Photo: Liberal Party, Flickr
I don’t think the charmingly named “Liberal Express”, a bus tour that has spent many kilometres traversing the vast hills and plains of Canada, has been a mistake. It’s normal for the opposition party to try and use down-time to increase its visibility in the media and, more importantly, in the minds of Canadians. So when Michael Ignatieff embarked on his cross-country tour to meet and greet Canadians, I didn’t think it was a bad idea.
Since the Conservatives have mainly seemed to go into cottage country and frontiers beyond during the summer months, the Liberal party have had an opportunity to capitalize on the lull in messaging from the big blue machine. But what kind of message have they been getting out? Have the Liberals finally expanded upon their oft-touted plans to balance the budget while simultaneously continuing stimulus spending? Did they explain the fiscal logic behind their desire to erase the deficit while also rolling out a universal child care program?
Alas, we know that the off-season campaign trail is no time for clear answers. It’s much easier to hammer on the Conservative party with ironic messages about how the government is creating a climate of fear, and then proceed to make frightening statements about how scary the Conservatives are.
For instance, on a stop in the Liberal Express tour in West Vancouver today, Mr.Ignatieff said that Conservative politicians have tried to make people “afraid of people you don’t even know”.
“Politicians should shut up and let these people do their job,” Mr.Ignatieff declared, adding “we must always be a haven in a heartless world.”
But it isn’t scary Conservatives who are making people afraid of Tamils. According to a Leger Marketing poll, 52% of self-identified NDP voters think the Tamil boat should have been turned away as it approached Canada. In fact, a majority of political supporters across the spectrum, except for the Liberals, believe that the Tamils should have been turned away and escorted back to Sri Lanka by the Canadian Navy. This includes 65% of Bloc Quebecois voters and 62% of Green voters.
Mr.Ignatieff also slammed the Conservatives for “smearing” civil servant Richard Colvin over the handling of Afghan detainees.
Ah yes, Richard Colvin, the darling of the Liberal Party. You’ll find plenty of Richard Colvin all over the Liberal website, touting him as some kind of whistleblowing hero over allegations of torture in Afghanistan.
But what you won’t find are the names Gavin Buchan and Major-General Timothy Grant, two men who gave testimony to the Parliamentary Committee for the mission in Afghanistan on April 28, that directly contradicts Richard Colvin. That’s because neither of those men provided the narrative of torture, war crimes, and rendition that has been the modus operandi of the Liberals for over a year now.
Following the war crimes card, Mr.Ignatieff played his other go-to suit by saying the Conservatives have ignored Omar Khadr in Guantanamo Bay. Which, of course, is only telling half of the story. Omar Khadr has been detained in Cuba for eight years now, four of which took place under the Chretien-Martin governments. The only thing more disingenuous than demanding to know about alleged torture which may or may not have taken place under a Liberal government, is to inquire why nobody from the Conservative government has demanded the repatriation of a “child soldier” who sat in detention for the first four years under the reigning Liberals.
The Liberals have been masters of making you “afraid of people you don’t even know” for over six years now, beating on the hidden agenda rug and making absurd statements that are quite easily refuted. And yet of the many opportunities where they might have a legitimate cause to attack — the deficit, the spending, the bureaucracy — there is but a whimper, with no answers or alternatives to offer.
So while the Liberal Express may not be a “flop”, as some in the media have termed it, there’s certainly nothing new to offer beyond a novelty bus tour and Mr.Ignatieff’s rare appearance outside of formal speaking events in academia. But hey, at least he’s out there selling himself and his party and not “MIA” as he was last summer. For the Liberal Party, this can actually be called an improvement.
Straight talk, good read, thanks.
Lib partisans think they have a compelling, if not outright winning, narrative–that Harper is a bully, etc etc. Every election campaign has it’s own dynamics, and one never knows what will capture the voters imagination. But I’ve watched a lot of election campaigns, and I can’t think of one which focused that much on another leader’s style.
So far, Iggy has given no indication that he is going to produce anything nearly as policy specific as a red book, or even greenshift 2.0. So it seems like nitpicking and visions is all he’s going to talk about for six weeks.
Let’s have an election over illegal immigrants..no?
The economy?
The gun registry? Violent crime?
C’mon leftists, there must be something you want to go on, huh?
Of course, the reality may be that your leaders are pussies without a leg to stand on..then what?
“But what you won’t find are the names Gavin Buchan and Major-General Timothy Grant, two men who gave testimony to the Parliamentary Committee for the mission in Afghanistan on April 28, that directly contradicts Richard Colvin.”
And you also will not hear liberals going on the attack in an attempt to discredit them. Attacking public servants for doing their job is Harper’s schtick.
Liberals do not have to paint Harper as a bully who will not tolerate any dissent. He is proving that all by himself.
He learned from the Liberal masters of the art…Trudeau and Chretien
”Liberals do not have to paint Harper as a bully who will not tolerate any dissent. He is proving that all by himself.”
So what?
Really, if that is the #1 Liberal platform ‘Harper is a meanie’,
a majority is his in the next election.
Every time Libs and their media push that theme,
it says “Liberals are wimps” and would suck up to every unelected ‘expert and bureaucrat’ that gets a little mouthy.
It says “Liberals don’t want to govern, they just want to delegate their responsibility to civil servants”
Oh, and speaking of promoting fear, given the conservatives are constantly going on about how the liberals are going to tax us to death, how they are going to be in a coalition with “socialists and separatists”, and how Ignatieff is just “in it for himself”, I do not think they should be complaining about fear mongering.
Iffy said they will raise taxes.
Iffy said he would lead a coalition of losers.
These are facts.
Libs and their media call every issue ‘fear mongering’ when don’t want to talk about it.
Gayle, we get it that you guys don’t like Harper’s governing style. You are welcome to feature that narrative during an election campaign. From what I’ve seen of other campaigns, you guys would be breaking new ground. It may be effective, I dunno.
But what else is Iggy going to put on the table ? Sure, he’s going to disagree, to some extent, with pretty well all our policies. But after he voices his displeasure, will he commit to undoing any of those policies ? For example, is he going to rip up the Fighter Jet contract, or just drone on about reviewing it ?
It may be that Donolo doesn’t want to put out a set of policies, preferring visionary talk. But in that case, we will fill that policy void for you guys, manufacturing a Lib platform, based on Iggy’s past statements–increase taxes, continued stimulus spending, national day care, etc etc.
I will not have anything to do with any election campaign, so thanks for the invitation, but it is wasted on me.
Of course the LPC will have to put policy on the table. Broad policy statements have already been made on some things. I anticipate there will be more meat on the bones at election time, however, again, I have no say in that. I highly doubt they are going to win an election without policy however.
In the mean time, I am quite certain the liberal party is happy to watch Harper continue to behave the way he behaves.
The Liberals and their apologists have cognitive dissonance.
When you present evidence of gutter politics and they deny it.
As I have repeated for a long time the Federal Liberal Party is dead.
The Democrats, Greenies, Separatists have a choice to prop up a fourth party or supplant them as the official opposition.
Having 30 Liberal MPs regularly skip votes, fail to introduce alternatives in parliament for debate confirms the NDP analysis after the collapse of the coalition in January 2010.
Layton, Muclair have stated Liberals have nothing substantive to offer.
Gayle,Gayle,Gayle another Elizabeth May drone.Mouth open all the time and nothing of intelligence comes out.
Wow. Way to address my points head on.
Perhaps you should turn that keen intellect of yours on your own comments and see what kind of analysis you can come up with.
Hahaha
“He learned from the Liberal masters of the art…Trudeau and Chretien”
Well that’s original. When all else fails, sputter, “the liberals did it too”.
Chretient and Trudeau relied on the advice of their experts. They did not villify them by claiming they are “too smart” for “ordinary” Canadians.
Well Trudeau/Chretien and their experts gave us the current immigration/refugee policy,
which 3/4 of Canadians are angry about.
And the decades of previous governments gave us the Veteran Affairs bureaucracy that has 3/4 of Canadians angry.
Do you see a pattern here Gayle?
Canadians are the boss,
and they don’t like what the Liberal experts have done.
I think it is apropriate to point this out.After all Trudeau did more to divide this country than any other PM.As far as Chretien goes,thug would be a proper monicker.Problem with the leftards is they can’t stand it when it is pointed out that they are being hypocritical.As far as the “experts” are concerned,it is the same central Canada elitists who bristle at the thought of the West now being the seat of power.
“But what you won’t find are the names Gavin Buchan and Major-General Timothy Grant, two men who gave testimony to the Parliamentary Committee for the mission in Afghanistan on April 28, that directly contradicts Richard Colvin.”
And you also will not hear liberals going on the attack in an attempt to discredit them.”
Actually what you won’t hear is either of those names crossing the lips of a Liberal.
Oh wilson. I’m used to the weakness of your arguments, but you have surprised even me here.
What Canadians want is that their country be governed well. Canadians generally consult experts themselves when they need answers.
But you can keep pretending that this about democracy instead of ideology. I certainly get that is what your team is trying to sell here. So if you are happy with the whole “Harper doesn’t like facts, and does not tolerate dissent” meme, then by all means call party HQ and urge them to continue.
Liberals everywhere will be eternally grateful.
In the meantime, whining about fear mongering when yiu are fear mongering is pretty pathetic. Even “ordinary” Canadians can see that.
well because of the dumbing down of canadian society thanks to the knuckle-dragging, mouth breathers of the neo-liberal movement, were stuck with smear politics for the foreseeable future. most canadians have lost the working and independent spirit that held politicians at bay.
gayle, you can go on and on about how “experts” should be listened to, however they are more times than not either a tool of the governing party to prove a point or there to maintain the status quo (ie- job preservation). what is being uncovered are entrenched liberal types in the bureaucracy being outed by those who dare to question. it is unfortunate that it requires political huffing and puffing but as stated above, it is the only thing the mushy brained masses understand. these experts’ jobs are reliant on canadians being dependent on services that are not needed and cater to the lowest common denominator. nothing sums up the lefty fascination with gutter politics better than with regards to kolvin’s testimony which is based on emotionalism rather than cold hard realities on the ground, testimony that catered to those who prefer the land of lollipops to those who see the world as it really is, a place capable of great wonders and immense evils. when your neo-liberal cohorts begin to legislate with their brains and not with their hearts, you would see a drastic change in policy. i suggest that you read brian crowley’s book, fearful symmetry, for an understanding of how far gone this country is. if it means attacking a few well entrenched bureaucrats to change the way we conduct our affairs for the better, so be it.
That’s right Brad. When the facts are against you, attack the motivations of the ones presenting them.
Stupid, evil, selfish experts. I am guessing that every expert in the country got together to plan this mass attack on Harper’s policies.
Hahahahaha
Only a wealthy egghead like Ignatieff could come to West Van and talk about connecting with the little guy, the average Canadian.
Maybe not a surprising perspective from the 34 years absent professor.
It is about who you see yourself comfortable around.
So who were the little guys he was chatting with?
The Liberal faithful few of the richest city postal code in all of Canada.
Ignatieff…always connecting with the average Canadian. Sure.