Sunday, September 06, 2015
Stephen Harper and the Disastrous State of the Con Campaign
When Stephen Harper launched the longest election campaign since 1926, he no doubt hoped that by now he would have crushed his political enemies
Thrown them under the wheels of his mighty bus.
Or smeared them beyond recognition as he flew over them in his shiny new plane...
And if that campaign had been normal in length, we would be voting next week, instead of in six weeks.
Which as it turns out is just as well for Harper, because not only are his opponents alive and kicking. His campaign so far has been an absolute DISASTER...
And no doubt more of an ordeal than he had imagined.
Everything has gone wrong. No sooner had the campaign begun when he had to start running from Mike Duffy...
And running from all those embarrassing questions.
Then, when he tried to change the subject and pose as a real economist, the campaign slammed into the side of a technical recession...
Which left him treading water, and sounding even crazier or more desperate.
And still the worst was to come.
When he tried to pose as a Great Warrior Leader, tried to crank up the Fear Factor, and have us believe us that only he could save us from the terrorists AND the opposition...
Only to have it revealed that neither him nor any of his Con clowns could even save a poor little boy and his family who wanted to come to Canada...
Or for that matter save the lives of any other desperate refugees.
Which at a time when most Canadians are clamouring for action, has left him and his callous Cons looking like a beasts.
Or just spinning their wheels...
And Harper's refusal to change his message, or his talking points, has some like Chantal Hébert wondering whether he's losing it.
There is a saying in theatre parlance that a bad dress rehearsal foretells a good opening show. Harper’s Conservatives can only hope that it holds true next month.
Over the past five weeks, the damage wreaked on the Conservative campaign by events beyond its control has so often been compounded by an unwillingness to move past talking points that it begs the question whether this cast is still up to the job it is re-auditioning for.
Or whether he is even still fit to remain in office.
And as if that wasn't bad enough, then there's the state of the Big Blue Machine itself. Which was supposed to crush its opponents under its wheels as it rolled across the country.
But instead has come to resemble a travelling Con clown circus...
Or a comedy of errors.
The Cons are in such a panic they can't get ANYTHING right.
From the salmon to the signs...
And that list doesn't even include their latest gaffe. When they created an Instagram site for Great Leader.
And paid Instagram to force some of his family photos like this one onto the sites of others...
Only to reap a furious reaction...
And be forced to take immediate action.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has become the first federal party leader to advertise on Instagram, but many of the comments on his three sponsored posts have disappeared.
Or run for cover.
Just like Great Desperate Leader is going to have to do when the trial of Bruce Carson begins on Sept.14.
And the ghost of corruption past comes back to haunt him...
Which can only tarnish his image further, and make HIM look even more corrupt...
And what I find significant about all of the above, is that all his scandals and all his gaffes, are being amplified to an extraordinary degree by social media.
Which is in turn being amplified by the MSM that is including in its stories a lot of reaction from Twitter.
Where as I have pointed out before, we hold an overwhelming advantage...
And if we have damaged him so much in the last five weeks, imagine what we are going to do to him in the next SIX.
And that's even if he doesn't look out of the window of his bus...
Or look out of the window of his plane...
At this field in a traditional Con riding in Ontario.
Because if he does, considering his present state of mind, all bets are off.
And we're really going to have to wonder whether his disastrous campaign is going to end with a bang, or a whimper.
Or an INTERVENTION...
Which is of course what I have long predicted eh?
We are going to damage him beyond recognition. And enjoy every minute.
But in the end his own madness will be his worst enemy.
And he will destroy himself...
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Maybe I give him too much credit but perhaps that was his plan all along. Imagine the insult to democracy of not allowing any comment from any MP, no debates, the finance minister muzzled during a crisis. Harper is doing this all on purpose. An evil purpose for sure. He thnks he can wear out the press and the voters, have us all conclude all the above are the same, so why change?
ReplyDeletehi Steve...Stephen Harper is doing it on purpose, because he thinks that's the way to victory. But trust me, the Con campaign is out of control. The Cons are desperate because it is all going wrong. And from what I hear some are almost out of their minds with worry. Now settle back and enjoy the show because it is going to be a good one...
Delete"Laureen and I know that childcare decisions are best left with the real experts, Mom and Dad."
ReplyDelete*
From the Stephen Harper Non-Answer Generator:
"Laureen and I know that childcare decisions are best left with the real experts: Harper Youth, and the League of Conservative Boys and Girls."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth
hi David...yes, isn't that caption the absolute limit? Ben is a child? And they're expert parents? A dad who shakes his young son's hand on his first day at school? A mother who like cats more than children? Is that the Harper family or the Addams family?
DeleteBetter:
ReplyDelete"Laureen and I know that childcare decisions are best left with the real experts: Harper Youth, the League of Conservative Boys and Girls, and Charles McVety.”
hi David...OMG not Chucky McVety. Now we really are plumbing the depths of depravity... ;)
DeleteVic Towes school of babysitting
DeleteThere are two Con candidates in B.C. (the only 2?) who say they will not be muzzled by their party’s election strategists.
ReplyDeleteLocal Conservative candidates won't be muzzled
http://www.kelownacapnews.com/news/323788141.html
*
I submitted a letter to the editor (to Capital News) in response. (It has not been published yet. I hope it will.)
I encourage all of you to ask the Con candidate in your area--in an email--similar questions. Then if he or she doesn't reply, write a letter to the editor.
To the editor,
re: Local Tory candidates not afraid to face the public (Sept. 2, p. A3)
(online version is titled: Local Conservative candidates won't be muzzled
http://www.kelownacapnews.com/news/323788141.html)
The Toronto Star story by Richard J. Brennan and Robert Benzie
http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/2015/08/26/tory-candidates-told-to-avoid-debates-media-during-campaign.html
quoted an unnamed Conservative Party insider saying the message to Tory candidates in this campaign has been "no debates and no media."
Both Mr. Cannan and Mr. Albas have agreed to participate in all-candidate "meetings". But a debate is more formal than a meeting/forum, which resemble "meet-and-greet" events with few, if any, hardball questions asked of candidates.
I hope the upcoming "meetings" with candidates include time to discuss topics including: the economy, leadership, security, healthcare, the environment, muzzling of federal scientists, veterans, and how to engage more youth in the political process.
Phil Johnson of Radio AM 1150 has mentioned he is trying to organize one or more all-candidate forums/debates. Perhaps these forums/debates could also be live streamed on Radio AM 1150 (audio), Shaw Cable 11 (video) and other media platforms, so those who cannot attend can review in an online archives.
I asked Mr. Cannan four questions in an email dated Aug. 28, and did not receive a reply. Perhaps he (and Mr. Albas) can respond in an open letter to the Capital News.
Questions:
1. How do you answer the following statement: Those working in the PMO – under Mr. Harper's direction – control the MPs.
Yes or No?
2. Have you read the book: Tragedy in the Commons: Former Members of Parliament Speak Out About Canada's Failing Democracy (2014) by Alison Loat and Michael MacMillan?
3. Do the forums you have agreed to (so far) include questions from the audience?
4. Are you willing to participate in one or more formal debates?
David B.