So apparently the Conservatives have so much money in their war chest they need to get rid of some of it, so they’re going to launch a series of attack ads against Stephane Dion, on issues like the environment, among others. Apparently they’re upset he didn’t launch more environmental programs they could cancel and then reinvent under another name so they could pretend they’re doing something on the environment.
Anyway, I’ll wait to comment further on the ads until I’ve actually seen them. But just remember where this overabundance of Conservative funds they’re now dropping on attack ads came from. It came from e-mail solicitations like this one, shamelessly launched while thousands of Canadians were still waiting to be evacuated from the Lebanese war zone and Conservatives, now trying to appeal to the multicultural community, called them ungrateful whiners and questioned their citizenship rights:
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Finally - A Leader who's willing to stand up and take a tough stand
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 18:20:16 -0700
From: Conservative Fund Canada
Reply-To: donate@conservative.ca
En Francais | In English
During the last federal election, Stephen Harper promised to give Canada a principled foreign policy that advances and defends the Canadian values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. As Prime Minister, he is delivering.
Dear,
Our Conservative Prime Minister, Stephen Harper was amongst the first of the world's leaders to take a principled stand on the new turmoil in the Mid-East. Since then, leaders the world over have risen to stand with Stephen Harper. Our nation has every reason to be proud.
Admit it: Moral clarity feels a lot better than the endless equivocation we found with our previous government.
But not everyone is grateful for the strong, clear direction of Canada's new government and this includes in particular the opposition parties who are only interested in maneuvering for party advantage.
And so, I must turn to you to ask you for your support. The fact is: the opposition is not thrilled with the growing strength of the Harper government and the resurgence of national pride Canadians are showing in their country. You need only look at their ceaseless machinations to see that they are doing everything in their power to bring this government down..
We must be ready for an election now because the opposition is blindly determined to drag the country to the polls, on any pretext they can contrive.
As a matter of public record, everyone knows the Conservative Party of Canada managed the last election without adding a dime to the Party's debt. You made that possible, it's just that simple. And if we intend to win the next election and win a majority - we need to continue moving heaven and Earth to be ready.
When an election comes, we will have just days to mount a campaign and ensure the continuance of the most dynamic and forward-looking Canadian government in recent memory. The time to lay the foundation is right now and we continue to need your help if this effort is to succeed.
It is a wonderful thing to be reminded of the power of ideals, principles in which we believe and on which we will act. We have had far too many years of vacillation on ideals and fundamental values about which the majority of Canadians are clear and certain.
Unsurprisingly, Don Martin got it just right in his July 20th National Post column, speaking of Prime Minister Harper, he wrote: " He's proven himself bold, imaginative and unpredictable. This is something refreshing on the Canadian political landscape - a leader willing to take risks to do what's right in the face of certain criticism. It stands him in stark and favourable contrast to the hesitant poll-driven Martin reign."
What did surprise me, though, were the private comments of a Liberal acquaintance, among them the following: " I have never been so proud to be Canadian. I'm thrilled that we're investing in our military. I'm thrilled that we're staying to finish a job in Afghanistan, and I'm ecstatic that we are finally taking a position on issues of global importance like what is happening in the Middle East. Please let Stephen Harper know that I've never been more proud of being a Canadian."
Ultimately, not everything is about party politics. Canadians know what's right and wrong and it is a great satisfaction even if one may not politically admit it - to have a government that has the courage to tell the plain truth.
This government is worth the fight; help us make sure we win the next election whenever it comes. We can expect an avalanche of Liberal fury to get back into power and a flood of media support for their effort. Help us keep the focus on principle and character and Canada's return to its place in the world.
I ask you to make a special contribution now of $150 or $75 to the Party today and help us be prepared to defend the decisive leadership of Stephen Harper and our New Conservative government.
With my sincere thanks,
Michael D. Donison
Executive Director, Conservative Party of Canada
P.S. - Your contribution is tax deductible. To find out the specific tax advantage of your contribution, we've provided a simple tax calculator. For more specific information on the rules governing personal contributions to political parties, click here.
If you prefer that I not contact you again by email, please click here.
Authorized by Conservative Fund Canada, Chief Agent of the Conservative Party of Canada.
7 comments:
I told my husband about the attack ads to be shown during Super Bowl - and he said the last thing he wants to see is anything about politics and he will use the opportunity when the ads run to go out to his beer fridge to fetch another beer.
Sounds like a good way to handle it. He then misses nothing while getting a cold one.
Everyone should try it.
My my, your are somewhat naive.
Do you really think it was just the Conservatives canvassing for donations during the Lebanese conflict? Seeking donations goes on basically 365 days a year for all political parties.
As for your title Dirty Money, you might want to rethink that as i'm sure you know what libel is. The Conservatives are flush with money from legal donations, while Liberal fundraising is still suffering from Adscam. Chretien's idea of $1.75 per vote backfired and ended up helping Conservatives more than Liberal's.
As for the e-mail solicitation, again a practice used by all parties.
I got that e-mail, sent PMSH $200.
So I am very excited to see the ads I helped buy.!!
Bring on the truth.
It will be interesting to see whether donors will feel their money is well spent after this ad campaign. While it may give some die-hard conservatives a chuckle, the potential for backlash (negative ads outside an election campaign) is very high.
I personally don't like the new "conservatives" at all, but I am also troubled by the implications made in "dirty money". The Lebanon war added extra polarization to ME issues in Canada and the dirty money slant strikes me as pandering to bias. One can easily argue against the Harper government and against their ME stand, without stooping to such biased innuendo. If people wanted to give money to Harper because of his position during the Lebanon conflict, that is their choice. There is nothing "dirty" about this money, although it may be wasted. We'll see.
If I think about Cons' dirty money, I think about the money they didn't claim for their convention. BTW, how is that repayment working out?
"As for the e-mail solicitation, again a practice used by all parties."
True, but they usually do not specifically use a disaster to solicit those funds and they certainly do not do so when the disaster is still unfolding.
I am certain that if the Liberals would have done this, say, in the immediate aftermath of the Indonesian tsunami you would be all over it.
Referencing Liberal's with th tsunami is not the best idea.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/cover123005.htm
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