sometimes i need to be reminded of why i vote….
I had an idle thought today. Would it not be kinda neat to set up a photo opportunity with Michael Ignatieff and Paris Hilton? Or Britney Spears? Or the ever-twisting Brad/Angela/Jennifer combination?
Seems ridiculous? So is the barrage of attack adverts against Ignatieff by the Conservatives. I had only just commented to my wife on the fact that I can’t turn on the television without seeing the commercials, when my ever-punctual postwoman delivered a nicely printed black and white pamphlet reiterating the same issues, and directing me to a website, michaelignatieff.me, which…..well, reiterated the same issues.
Ignatieff. Just Visiting.
Let me start off by saying that I’m not a screaming Ignatieff fan. From an armchair warrior perspective, he can speak much more eloquently than his predecessor, Stephane Dion, has more personality, and a few ideas. But I haven’t even been able to get to his ideas (yes, I know they’re probably on the federal Liberal’s web site) because of the blinding flash of all these attack ads.
From these ads, we know that he’s been quoted as looking to raise taxes in a few fields. He was out of the country for 34 years and apparently showed up just in time to become the leader of the Liberal Party. (I have a vision of Mr. Ignatieff running into the leadership convention, hair a mess, sweaty from running, going “Have they elected a leader yet?”)
On the back of the pamphlet, it’s further made clear that the Conservatives are the ones fixing the country while Ignatieff wants to ruin it.
Perhaps I enjoy being offended, but I decided to take the pamphlet’s offer to visit michaelignatieff.me. An elaborate website exists, the first page of which we see a mock-up magazine cover with various quotes, pictures and faux-cover stories like “Visitor’s Guide: What To Do When Your Visit May Be Brief”. And, oh my goodness! You have the ability to watch the same ads that you’ve seen on television, you can actually read the aforementioned faux-cover stores in magazine-like layouts. But ,Conservative fans, there’s more! For fun, you can create your own custom anti-Ignatieff magazine cover, and share it with your friends, or even on Facebook! You can “give the gift of Ignatieff” by sending the site to friends! And, of course, true to the nature of an online tabloid, I can also subscribe and get all the dirt that’s fit to print about Ignatieff.
Not that I’d want the Conservatives to have my e-mail address. Could get messy.
I see a lot of this in the Conservative propaganda, and I paraphrase: Ignatieff’s policies are going to cost a fortune, raise taxes and drive Canada into the ground. Ignatieff hates Canada. How dare he even consider raising taxes in the middle of a recession? I have one burning question, however: How much did it cost to film the attack ads and make sure they’re given maximum commercial airtime on Canadian TV? How much did it cost to print 30-odd-million copies of the pamphlet and have Canada Post deliver them? And….how much did it cost for someone to design such an elaborate web site, and how much does it cost now to host it?
It doesn’t take someone with a doctorate in political science to realize that some of the Canada-bashing quotes we’re being assaulted with are probably taken out of context. Not that I’m stirring up conspiracy theories, but I have a difficult time trusting a web site that provides short video snippets and short quotes from various articles. You can bet I’ll be doing further reading on this stuff to try and wring some substance out of it–right now, I’m posting from the opinion of what an average Canadian is seeing. My general theory is that Ignatieff, while off actually doing good things in other countries, was simply pissed off about the state of affairs in Canada, and maybe, just possibly, thought that it was time to come back and do something about it.
I’ve certainly made disparaging comments about Canada. Like any democratic country, it has some serious flaws. This doesn’t mean I hate Canada–like any relationship, you’re going to have some serious disagreements. And, like any politician, most of his policies leave enough ambiguity to “opt-out” later when necessary.
Beyond Ignatieff’s real agenda, beyond his policies, beyond anything else the Conservatives want to throw at him….there’s something that frightens me a lot more. The wording of a lot of this propaganda–like the fact that Ignatieff’s grandfather was “a minister under Russia’s last czar” (he has ties to a non-democratic government), that he lives “just a stone’s throw away from his closest advisors ‘The Rosedale Gang’” (that he’s something akin to a Mafia-style politician), that he’d only come back if “the back room boys ran his campaign” (same), and a whole page devoted to comparing Ignatieff to Stephane Dion, who is well known in Canada for being almost a non-entity….you get the picture. This style of persuasion has been used for many years by many democratic governments: He hates your country. Look at him, he’s an elitist. He’s a communist. He goes against every decent, god-mom-apple pie, patriotic bit you possibly stand for.
Enter smiling Stephen Harper, a guy who, when he does allow his cabinet members to speak, adopts a “speak first, apologize later” policy, believes that fixing the economy means reverting to billions of dollars in deficit spending. Think of this one point–either Ignatieff can raise taxes now, or whoever is PM after the final tally of the recession is delivered will have to. But it’s a pot-kettle-black thing here. I’m Canadian. I’ve been given enough of an education to figure out facts for myself.
I don’t like my time being wasted by attack ads which are obviously being paid for out of my tax dollars. It’s worthless. All I know is that if that Harper has in any way tainted my opinion of Ignatieff, he’s certainly tainted my opinion of him in the process.
Remind me why I vote again?
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