Oh. Mein.Cabaret. It's showtime in Harperland. The Cons are screening their latest attack ad.
And this time the Harpo hate monster is going after the NDP !!!
But wait what's this? Despite the creepy Halloween theme, the critics are panning it. Not because it's clearly a product of Stephen Harper's deranged mind. And morally repulsive.
But because it's not SCARY ENOUGH !!!!
When Thomas Mulcair was elected NDP chief – and the Leader of the Official Opposition – it was widely assumed he would find himself in Conservative Party sights.
But the attack campaign that’s been rolled out by the Tories to bash Mr. Mulcair lacks the same sort of creative nastiness that defined their attacks against Liberal leaders when that party held second-place status in the House of Commons.
And to make matters worse, the Liberal blogger Impolitical concludes the ad isn't nasty enough. *Sigh* Because the Cons are happy with their NDP "chew toy."
While it's early in the life of this majority government term, it's looking like the Conservatives are happy with an NDP opposition. A new soft chew toy that they are happily batting around.
When in fact the truth is exactly the opposite.
The Cons aren't happy with the NDP, they're SCARED of them.
The second factor is that Harper’s Conservatives are worried that negative attacks might actually help the NDP unite the non-Conservative vote, something they are desperate to avoid.
Nothing would highlight that the NDP is now the main threat to the Conservatives like unleashing a negative barrage. Nothing would serve as a better rallying point for non-Conservatives.
And the reason they're scared is because Mulcair and his party are doing such a good job they are now the only ones who can save Canada from the Cons.
Unlike Bob Rae and his Liberals ...
Who are too focused, at least at this time, on just saving themselves.
And because the NDP is doing such a good job, and the Cons are so debased, trying to seriously slime anyone would only make them look worse. If that's possible.
Which makes what some Liberals are doing so pathetic. Hoping that the Cons will do their dirty work for them. Even if it means destroying our best chance of winning the next election.
Damn. I hate blind partisanship at a time when our country is burning. I hate how rating a disgusting Con attack ad is now considered normal in Canada. I hate how some people are disappointed because they aren't horrible enough.
And I have hated every attack ad the Cons have ever made, and I expect all progressives to feel the same way.
Oh boy. How low have we fallen. Harper and his thugs would drag us all into the gutter. Unite to defeat them.
Focus on the real enemy.
Destroy the Con monsters...
Hi Simon, It see the Cons aren't the only ones worried about the NDP as the libs have been quick to go on the attack lately and for good reason as they are in danger of joining the likes of the PC's on the scrap heap of history. Something I truly hope doesn't happen.
ReplyDeletehi Kev...as you know I believe that all progressives should unite to defeat the Harper Cons, because I'm not sure we will survive the next three years. But five more years after that would be fatal, and it simply can't be allowed. I've noticed the NDP is trying to focus on the Harper government, and the Liberals should do the same thing. If they can rebuild their party good for them, but hoping the Cons will destroy the NDP for them, is totally pathetic...
ReplyDeleteSimon I'm not so sure about blind partisanship from the Liberals but I've actually seen more of it from the actual NDP politicians directed at the Liberal party in the last while than the other way around. Last time I was commenting here when the NDP were hogging time allocations in the budget response and and Mulcair was asked about it, he dismissed it by claiming the Liberals had nothing to say and actually agreed with the Conservatives. If that bit of putting words in the mouths of the entire Liberal party isn't a nice display of partisanship you probably can't say what is.
DeleteYou also have to admit the Conservative's have not actually gone full steam with the attack machine on Mulcair yet like they did preemptively on Dion or Ignatieff. The difference this time is not likely whether or not they are afraid of Mulcair but the fact that they are still relatively early into a majority government and don't have to face an election for at least 3 years or so. Before there was always some risk of an election when the Cons still only had a minority so the preemptive attack machine and character damage on Ignatieff in particular was a smart, albeit dirty, political move. Right now with Mulcair the Conservatives still have a few years to try and wait things out and change public opinion.
On public support we don't yet know if the NDP is surging from an actual move of public support, or if it is simply a mix of Mulcair's honeymoon period and the fact that the Conservatives have finally had a few too many major scandals that have built up and the public is actually noticing this time and they as the main opposition party are benefiting from it by default. I'm not saying that as a swipe against the NDP just a realistic analysis. When Ignatieff first became Liberal leader the Liberals saw a similar uptick in support an were tied and ahead in a couple of the polls. Obviously it didn't stay that way.
I'll admit there is still some annoyance in the Liberal grassroots with the NDP though from before the election. Many didn't like it when Layton and the NDP were doing what they perceived as stabbing the Liberals in the back when they were still official opposition and dealing with the Conservative's character assassination before the last election. You gotta admit the NDP certainly had no qualms attacking the Liberals instead of 'focusing on the Conservatives' when the NDP were still in third place.
There also seems to be a certain segment of the NDP that is pretty happy to push the Liberals into oblivion and has as much venom for them as the Conservatives do. Mulcair's more recent digs toward the Liberals certainly isn't helping that perception. I also don't think it is a good way to go if the NDP want to pick up Liberal voters. Many of the Liberal grassroots may want the Conservatives gone and some even might consider voting NDP if it strategically is beneficial, but those voters could still be turned off by that degree of blatant disrespect and venom towards their traditional party. It certainly isn't a great strategy for 'uniting progressives'.
For the more committed Liberal members they want for their party to remain relevant and will attack the NDP or Conservatives when issues with their policy ideas arise. Though I'm betting most would still prefer at least working with the NDP over the Cons if it came down to that.
hi S.F Thomas...you make a lot of good points, and I realize there is a lot of bad blood between the two parties. But my position is clear. I hate cheap partisanship from whatever progressive party it comes from. I hate to see progressives fighting each other. And although my lefty heart is more NDP than Liberal, if the Liberals were the best hope of defeating the Harper Cons I would support them without hesitation. But I just don't think they are, and if the NDP are our best chance of defeating the
DeleteCons I would hope that other progressives would support them.
It's bad enough that Harper has a majority with 33 % support, but he simply cannot be allowed to win another election...
Simon the only reason Democrats want to help people is so that they can control and manipulate people by shuffling them through a never ending system built to keep them selves employed. If you show any sign of independance they will try to destroy you, I am living proof of that. http://www.youtube.com/KCPorg
ReplyDelete