Crawl Across the Ocean

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Re: Attack Ads

A couple more thoughts on the genesis of the Conservatives non-election period attack ads. I'm guessing that, much like many stupid corporate acquisitions over the years, this was mainly a case of money sitting in a bank account driving action to spend a big chunk of that money. The Conservatives have made some smug comments about their superior fundraising in a few of the articles on the ads, and the easiest, most conventional way for politicians to spend a lot of money in one go is on television ads, and the Conservatives don't have much in the way of their own accomplishments to brag about, and given that they are taking strategic advice from Republican Party strategist Frank Luntz, I almost feel like a failure for not predicting these ads in advance.

Personally I'd be annoyed if I'd contributed to a party and they used that money for TV ads attacking their opponent, but I'm not one of the Conservatives donors, so it's not my opinion that counts on this one.

posted by Declan at Sunday, January 28, 2007

8 Comments:

  • I can't imagine a bigger sign of desperation or fear on the part of the Cons.

    It is utterly bizarre why they are doing this. Mind you, with Jason Key being involved, perhaps its not that bizarre after all.

    By Blogger Mike, at 6:06 AM  

  • I thought the ads are really incredible and deserve a better explanation than the idea that the Cons are awash in cash. But even if that is so what would possess them to break into an expensive campaign of TV ads when they do not even know the date of an election?
    Would bandits in a getaway car stop to fire a volley where no pursuers can be seen? How about Indians when it is raining doing a rain dance.
    They surely prove by this that the Libs picked the right man; Dion worries them but Ignatieff does not; their own belief is that the distribution of goodies recently, whatever their origin, has not helped them; and they do not seem to think very far ahead.

    By Blogger garhane, at 2:05 PM  

  • Mike, Garhane, I really think it mainly comes down to a case of have money, will spend.

    As you note Garhane, these ads certainly seem to suggest that the Cons may be planning an election sometime this year...

    By Blogger Declan, at 5:32 PM  

  • Haha: Conservatives do not fear Dion- we feared Ignatieff, who is eloquent, a strong leader and doesn't need an English-to-English translator. Naming your dog Kyoto doesn't make you strong on the environment, and his record as Environment Minister is dismal.

    By Blogger Albertagael, at 11:32 AM  

  • I don't see why Conservatives would be afraid of Ignatieff when they could simply say, "he's a flip-flopper who shoots from the hip and has no record of public service," then walk down to the pub for a beer after a job well done.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:55 PM  

  • famousringo: The conservatives the ones that hold the most influence over policy matters (http://westernstandard.blogs.com/) disagree- they were more worried about Ignatieff. Ignatieff is, in my mind, a future PM: Dion will break the streak of Liberal leaders becoming Prime Minister.
    Has Dion said even one thing about fighting the war against terrorism? Ignatieff understands that issue, which would make him a much greater threat to the CPC winning the next election.

    By Blogger Albertagael, at 3:58 PM  

  • Ah, I understand now. The wise influential Conservative strategists were concerned about Ignatieff because he's the candidate they would have voted for.

    The rest of Canada, on the other hand, didn't want to go into Iraq, and is increasingly concerned about our involvement in Afghanistan. Now the environment is the top priority amongst Canadians, followed by health care.

    Perhaps those Conservative strategists at the Western Standard would be more successful if they worried about what Canadians are likely to vote for, instead of what Conservatives are likely to vote for. They might be surprised to learn that not everybody thinks like a Conservative Party member.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:40 AM  

  • More successful? Let's see- the CPC, heavily influenced by New West groups such as the Western Standard grabbed power last year from the Liberal dynasty, despite the best efforts of much of the mainstream media and most of our other institutions. Moreover, the old-guard Conservative Party folk, such as "Devil-we-know" Joe Clark, also lost power due to the Reform revolution of the late 80s. I'd say by Canadian political standards, this crew has done pretty well.
    If Canadians would rather fight a long range threat (global warming) over an immediate one (Islamist Thugs who want to kill us), then Dion has a chance. I think these are serious times, and they need serious leaders, not barely intelligible shrinking violets.
    Liberals recognize this- Ignatieff would have been voted in by the membership at large were it not for the horse-trading that took place at the leadership convention.
    We'll see what happens- but I can tell you right now that Dion's Liberals will win few, if any, seats west of Ontario and his popularity in Quebec is horrible for a native son. Oh, and that whole sponsorship thing...

    By Blogger Albertagael, at 1:49 PM  

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