My Wife The Badass Meets Mr. Dithers
Yesterday, Laurie received a postcard from "The Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P. Leader of the Opposition, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada".
The large print top banner is entitled "Prime Minister Dithers", and the text below reads as follows:
Last month, the presitigious international Economist magazine concluded that "Canada's top job is too big" for Paul Martin.
Whether it's missle defence, Senate appointments, coming up with a realistic Kyoto plan or producing the long-promised foreign policy and defence reviews, Paul Martin can't make a decision.
Maybe the liberals are just out of ideas.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has fresh, innovative new plans for Canada.
On the righthand side of the postcard are four questions:
1. Are you embarassed that the international media dubbed Paul Martin Mr. Dithers? (Yes/No)
2. Do you think it's time for a new government?
(Yes/No)
3. Is the Conservative Party of Canada on the right track?
(Yes/No)
My wife's response:
"I am embarassed that my taxes pay for this junk. Plus, aren't you embarassed that you have adopted the negative campaign tactics that the U.S. Republicans stoop to?"
They're lucky they sent a postcard rather than a return envelope, because I'm sure she would've crammed a supersaver inside it.
As a noncitizen, I'm strictly apolitical here, but I couldn't help noticing the similarity in push-polling techniques to that of the Bush campaign.
Out of curiosity, I checked out the actual Economist article quoted by Stephen Harper's postcard:
But 15 months after succeeding his fellow-Liberal, Jean Chrétien, Mr Martin, a successful finance minister for almost a decade until 2002, cannot quite shake off the impression that Canada's top job is too big for him.
It's pretty clear that the mass-mailing is misrepresenting the Economist article. There's quite a difference between concluding that someone isn't up for the job and saying that someone "can't quite shake off the impression".
The next paragraph also caught my attention:
As finance minister, Mr Martin acquired a reputation as a tough and decisive deficit-cutter who transformed the public finances and oversaw the renaissance of the Canadian economy. But as prime minister, his faltering leadership has earned him the sobriquet of “Mr Dithers”.
When you read this quote, does it sound like The Economist is referring to Martin as Mr. Dithers, or does it seem like they're quoting someone else?
The earliest reference to the nickname "Mr. Dithers" that I'm able to find dates back to January, 2005. It comes from Conservative M.P. Paul Forseth's office. In his happy new year letter, he claims, "On Parliament Hill, Mr. Martin is now known as Mr. Dithers".
Read It:
The large print top banner is entitled "Prime Minister Dithers", and the text below reads as follows:
Last month, the presitigious international Economist magazine concluded that "Canada's top job is too big" for Paul Martin.
Whether it's missle defence, Senate appointments, coming up with a realistic Kyoto plan or producing the long-promised foreign policy and defence reviews, Paul Martin can't make a decision.
Maybe the liberals are just out of ideas.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper has fresh, innovative new plans for Canada.
On the righthand side of the postcard are four questions:
1. Are you embarassed that the international media dubbed Paul Martin Mr. Dithers? (Yes/No)
2. Do you think it's time for a new government?
(Yes/No)
3. Is the Conservative Party of Canada on the right track?
(Yes/No)
My wife's response:
"I am embarassed that my taxes pay for this junk. Plus, aren't you embarassed that you have adopted the negative campaign tactics that the U.S. Republicans stoop to?"
They're lucky they sent a postcard rather than a return envelope, because I'm sure she would've crammed a supersaver inside it.
As a noncitizen, I'm strictly apolitical here, but I couldn't help noticing the similarity in push-polling techniques to that of the Bush campaign.
Out of curiosity, I checked out the actual Economist article quoted by Stephen Harper's postcard:
But 15 months after succeeding his fellow-Liberal, Jean Chrétien, Mr Martin, a successful finance minister for almost a decade until 2002, cannot quite shake off the impression that Canada's top job is too big for him.
It's pretty clear that the mass-mailing is misrepresenting the Economist article. There's quite a difference between concluding that someone isn't up for the job and saying that someone "can't quite shake off the impression".
The next paragraph also caught my attention:
As finance minister, Mr Martin acquired a reputation as a tough and decisive deficit-cutter who transformed the public finances and oversaw the renaissance of the Canadian economy. But as prime minister, his faltering leadership has earned him the sobriquet of “Mr Dithers”.
When you read this quote, does it sound like The Economist is referring to Martin as Mr. Dithers, or does it seem like they're quoting someone else?
The earliest reference to the nickname "Mr. Dithers" that I'm able to find dates back to January, 2005. It comes from Conservative M.P. Paul Forseth's office. In his happy new year letter, he claims, "On Parliament Hill, Mr. Martin is now known as Mr. Dithers".
Read It:
