Conservative Ten-percenters - A Truly Macchiavellian Interpretation

I've just received my weekly ten-percenter attack flyer from the Conservative Party. The Conservatives clearly have their eyes on Guelph - we literally get one of these damned things every week. This week's charmer is themed "Ignatieff: Just in it for himself", which doesn't even pretend to discuss Conservative policy.

I'm starting to wonder about the overall Conservative strategy. These flyers have become increasingly personal and partisan over the last couple of years, and the other parties don't seem to have fully caught on to their potential use. We're now seeing the Liberals fighting back against their content, and we've seen suggestions that perhaps these flyers, which are sent using public money at no charge to the political parties in question, should be banned.

Here's a thought. Maybe that's been the Conservative plan all along! The Conservatives have a much larger war chest than the other parties. Maybe the strategy has always been to use this tool, for free, as long as possible, steadilly ratcheting up the partisanship in the content, until the other parties demand that the program that allows them be discontinued. Then the Conservatives can turn to sending out the same content, paid for by their more substantial party donations, while the other parties are left without this free option, and have to spend scarce dollars to counter the Conservative ads.

It seems far-fetched, I'll admit. But given that Stephen Harper almost brought down his own government last December over his party's plan to abolish federal subsidies to political parties, wouldn't this be a crafty way of eliminating another federal perk that his opponents could theoretically enjoy?

This post has been brought to you by the tinfoil-hat society of Guelph.

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Michael Ignatieff, the United Kingdom and the Conservative Party of Canada

I recently received my latest partisan get-my-blood-boiling free-mailer from the Conservative Party, courtesy of Gary Goodyear. It's part of the Conservative party's "Ignatieff: Just visiting" campaign, smearing the Liberal leader for having the temerity to become an internationally-recognized scholar with long-term academic postings in the UK and at at Harvard (quelle horreur!) and alleging that he is insufficiently patriotic to Canada.

Now, I suppose that reasonable people can disagree on Ignatieff's long-term commitment to staying in politics (and in Canada) for long if this gig doesn't pan out for him. But, the historian in me can't help but find it fascinating/amusing that the Conservative Party of Canada is attacking a Liberal leader for being too closely tied to the United Kingdom! John Diefenbaker, champion of all things British and Commonwealth, must be rolling over in his grave to witness the party he gave so much of his life to engaging in petty partisan attacks using "Britishness" as a club to beat its opponents with.

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Heavy mudslinging in the off season

The new Conservative attack ads have been getting most of the media buzz this week, but clearly they aren't the only party that is terrified by Stéphane Dion's potential, and is upset that they aren't facing off against Michael Ignatieff.

My NDP membership, taken out while I lived in Outremont, home to Separatist Jean, lapsed a couple of years ago, but I still recieve regular appeals for donations. The most recent call was a six-page(!) letter from Jack Layton begging for money. First off, I don't know who told him that anyone would read through a six-page letter asking for money. But whoever it was should have thought twice before putting pen to ink. Amidst the attacks on Harper were some rather nasty digs at Stephane Dion. His main crime seems to be that he doesn't understand "ordinary Canadians and middle-class families" (I'd go after the nauseating political lingo, but that's another post - and don't get me started on "in solidarity"). That, and that he appointed the devil incarnate, Michael Ignatieff, who supported the Iraq war, as his deputy leader. Both the NDP and the Conservatives really want to play up the Iggy card against Dion. It makes you wonder what they would have done if he'd actually won the leadership.

I'm not an expert on the effectiveness of attack ads. But I do wonder how Canadians will respond to hard-core nasty political advertizing when there isn't even an election on. I also don't think that slinging mud randomly at Dion is going to be an effective tactic. Even though he isn't the most charismatic of leaders, I don't think that many people dislike him, or even harbour secret fears of him (unless they're Quebec separatists). I suspect that the Conservative ads will be perceived as the acts of a schoolyard bully attacking the geek with the knapsack, and the NDP attacks will be seen as an act of desperation. I expected this from the Conservatives, but from the NDP I find it disappointing. I said as much to the NDP fundraiser who called me two days after I received the fundraising letter. I'm a swing NDP-Liberal voter, and you aren't going to win my vote by attacking the other party that I'm considering. Convince me that your policies are better, and you might stand a chance.

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