It's called gaining the initiative. We haven't been good at it lately. While "seasoned" Liberal politicos jump up and down and scream "gotcha", and "lie" about the Conservatives' recent public efforts to paint us as big tax and spenders, it's the Cons who are chuckling mirthfully. We Liberals tend to be poor on the the PR initiatives, and this may have a lot to do with Conservative ownership of most major media outlets in Canada. Still, we do ourselves a disservice if we don't go on the offensive against this gov't. While we're focused on our next policy platform, the Cons are out there "soundbyting" the public into a trance...
You can just hear the average (non-political-junkie) voter: "I remember hearing somewhere that the Liberals are just a bunch of tax-happy, over-spenders...". The more you put something out there, the more the public is apt to consume and believe it. 95% of the voting population is not as into it, politically, as we are. They tend to consume a lot of the material the media puts out as "fact", and often have nothing to balance it.
The "tax-and-spend-Liberal" label is about as misleading, and as much a blatant lie, as the "Liberal crooks" label Harpo's gang stuck to us in the last election. We now are faced with fighting the labeling of a "tax happy party with a 'weak' leader, that will throw Canada into a deficit". Now this ad could help turn the tables quite a bit - if we can get it out there...
We're not exactly the same Opposition as in the days of the "Brat Pack". We need to start getting more vocal - and repetitive. The repetition is what will get us heard. Every interview one of ours' gives HAS to include an attack on:
1) Conservative Election improprieties being investigated by RCMP/Elections Canada
2) Harper's out of control spending killing off our surpluses (general financial mismanagement)
3) Isotope-gate - and other gov't attempts to influence gov't depts illegally
4) Income Trusts (lies, lies, and more lies)
5) The "openness" of this gov't
6) The EXTREME lack of talent behind Harper (no real cabinet)
7) THEN, if still time - the Cons' extreme Reform ideas on the family, sexual orientation, minorities, social programs and infrastructure spending, etc.
Time to start chanting this mantra on a daily basis. It has to be required for ANY Liberal MP giving an interview...
2 comments:
I think that is an interesting strategy of playing the Conservatives own game against thjem
I heard Prentice use the term "tax and spend Liberals" during his Politics interview.
Given that:
* the Tories raised income taxes in 2006 (by reversing a Liberal cut to the low end of the tax scale)
* and gave out only vanity cuts after that (minor hockey etc) (or the silly GST cut)
* spent more $$ than any CDN gov't in history
I think we should all call them "tax and spend Conservatives" while reciting this list.
You are right about PR - we need to craft some sounds bytes and create some news - even though all the pundits who cared to comment called this $62.5B story a lie - we just spent several days DEFENDING -
We need to ATTACK - now
And let Rae, Iggy and others lead the attack - Harper "stays above the fray" when he can muster the self discipline - ands lets Baird (and now Prentice) lead the attack.
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