Private pollster Frank Graves (hired to poll for CBC) had some sage advice for Liberals recently. All pollsters offer such analysis when dissecting findings. Graves' analysis drew the rancour of the Reformatories...
What did he say?
“I told them that they should invoke a culture war. Cosmopolitanism versus parochialism, secularism versus moralism, Obama versus Palin, tolerance versus racism and homophobia, democracy versus autocracy. If the cranky old men in Alberta don’t like it, too bad. Go south and vote for Palin.”
Mr. Graves is right. 100%. We need to smoke out the lunatic right in Canada, and stop the intolerance before it gets out of hand.
Brilliant analysis... More so that it pissed off a few SoCons/NeoCons/Palen fans...
-- Post From My iPhone
12 comments:
"We need to smoke out the lunatic right in Canada, and stop the intolerance..."
By doing what?
Pot, meet kettle.
That's great, but what's the alternative? The Liberals, the NDP, the Greens offer no program for what direction Canada could go. That means having a vision and then have a concrete set of policies to accomplish that vision. The opposition isn't doing this, so the public has nothing to be galvanized by.
Focusing on a "culture war" attack on Harper is dumb. It's already happening. Harper can't break above 35 percent. He's not going to get a majority. But he's not going to be defeated until the opposition offers a narrative, a program, a vision, and concrete policies to accomplish it.
Frank Graves is a liberal party hack.
So..you suggest the LPC be intolerant towards the intolerant?
How sweet. 8 seats now west of Ontario..is the goal none? Does the LPC even care anymore about the West? Sounds to me like the answer is no. But, what do I know.
billg
Labelling Western Canadians, Albertans and Rural Canadians as racists and homophobes isn't going to help you win any seats West of Ontario. Your support of those comments clearly shows why the Libs are dead in the West. Good luck winning more seats in Toronto.
Yeah, WG, he's pointing out that the Libs have to return to progressivism which Iggy largely rejected on coming to power. Canada doesn't need two conservative parties and the LPC's polling over the past year proves it. It's up to the leader to straighten up and fly right or we'll keep trailing the pathetic Harperites by 3-4 points until he eventually explodes.
Graves advice is entirely correct but it reflects extremely poorly on the judgment we've seen from Mr. Ignatieff over the past year.
That analysis pretty much explains the Liberal lack of success in Western Canada in the contempt it holds for Westerners and Western life. It is the reason for 40 years of increasingly poor results in Wewstern Canada and presages a long continued similar lack of success. Hardly the way to build a national party
I also agree with Graves and your assessment. However, this culture war needs to be framed by the Liberals and cannot be too heavy on the republicanism that is rampant throughout the neo-Conservative Party of Canada. Why? Because that has been beaten to death and there are no new talking points they could use - just noise from 2004 and 2006 elections.
Moreover, who gives a shit if Alberta doesn't like the message? They're not voting Liberal anyways.
The Conservatives want to be viewed as the pragmatists and fiscal heroes - which, for all intents and purposes, they are not. This record and false-image ought to be exposed by the LPC during a campaign; but chiefly, which is the thrust of Graves' comments - and yours WesternGrit - it is presenting the electorate with a different vision of Canada is what needs to be at centre stage of the next election.
Lastly, the incompetence of Harper's ministers needs to be a pillar of a Liberal platform of good governance - Harper wants an election to revolve around HIM, it's time to shine the spotlight on the sniveling turds that occupy the other 143 seats on the governments side. These are the people doing Harper's work which is, in essence, his vision of Canada: bumbling, scandal ridden, incompetent.
It's funny, the generalizations and lies that come up in the comments section. In no way, not at any time, did this pollster label "all Westerners" anything...
Sure, a few Reform-a-Tory apologists would like to say it is... but it ain't true. The huge percentages of NON-CONSERVATIVE WESTERNERS would certainly agree with Graves. We were born and raised in Western Canada - small towns and cities - and are JUST AS WESTERN as the wacko right wing...
What Western Grit said:
DITTO!
There's a whole lot of folks here who've had a belly full of conservative. All it will take is the correct person and the correct reason and folks that don't normally vote in Alberta will get out and change things in a blink. The one thing Conservatives out here do dread is a strong voter turn-out.
Frank Graves may indeed be a "Liberal hack", but he's also something else; right on the money on this one.
Foottothefire
You do realize that Frank Graves has already apologized profusely and "unreservedly" for this, right?
What Western Grit said:
DITTO.
I totally agree with that.
BTW Leeky, We need to smoke out the lunatic right in Canada, and stop the intolerance..."
As we need to smoke out the Lunatic pictorial left in Canada and I would not be surprised if they smoke themselves out with their own loud mouths and shenanigans they are famous for. Especially above all the contempt for anyone who do not agree with the reformatories lies and deceit.
The Stephen Horton the CONS leader has a knack for putting his foot in his own mouth time and time again.
And his stringed Puppets eat the whole crap without blinking an eye or not understanding that he would throw them under the bus too if it suited his purpose.
We have to feel sorry for these puppets.
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