Loser: Conservative party communications director Ryan Sparrow for his ill-advised email which questioned the true intentions of the father of a deceased Canadian soldier, Jim Davis, who had previously criticized the Tory government for its policy which would see troops possibly pulled out of Afghanistan by 2011. Not only did he jump the gun by calling Mr. Davis an "Iggy supporter", he has now added to the ever increasing trail of gaffes which are steadily piling up on the desk of Mr. Harper. And let's just say, I'm not the only [tory] blogger who's taking notice of all these unecessary missteps and gaffes by staffers.
Winners: Gilles Duceppe and Stéphane Dion who both, policy-wise, had one of the worst weeks of all five leaders in this campaign. However, all of their missteps were completely overshadowed by the fact that Mr. Harper, his staff and appointed candidates, were front and center in the media for three full days, and for all the wrong reasons I might add.
Winner: Jim Davis. No, he's not a politico so to speak, but the 60 year old Bridgewater, Nova Scotia resident and father of fallen soldier Cpl. Paul Davis showed his pure grace and patriotism by standing up for the mission in Afghanistan (and against Harper's musings that Canadian troops will be out of Afghanistan by 2011 even if they haven't achieved their goal of leaving behind a safe and secure country.) Not only is he a strong and proud Canadian, he demonstrated his humbleness by calling Harper to ask if he would reconsider his decision to turf communications director Ryan Sparrow for the rest of the campaign. A class move.
Local Loser: New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham for supporting the Liberal Green
Shaft. The Premier's record has been far from stellar when it comes to the economy and taxes, which is why it comes as such a shock that he would support a policy that would be so detrimental to the promotion and sustainability of his own provincial energy hub.
Local Loser II: Saint John MP Paul Zed for supposedly suggesting that "Saint John's Irving Refinery will be exempted from Mr. Dion's carbon tax." Funny, because I clearly remember Liberal leader Stéphane Dion saying that there would be no special side deals with provinces (regarding his carbon tax). This is quite typical from Mr. Zed. [He] states one position; then it changes to suit his political circumstances. You can't have it both ways, Paul.
Local Loser III: Charlottetown MP Shawn Murphy for assuring PEI residents that they are not "going to see the green shift even if the Liberals got elected." This is [at least] the fourth Atlantic Liberal and third federal Liberal (Brison was the other) to back away from his leader's carbon tax proposal or suggest special exemptions with their home province.
Previous Quick Hitters: Day 5, Day 4, Day 3, Day 2
I have reincarnated this old blog and will be following both the national as well as the local developments in the New Brunswick region leading up to the 2011 federal election.
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10 comments:
I agree with the father of teh fallen soldier that Afghanistan should be pursued until the job is DONE.... no "timetables" please.
We owe that much to our lost soldiers, and to the people, especially women of Afghanistan.
I agree, attacking the father of a dead soldier is mindless.
But as a Nova Scotian like Davis, I still believe in second chances.
All political communications types should take note: The father of a fallen soldier can say whatever the hell he wants, regardless of political stripe. His son paid the ultimate price for that right.
Shawn Graham may pay a political price for his cozyness with Dion yesterday..if the PC party in NB had the sense to archive the presser footage from yesterday.
I can't disagree with anything said above. Although, I'm not sure I would have just suspended Sparrow, bill.
I'm definitely no conservative, but I believe no one individual, even a family member who has lost a son or daughter should be used by the media, CTV, to comment on Canadian Foreign Policy especially in Afghanistan.
Gotta be humble, nbt.
I am bewildered by the level of the political debate in our media. How much more sophisticated can we get debating "Puffin poop" is simply beyond any measure of credibility but clearly aligned with my expectation of the CBC.
henry j: did he approach them, or was it the other way around?
bill: no doubt. lol
tom: it can only get better...one hopes.
New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham refused to endorse the so-called ‘green shift’ carbon-tax plan at an event with Dion. (Globe and Mail, Sep 11 2008)
On-stage with Dion Graham said it was the right plan for Canada, and agreed with it. Then off-stage, he's against. So he was for the Green Shift, before he was against it?
Sorta like when they said they wouldn't raise taxes, and then they did. In their very first budget to boot.
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