin...well maybe some of it is too intellectual for Con voters. But the shots of Del Mastro shuffling along should be clear enough. Nothing like a perp walk to get the point across...

Simon said...

hi JD...I feel exactly the same way. After what they have done to Canada, I'm not inclined to take any prisoners. As other commenters have pointed out one does have to be careful not to alienate those you want to persuade. But I think a lot of people in this country will be happy to see the Cons finally getting a dose of their own medicine. It will lift their spirits and that's important too...

Simon said...

hi Adam...thanks for that clip, it's a good one. As I've said before ,I understand why some progressives feel the need to hold back because we do need to show that we are better than them. But no progressive could make ads as disgusting as the ones the Cons make, so I'm not worried about our side going over the top. You can hit the Cons really hard, and still be decent...

Simon said...

hi Sandra...thanks for your kind words. I just had to say what I said. I feel our country has been assaulted by those Con bullies, and I despise bullies with every bone in my body. The Cons have behaved like beasts, and they need to be taught a lesson....

Simon said...

hi e.a.f... The sneering tone of the Con ads through the years makes the blood rush to my head, or dive for the remote control. But the latest stealthy Con ad is simply beyond the pale. It's one big lie from beginning to end. And the thought that they could be scaring seniors is the absolute limit. It couldn't be more cowardly or disgusting. They really are shameless...

Simon said...

hi Adam...OMG that is one of the worst lines in that hideous ad. Just thinking about it makes my blood pressure soar. But you're right, I've seen polls that seem to suggest that as many as 30 percent of their so-called base don't share that marijuana mania. So the Cons need to be careful of they could end up hurting themselves. The Great War on Marijuana couldn't be more ridiculous or more criminal....

Anonymous said...

Or the nice hair part even though everybody knows the only Canadian politician who spends more time on their hair than Eve Adams is Steven Harper