They're pretty mild as attack ads go, but new Liberal French-language television ads are now airing in Quebec that tell viewers that Stephen Harper is hardly a great leader, because great leaders don't engage in personal attacks and don't use the politics of fear. The “truly, great leader” in this campaign, a voter in one ad says, is Stephane Dion.
No politician appears in these ads. Instead, the ads consist of a several everyday Quebecers shot mostly in close-up on a white background, saying a few lines about Stephen Harper.
One twenty-something man says Harper is following the policies of U.S. President George Bush. Another says, “They made cuts in culture; they want to censor our films. Is that a strong a leader?”
Each ad ends with the tag, “Cette fois, je vote Liberal” or, “This time, I'm voting Liberal.”
“The criticisms of Mr. Harper's leadership style featured in the new advertisements are the direct result of comments that Liberal candidates across Quebec have heard on doorsteps from average Quebecers,” the Liberals said in a press release. “While Stéphane Dion and the Liberal Party will continue to engage Canadians in a mature discussion of which Stephen Harper wants no part, preferring personal attack ads to debate. These new Liberal ads stand in sharp contrast with Conservative ads that focus on Stephen Harper as a family man instead of the political issues currently at stake.”
I agree that the tone of some of the ads – those released on the internet and then played over and over by the various news/politics shows, with close-ups of the pooping puffin, for example – is silly and juvenile. Whoever designed those ads should grow up. But the offending poop has been scooped up. Mr. Harper has apologized. Can we move on?
Then I wonder, why do Mr. Dion and the other leaders keep comparing Mr. Harper to Pres. Bush, accusing the former of holding the exact same unpopular views the latter does, of being the most ultra-right wing government, blah blah blah?
Don't they know Mr. Bush leaves office in Jan. '09?
Have they listened to any actual speeches Mr. Harper has made? To the Q&A's with the media? (available on CPAC).
Why are they even mocking Mr. Harper for wearing a sweater, for Pete's sake? What – are sweaters now a strictly Liberal domain?
More importantly, why are my conservative values, which happen to coincide with most of the Conservatives' and those of Mr. Harper, depicted as unCanadian?
Is that what they call “respectful” mature discussion?
Is calling Mr. Harper “a liar” NOT getting personal?
Is getting an “ABC” campaign more “mature discussion”? It's not only the NL premier who's engaging in that kind of campaign, all of them are saying “we” have to stop Harper.
For heaven's sake, Ms. May sounds like she's going to have a nervous breakdown if Mr. Harper forms the next government.
Think I'm exaggerating? Take a gander at the way she expressed it in Oct. of last year:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=d1f7ded0-c6ad-424e-ae1d-8d9cdbca87c5
“The election of Stephen Harper changed my life because I saw I was going to lose 20 years of my life's work. … You've got a right-wing agenda that's anti-environmental to an extent we've never seen,” she said. “You're going to spend all of your time tearing your hair out and wanting to slit your wrists. So you might as well get into politics.”
If that isn't extreme, I don't know what is.
Gabby — you mean you're actually looking for “truth in advertising” from our political parties during an election? 🙂
Mr. Akin, I'm an eternal optimist – and I'm in constant search of truth.
Why else do you think I read your blog
Despite the fact you have the disclaimer “Errata” … 😉