If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Political attack ads are designed to make you think. Their aim is to get you to look at a person or an issue in a different light, one different from what the media or the party's political spin machine wants you to look at. Simply put, they work. While it seems everyone complains about them, they still watch them.
When an act of terror occurs, it takes time to assess what exactly happened. Two hours after the blast, blood was still being spilled, explosives were still being sniffed out, and loved ones were still being contacted to share the terrible news. It was in this chaos that Mr. Trudeau was asked to react -- even before the President of the United States, the FBI, or the State Governor had reacted. What Mr. Trudeau did was answer the truth. A novel concept for some, but a welcome philosophy to Canadians tired of the dreary, divisive diatribe. We don't know who did this, but surely there are ways we can look at root causes and prevent future bloodshed.
Both the Conservative and Liberal parties have declared themselves victorious over the recent Trudeau attack ads but the real winners of these ads have been the NDP. These ads allow the NDP the luxury of not spending money on, or bearing the negative condemnation that comes with running attack ads. Moreover the NDP benefit from the actual attack that the Liberals and Trudeau are taking because attack ads do work.
During the leadership race Trudeau was rather ambiguous when it came to tangible policy proposals -- instead insisting it's not the leader's role to hand down decrees from on high to grassroots Liberals, and if elected, he would consult both partisan Liberals and other Canadians so to develop his party's platform from the bottom up. Fair point in theory, but let's wring out what little Trudeau has said so far.
Lisa Raitt is right that the conversation we're having about Justin Trudeau would be very different if it was a female MP who'd taken to the catwalk and stripped to her bra, while a group of men bid on the opportunity to lunch with her. It would seem exploitive and distasteful. People would definitely question the MP's judgment.
Justin Trudeau's comments about the Boston bombings in an interview with Peter Mansbridge display an ignorance and insensitivity that know no bounds. He appears to give equal moral weight to monitoring those people who point fingers at minorities as to monitoring violent subgroups. In other words, according to Justin, these terrorists are not really at fault.
Powerful King Harper seated atop his dragon. Alas, has a new Knight come to Camelot to overthrow the Conservatives and follow in his father's footsteps? Or has Justin Trudeau stepped out of the frying pan and into the fire?
By poking fun at Mr. Trudeau's strip tease, the Conservatives are not only limiting their own MPs' charitable efforts, but by association they are demeaning the many others who do the same. The only judgment that these ads question is that of their creators, the Conservatives.
Justin Trudeau claimed the Liberal Party of Canada leadership in a resounding victory, and if we believe the polls, Canadians are open to supporting their Liberal candidates in the next election. However, there is a lot of work to be done if the Liberals want more than just a temporary splash in the polls.
While always nice to get a lot of media coverage, Trudeau should be concerned that in the long run all the hype could hurt more than help him. Expectations are so high for him that I wonder if anyone could live up to them. Remember all the media hype around the previous savior of the Liberal Party, a gentleman by the name of Michael Ignatieff. It didn't help him.
As we await formal notice of Trudeau II's coronation, take a quick survey our nation's top papers. You'll find (at best) mostly cautious statements of conditional interest in a mildly competent politician whose greatest talent is exceeding low expectations. To be sure, the press does have a pro-Trudeau bias, but it's a bias of interest more than affinity.
A new culture and mindset is emerging where entitlement is being exorcised from the Liberal Party of Canada's DNA. Trudeau personifies a new attitude: Canada and the national interest are coming first. The country seems to believe -- with good reason -- that Justin Trudeau and this renewed party, free of its black eyes and self-doubt, is in this for the right reasons and for a noble purpose.
Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party have not decided to throw Israel under the bus, yet. For now, the Trudeau Liberals would prefer Israel move from ...
I have come to the conclusion that Justin Trudeau is a more popular character than his father, Pierre. Justin Trudeau's arrival on the leadership stage has rekindled an inner youth we worried we had lost. And whether or not he wins, he has brought a new sense of life and possibility to much of the land.
There's always been a back-and-forth in Canadian politics. Every few terms, the public would tire of either the Conservative or Liberal party and vote...
It's not fun being played, or being forced to indulge in other people's self-indulgent fantasies. So it's very hard to write about the speeches of Justin Trudeau's five hopeless opponents without feeling like a captive guest at a particularly bratty five-year-old's tea party. Mmm, yes, what a tasty mud pie.
