Election Campaign and Policies

[cybercoma]

Can someone here possibly enlighten (or humour) me? Am I just missing the policies of the federal Liberal Party? It seems to me that only the Conservatives have laid out clear plans for a future leading the government. Even the NDP has laid out some ideas, but it seems the Liberals have done nothing more than wave flags (paid for by ad companies maybe?)

Y'know, now that I think about it, when Harper makes an announcement the Liberals have followed them up with their own. Chidlcare facilities versus credits, personal tax exemption versus GST cuts....that's all I can think of right now though.

[daniel]

Ok, all you Conservatives out there, start gloating. I'm predicting trouble ahead for the Liberals based on the many elections I've paid attention to in the past 25 years.

1) 1985 Ontario election. the incumbent Tory (with a new leader) strategy was to continue to sleep-walk their way to victory. They reject any calls for debate as Liberal leader walks around with a podium all ready to go. Sound familiar? Alot of people have already resigned the fact that the Liberals are going to win a minority and Martin has rejected a 1-1 debate with Duceppe.

2)Repeat the same message over and over and (no matter how bad the message really is) eventually people will believe you. Ontario (again) Harris kept on with this taxfighter campaign for two elections and finally won.

3) Tone down the anger. Ontario (again), during Harris' re-election bid, the Liberals tried to connect with all the angry people of Ontario. In 2003, they turned off the anger but drove home the message "Choose Change" with a whole host of promises. They won. Looking familiar? If the Conservatives win, look out for the surprise deficit the previous government had hidden all these years. All the more reason to start breaking their promises (the good ones that is). The bad ones will be kept and the deficit will start going up again.

4) On your marks: Before the fall of the Liberal government, the Conservatives had built up a war chest of donations and already had nominated candidates for all or most of the ridings. In 1984, the John Turner's Liberal campaign still had equipment in their boxes with only three weeks to go to election day.

5) Staff goof-ups and off the cuff remarks. Ontario (again), as Eves was realizing he was losing ground fast, the insults and controversial remarks started to fly: Reptilian Kitten Eater, Dalton's pointy head, etc. A sign the incumbent party is losing control. What do we hear? The latest is a Liberal campaign strategist e-mailing an off the cuff remark to his Conservative counter-part which included some name calling they love to hear come from their oppositions.

Not looking good.

[Slim MacSquinty]

The Liberals do indeed have a platform and you can read about it on the Liberal website in addtion to the announcements they have made.

I have, and found them a little thin, often more like mission statements not alot of meat. They are easy to grab onto if your just looking for something that makes you feel good. Statements like defend Canada from Bush and the Americans and stand up for the charter. The second problem is the ones that they seem to have put some effort into are ones they have made before, sometimes in two or more previous elections. So then you have to wonder about their veracity, sort of like those new years resolutions you make; I'm going to quit smoking, drinking, loose weight and be nice to my neighbours, very laudable but seldom followed through on.

So your decision comes down to a scenario like this, things are pretty good should I vote for the status quo so I don't have to think about it much, can I hold my nose on the corruption thing, cause politicians are all corrupt (aren't they?). Or maybe, this time I think they're really going to do what they say.

The other side of their campaign is the negatives, Harper is too close to the Americans, he can't fight the separatists, he doesn't love Canada, he's too right wing and you know there will be plenty more. The CPC has done an excellent job so far negating the negatives, and it seems to be working.

I have speculated a couple of times on what negative stuff the Libs will have left and I have come to the conclusion they've used up the obvious and will start to try and provoke the loose cannon element of the CPC (if there still is any) into making dumb statements and political mistakes.

I hope this doesn't happen though cause I think this is an important election perhaps as important as the free trade election. We need to have a good honest debate on health care, education, separatism and taxation, diverting attention to neo-con hidden agendas and fights with the US just lowers the the value of the debate.

[shoop]

Looks like the Liberals are planning on playing the old scary, scary, scary card again.

Just seems like they are saving the money for the attack ads until new year.

Maybe it will work, hopefully not.

If the election ends up being a fight over who is best able to defend Canada on the national unity file, the Liberals may be in for a bit of a shock.

[Riverwind]

Looks like the Liberals are planning on playing the old scary, scary, scary card again.

Meanwhile the media seems to have warmed up to Harper:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...Story/National/

Stephen Harper is undergoing an image transformation. Mr. Glum is suddenly being pictured as a warm and comfy fellow. No more Mr. Ice Guy. His smile, which used to appear biannually, now lights up the newspapers on an almost daily basis.

Besides removing the frown from his crown, Mr. Harper has smartly come forward with a policy-dominated campaign that has kept the focus on current issues, instead of his party's past. Almost every day, the media have had something fresh to report, leaving them no time to look in corners.

[shoop]

Sparhawk,

I have definitely noticed that trend. Jim Travers in todays Toronto Star also ran a pretty complementary piece on Harper today. Here is the best quote from that piece.

If the election-day consensus is that Harper is Liberal-lite and Martin just a conservative with a winning smile, the hunger for change will outweigh the risks and this prime minister will be chased from power.

[scribblet]

I wouldn't gloat, this is only the beginning, the liberal attack ads scheduled for the new year are only just the beginning of an ugly campaign, with the liberals allready at the gate .

Stephen Harper has been providing a positive vision for Canada with daily

policy announcements and a plan that looks forwards instead of backwards.

This preview of the Liberal strategy to attack Stephen Harper and the

Conservative party shows that the Liberals haven't got a record to run on

and that they can only hope to retain power by providing fear to Canadians.

I suspect that the Liberal attacks will only get uglier.

December 22, 2005

Newsflash: Leak from Liberal war-room previews upcoming negative ad campaign

against Harper?

In an email to select officials in the Conservative Party obtained

indirectly by yours truly, an apparent leak has come from the Liberal

war-room in the form of some photocopied documents mailed in a brown

envelope.

The Liberal attack "storyboards" criticize Stephen Harper on a variety of

issues while suggesting that Jack Layton is abandoning his principles and

that Stephen Harper and Gilles Duceppe will form a "government".

Next the Liberals attack Jack Layton, pairing him in a coalition with

Stephen Harper and Gilles Duceppe. This storyboard targets soft NDP support

and suggests that Jack Layton will compromise his base's principles for

coalition power. "[Duceppe] wants to take Canada apart and [Harper] wants to

let him".

more here: http://www.stephentaylor.ca/archives/000496.html

[Slim MacSquinty]

Quote:

I wouldn't gloat, this is only the beginning, the liberal attack ads scheduled for the new year are only just the beginning of an ugly campaign, with the liberals allready at the gate .

I suspect that the Liberal attacks will only get uglier.

I agree, last time things were looking good for the CPC's and the wheels came off under pressure and mudslinging. That said, the new adds are just same old same old, so I wonder if this isn't a diversion.

Interesting media scrum with Martin today on the CBC, He seemed confused and was sort of muttering the same repetative statement. However he did work on all the storyboard issues with one addtional one, vision, he shouldn't be hard to pick apart on that one though.

CPC have really only pulled even, that's hardly a reason to get too excited, though I'm sure it feels good to think they're making a dent in fortress Liberal.

[scribblet]

Quote:

I wouldn't gloat, this is only the beginning, the liberal attack ads scheduled for the new year are only just the beginning of an ugly campaign, with the liberals allready at the gate .

I suspect that the Liberal attacks will only get uglier.

I agree, last time things were looking good for the CPC's and the wheels came off under pressure and mudslinging.  That said, the new adds are just same old same old, so I wonder if this isn't a diversion.

Interesting media scrum with Martin today on the CBC, He seemed confused and was sort of muttering the same repetative statement. However he did work on all the storyboard issues with one addtional one, vision, he shouldn't be hard to pick apart on that one though.

CPC have really only pulled even, that's hardly a reason to get too excited, though I'm sure it feels good to think they're making a dent in fortress Liberal.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually Stephen Harper is beginning to look very Prime Ministerial, press and articles seem to be more favourable than the last election.

http://www.ctv.ca//servlet/ArticleNews/sto...ion2006&no_ads=

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper speaks with CTV's Mike Duffy for a year-end interview.

Leaders reflect on campaign at the halfway point

Updated Thu. Dec. 22 2005 3:31 PM ET

Bill Doskoch, Phil Hahn, CTV.ca News

Let's all sit down, have a beer, nuke some popcorn, and talk about the first half of Election 2006.

[Slim MacSquinty]

quote:

Actually Stephen Harper is beginning to look very Prime Ministerial, press and articles seem to be more favourable than the last election.

I agree and I hope he can continue to get the message out cause I know there is a lot more we need to discuss in this election.

Furthermore, if we fail to get the Libs out in this election we will never know how deep the corruption is, and we will miss our opportunity to clean it up.

[shoop]

I don`t think we will ever know. All we can do is get the Liberals out and stop their corruption. The $1.14 Million that Justice Gomery proved they stole is enough for me.

Furthermore, if we fail to get the Libs out in this election we will never know how deep the corruption is, and we will miss our opportunity to clean it up.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[August1991]

Reading through this thread, one would get the impression that the Tories are ahead in the polls - well, they're not.

The Conservatives have been firmly stuck at about 30 while the Liberals are bouncing around in the high 30s.

Until I see several polls showing the Conservatives consistently above 30, I won't believe anything is changing.

[shoop]

Hmmm,

SES would be more mid-30s for the liberals. Remember because of wasted Liberal votes in Quebec in 1979 they lead by more than four points on election day and still trailed the Conservatives by 22 MPs.

The Tories don`t have to be 'ahead in the polls' to form the next government.

Believe what you will...

Reading through this thread, one would get the impression that the Tories are ahead in the polls - well, they're not.

The Conservatives have been firmly stuck at about 30 while the Liberals are bouncing around in the high 30s.

Until I see several polls showing the Conservatives consistently above 30, I won't believe anything is changing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[daniel]

Reading through this thread, one would get the impression that the Tories are ahead in the polls - well, they're not.

The Conservatives have been firmly stuck at about 30 while the Liberals are bouncing around in the high 30s.

Until I see several polls showing the Conservatives consistently above 30, I won't believe anything is changing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's nationally including Quebec where the Conservatives barely registers. Outside of Quebec, the Conservatives and Liberals are both at 37% (a few days ago). Real battle grounds are BC (all three neck and neck) and Ontario (Liberals and Conservatives neck and neck).

[shoop]

Wow, almost like you could see the Mike Klander thing coming. Or were you referring to the Scott Reid *beer and popcorn* line?

I can see it now "Beer and Popcorn: The Inside Story of the disastrous 2005-06 Liberal election campaign.'

Now all I need is a publishser.

5) Staff goof-ups and off the cuff remarks.  Ontario (again), as Eves was realizing he was losing ground fast, the insults and controversial remarks started to fly:  Reptilian Kitten Eater, Dalton's pointy head, etc.  A sign the incumbent party is losing control.  What do we hear?  The latest is a Liberal campaign strategist e-mailing an off the cuff remark to his Conservative counter-part which included some name calling they love to hear come from their oppositions.

Not looking good.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[shoop]

Don't know about that Liberal breakthrough in BC. The story has been told many times before but the votes either swing to the left or right once they get into the ballot box. (Heck even Liberal celebrity blogger Mike Klander agrees with me on this one.)

Real battle grounds are BC (all three neck and neck) and Ontario (Liberals and Conservatives neck and neck).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>