04.18.2011 11:33 AM

Pot, kettle, etc.

“OTTAWA (wk.com) – The Conservatives are expressing outrage about being misquoted by the Liberals in a critical TV ad, and are demanding an apology and withdrawal of the spot.

The Auditor-General and Parliamentary Budget Officer could not be reached for comment.”

Seriously, folks: that ad has been on air for six days.

The reason why the CPC is complaining now?

It’s working.

95 Comments

  1. jenjen says:

    The ads must be pretty effective. Is it me or do they (Tories) look like crybabies.

    • JS Rothwell says:

      Crybabyism is just a defense ideology of reformatories. When the lies don’t work maybe the tears will.

    • “It’s past time the feds scrapped the Canada Health Act.”
      Nice quote, can we use it in the future? #RejectedConservativeSlogans #elxn41

      • Harper, 1988 “we seek to move away from unversality [sic]” Pg. 32

        Yes, it’s old, yes it speaks more broadly to social services (Healthcare is the largest social
        service delivered in Canada bar none) but Harper has consistently argued along the same broad themes
        for his entire political careeer, at least when he wasn’t in power.

        Move away from universality, and “beyond ability to pay” are code phrases which pepper all Reform speak,
        much of which Harper authored or wrote himself.

        A health care system which isn’t universal, which is means tested, is not the Canadian system.

  2. C.W. says:

    What about those Conservative ads claiming Ignatieff wants a $75 ipod tax?

    http://catch22campaign.ca/profiles/blogs/the-latest-tory-lie?xg_source=activity

    • George says:

      nice try C.W. except that it’s true – check Hansard for more specifics.

      “In March 2010, Charlie Angus, the NDP’s heritage critic, introduced a private member’s bill to legally expand the copyright levy to digital recording devices as well as to devices not included in the Copyright Board’s proposals, such as computers.

      Shortly thereafter, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage adopted a Bloc Québécois motion calling on the government to impose the iPod tax.

      The Standing Committee moved the Liberal – NDP – Bloc Québécois motion to the House of Commons, stating the following:

      That the Committee recommends that the government amend Part VIII of the Copyright Act so that the definition of “audio recording medium” extends to devices with internal memory, so that the levy on copying music will apply to digital music recorders as well, thereby entitling music creators to some compensation for the copies made of their work.

      On April 14, 2010, the House of Commons adopted the Standing Committee’s recommendation to impose the iPod tax, with Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals and their Coalition partners in the NDP and Bloc Québécois voting for this new tax and Stephen Harper’s Conservative Members of Parliament being the only Party to vote against it. Clearly if the Ignatieff led Coalition were to form government, they intend to proceed to implement this massive new tax on consumers.”

      • Namesake says:

        this isn’t a Hansard quote, there, misleader: it’s a misleading Conservative party “backgrounder”

        http://wvmconservative.ca/en/2011/04/13/harper-conservatives-vow-never-to-introduce-ignatieff-coalition%E2%80%99s-ipod-tax/

        the vote was that it should proceed to a committee to study the options, as to which media (hard drives, mp3 players, blank CDs) should have what level of levies on them to compensate artists…. something that’s still going on under the CPC on the blank CDs

        And the CPC have just pulled that $75 figure out of their ass.

        The LPC never arrived at a number, and have subsequently decided not to tax the players.

        And the NDP are talking about a $5 tax.

        The CPC are just lying through their teeth, while continuing to shaft the real victims: the artists that so many of us are ripping off by illegally downloading and sharing their music without their getting any compensation for their copyright’ed work.

      • Jan says:

        I understand the Cons just invented the $75.00.

        • Namesake says:

          Yup. And in the “what’s good for the goose…” dep’t, I’ve been thinking:

          if it’s okay to just pull a number out of thin air based on a party’s declaration to revisit the issue, how ’bout this:

          People might remember that the CPC froze the EI rates quite a while, esp. during the recession, but when it really started hemorrhaging from all the claims and they were taking a bath on that, they struck an expert panel to come up with some rec’s on what to raise them to, to make the EI fund sustainable again. And it came up with something like 6%, which it looked like the CPC were going to actually implement when the recession officially ended. And so the Opp. snickered a bit, and said: see — even the Conservatives are going to have to raise (payroll) taxes; that’s just one of the responsibilities that the grown-ups have to do, when they’re actually in government, to balance the budget.

          But the CPC recoiled at the optics and chickened out of doing the fiscally responsible thing, and decided to raise it by only a third of that…. saying the economy is still too fragile to risk, um, actually having a sustainable self-insurance program. But left the door open to eventually correcting that by raising the rates even more.

          So, gee, if they’re probably going to raise the EI rates again before too long (and betcha we can find a quote to show that), then can we just make a number up, and say — in a deep, loud, sneer, in both radio and TV ads:

          “If they’re re-elected, the CPC are going to implement an ‘E I-Tax’: by an $1 an hour for both employers and workers for every $5 of earnings.

          That will ruin our economy. We can’t afford another ‘Conservative’ government.”

        • nic coivert says:

          Yes, it is fake.

      • On that $75 TAX – it was clearly discussed and dispelled on national news this weekend. You may want to update your files.

  3. Dan F says:

    #chutzpah #ipodtax

  4. Dan says:

    It’s a good ad, hitting Harper where he appears to still be vulnerable.
    I hope its gaining more traction.

  5. Ottlib says:

    Maybe someone can explain to me why the Conservatives would bring people’s attention to these ads.

    I am a political animal and a Liberal supporter but I change the channel when a political ad comes on. Really, I do not want to see any of them from any party. I imagine I am not alone in doing so.

    However, if I am an ordinary Canadian and I see the Conservatives are complaining about this ad I would probably stop and watch it at least once to see what all of the hubbub is about.

    I cannot think that helps the Conservatives’ cause and to make matters worse another ad was just released, which looks alot like the first one, so the Liberals could benefit even more from these Conservative complaints.

    This is not the actions of a political party that seems to be poised to win a majority government.

    • JenS says:

      I say bring it! I love nothing more than to see people digging into what Harper has said about health care, especially in his role at the NCC, and reporting on it.

      I would also say that WK’s assessment is correct on why they’re doing it now. Funny that there are media references to the comment dating back almost a decade-and-a-half, and the CPC, SH, et al haven’t demanded a correction until NOW. The comments have come out during the last two elections, via various sources, and there’s been no cry for correction. The “proof” offered — that the prez of the NCC said it when SH was only the VP — is a little disingenuous. 1) It doesn’t prove SH didn’t say it — it only tells me that if he did, it’s possible he ripped it off his prez, and 2) it proves that SH was a high-ranking official in an organization that held that position.

      • Thor says:

        Love the idea of universal health care. However, the system is indeed broken. Ignore it if you want but regardless of party in power, something will have to be done: cut back, innovate, raise taxes, etc. The system is unsustainable…am I wrong? My, but Jack is looking awfull guood.ry5h

        • I’d have to actually pull a book off the shelf but if you go back to the dark ages, before 1994, the big blip in NDP support that occurred under Ed Broadbent in the 80’s had him with an approval rating of 60%, miles ahead of PCs and Libs at the time.

          What happened? He came in 3rd.

        • Granny says:

          The reason that the system has become unsustainable is because SOMEBODY!!!! drove the deficit up (before the recent financial crash) to the point that the whole Canadian Social Safety Net has been seriously threatened. If that SOMEBODY !!! gets re-elected that SOMEBODY !!! will complete the job that SOMEBODY!!! set out to do when first elected . Do you really think that all this is a coincidence ? And no, I am not yelling about what you wrote which, of course, was fair comment and made good points. I am just so exasperated by the whole situation.

  6. Lance says:

    So the excuse for totally mis-attributing a quote is to say that they OTHER guys did it, too? Really?

    Come on!!!!!

    • Warren says:

      AdScam, sponsorship, blah blah blah.

      • Lance says:

        Come on WK if the Liberals are going to quote someone, they should be getting it right. Basically throwing up one’s hands in the air and saying, “well the cons did it, too”, is that really going to be their excuse?

        I said in one of your other threads that this was a pretty good ad, and that it was too bad it didn’t appear earlier on when it probably would have been more effective. Now they just ruined it with this stunt, what a stupid waste. This was just sloppy ass work done by the Liberal war-room, and now they’re going to get pinched for it.

        • Warren says:

          Show me where you posted the same thing about the falsified AG/PBO quotes, Lance, and I’ll follow your lead.

          • Lance says:

            Hey, if the Tories are wrong on that score, then they shouldpay the price for that, too and they better. Does that excuse how the Liberals royally fucked up here, though? Hardly.

        • Warren says:

          Really, Ron? And where is your admonition for your party, about deliberately falsifying quotes by various Parliamentary officers?

          • Ron says:

            I’m in total agreement with you there
            they got caught with the AG report and were taken to task
            it didn’t grab any traction

            check out what I wrote yesterday or the day before
            all governments lie…

            so why admonition when it becomes the norm?
            they all do it at all levels to further their own agendas

            this ad plays into the fears of seniors and other like minded individuals
            because they believe that the Liberals are the parents of health care

            Yet where do we find the greatest acceptable situations for private health care?
            Quebec and Ontario

            However your defense using adscam as an example is just plain wrong
            There was criminal wrong doing involved with that so why defend it?

            And did you strongly admonition your party for attacking Helena G. and then playing
            the her advocate just to gain political traction last week?

            Thanks for hearing me out buddy…love this discussion

  7. Stephen Jones says:

    So… are the kettle and the pot the LPC and the CPC? Are you saying the Liberals are the same as the Conservatives in terms of “truthfulness”? Is that your point or am I missing it?

  8. Dr.J says:

    Just wait for the CPC war room blow back…we all know they have been sitting on stuff for years regarding Iggy’s quotes!! Oh well, let the blood bath begin!!

    • Patrick Hamilton says:

      Sorry, I think Reform shot their wad already attacking Iggy with the two years worth of negative ads…….only for the Canadian electorate to realize, he is personable, he is a patriot, and that hes `not just visiting`…..methinks the Canadian electorate`s response will be…Yawn!

      Do yer worst, theyre gonna fall on deaf ears……unlike the Liberal ads of late, which are making people “rise up“ and become aware of `Dear Leaders“ plans for remaking Canada in his and his fundamentalist zealots image……Bon Apetit!

  9. Dwayne says:

    That’s a great reason to make up random b.s. and try to pass it off as true!

  10. jack says:

    Note that they are NOT denying the quote on private, for profit, health care. Allowing that would mean scrapping the Canada Health Act.

    Health care will go private with a Con majority. Even the Cons don’t deny it.

  11. W.B. says:

    The Conservatives are complaining about a Liberal attack ad?? Wow! that’s gall.

    Of well it should be enough to get Evan Solomon and Don Martin on Conservative message track anyway. They’re so easy.

  12. Tim says:

    The hypocrisy of the CPC doesn’t cease to amaze me.

    Of the 35 some French and English ads they have launched, 30 are inaccurate diatribes that take everything out of context and are full of factual errors. Almost half of their attack ads were developed and aired prior to March 26 when the writ was dropped. For a government supposedly against this election in the first place, they have been campaigning for months.

    In comparison, the Liberals have been coming up with highly effective ad spots in three styles: Ads that introduce the leader and the team’s policy proposals, ads that show strong contrasts between the LPC and HarperCons, and third, what can be called negative/attack ads. Interestingly, the proportion of “positive” or “fair contrast” advertising compared to “negative/attack” advertising by the Liberals is essentially the inverse of what the CPC’s have done.

    CPC ads are 30 some negative “attack” adds to 5 fluffy ads like the tea party rip off “our country”

    The LPC’s ratio is almost the CPC’s inverse.

    Kick these fear mongers out!

    • George says:

      Ahhh but compared to Harper Ignatieff’s got way more incriminating material. That’s what happens when you write so many books in so many countries on topics you can’t recall.

  13. catherine says:

    That quote is all over the web attributed to Harper and has been for years. Seems suspicious that they would only complain now. I notice the ad doesn’t actually say that Harper said that exact sentence (which everyone seems to agree was said/written either by Harper as vice-president of NCC or by the president of NCC or perhaps by both – i.e. it might have been the official statement of NCC at the time Harper was VP). But the ad does say that Harper said the act should be “scrapped”.

  14. gretschfan says:

    As many of us have been saying, these guys at ConHQ can’t take a punch.

    It’s about time the gloves came off.

  15. nic coivert says:

    Now we can also talk about all the other things Harper has said about Canada’s Health Care system.

    They where hoping it wouldn’t be an issue, but it is. Harper has had five years and he’s done nothing but ride on Liberal coat tails.

    If any one can successfully gut the Health Accord it is Stephen Harper. He may not be able to create good legislation but he sure knows how to pull out the viscera.

  16. Lance says:

    A Google search makes it clear the line is oft-cited but never with a link to a recording or speech text. It’s usually sourced to a famous speech Harper made in Montreal to a conservative American group called the Council for National Policy (where he calls Canada a northern European welfare state).

    Now it appears Harper didn’t use the line at all.

    Contacted last Thursday, Liberal Party spokesman Michel Liboiron said he didn’t think it was misleading to say the quote came from 2010.

    “We wanted to use the most up-to-date reference, which would seem to be the Globe story,” he said in an email.

    CBC had tried last week to track down the quote but wasn’t able to confirm it. The Conservatives contacted the media on Monday to announce their demand the Liberals remove the ad.

    Neither the Liberal Party or NDP can provide source material for this quote.

    The line appeared in the June 1997 issue of Bulldog, the NCC newsletter, Conservative spokesman Mike White said in an email.

    “The Liberals know full well that the quotation belongs to Mr. Somerville, not Mr. Harper, because the Liberal Party correctly attributed the comment to Mr. Somerville in the Liberals’ 2004 essay, “Stephen Harper and the National Citizens’ Coalition,” at page 5, footnote 20,” White wrote.

    Good Lord.

    • Warren says:

      Tell it to the AG and the PBO.

      • Ron says:

        weaker dude

        • C.W. says:

          Or tell it to the Globe and Mail. The ad is apparently quoting a Globe article – if Picard got it wrong in the Globe, isn’t it their responsibility to correct? Speaking of which, the Ottawa Citizen, which had the wrong photo in its electoral profile of Liberal candidate Ryan Keon last week, just switched the picture when the error was brought to their attention today, but refuses to append any acknowledgement or apology to the new version.

        • Trogdor says:

          Ron with yet another deflection wide of the net.

          • Ron says:

            did they get caught lying?
            Yes
            read my rebuttal to WK above

            it can get so partisan that everyone loses objectivity on what the real issues are
            a gentleman on power play the other night said it best
            “it’s not left wing or right wing – it’s what’s right for the people”
            all of us

          • Namesake says:

            But it’s not a “lie” unless both conditions are met: it was a false declaration, and the ones who made it either knew or had strong reason to believed that it was false.

            And since the quote has been widely attributed to Harper in a number of reputable media outlets, which is where they most likely FOUND the quote, it’s far more likely that they believed it to be true.

            So at worst, all they’re ‘guilty’ of is faulty scholarship and relying on the media to do the fact-checking for them.

            But you’re guilty of accusing them of lying, without having any good evidence for that accusation, which seems quite a bit worse than a widely shared misattribution.

        • nic coivert says:

          Nobody is listening to this argument.

          They want to hear Harper’s other Health Care quotes.

          Keep ’em coming. Can’t believe Steve.

    • Namesake says:

      gimme a break w. the “good Lord” stuff, Lance; even the Calgary Herald thought that quote was Harper’s rather than his boss’s; it’s certainly the position of the org. he was working for, which is the point.

      And there’s a bunch more they can choose from:

      http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/04/18/stephen-harper-and-the-canada-health-act/

      As for it being a knowing misrep. by the Libs because, gee, some dweeb researcher wrote a briefing note for the LPC on Harper & the NCC… in 2004 :

      come on, that was, what, four elections ago? Do you really think there’s that much — or even any — continuity in the composition of the war rooms over all that time? Most of the current crop were still in HIGH SCHOOL then.

      • pomo says:

        I know that if I had a quote like that misattributed to me, I would take many great pains to have it fixed and acknowledged as a misattribution. I would also provide clarification about my true thoughts on the topic. I certainly would not wait until it became politically necessary to do so.

        Unless i was actually fine with the mistake because 1) it reflected something I did indeed believe and 2) I was rather proud of it and didn’t mind people thinking I came up with it and 3) I wasn’t all that wedded to things like “the truth” anyway, as long as whatever people thought I said supported my agenda.

  17. Nastyboy says:

    Let me guess…it’s another “Game Changer!!!!”

  18. Mark McLaughlin says:

    The best part about all this is that if Iggy drops the ‘high road’ and Layton doesn’t it might push votes into the NDP camp.

    Iggy might be able to convince people to hate Harper more, but he still has to convince voters that he is the next best option. It’s not clear that he’s been able to do that yet.

    Harper’s never had the “Health Care” vote on his side. Not sure how much that changes with these ads.

  19. Ottawacon says:

    Leaving aside the right and wrong question (naughty Libs > = < naughty Cons), this is another failure of the Conservative brain trust, if it may still be called that with the current B-team running things. Calls attention to a potentially effective line of attack, and cannot help but remind uncommitted voters of the attack ads they have been running out of campaign for years now – and not a positive reminder. All of which, of course, taking themselves off message.

    I swear the Cons warroom crew is like one of those cargo cults, making a fetish of 'message discipline' while not really understanding it or the point.

  20. George says:

    It’s working for sure. For the NDP. That says it does pay to do one’s homework when setting something this expensive up.
    Also kind of puts a lie to Ignatieff who said he wouldn’t resort to attack ads.
    Just add that flip to the flop list.

  21. Lance says:

    So now the Liberals are backing off –

    Liberals say they’ll change health-care ad quote

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/04/18/cv-election-lib-ad.html#

    Too late though, the damage is already done.

    • Warren says:

      That’s funny. They’re holding an online poll to get people to vote for the SH anti-medicare quote to replace it with! Ha ha ha

      • pomo says:

        You mean another “shit harper says? ” moment?

        He’s got a million of ’em. Ha!

      • Stuart says:

        It had the potential to be really funny. I laughed when I read that’s what they were going to do. But now I’ve actually looked at the poll I think the execution stunk.

        I don’t have an issue with investigating alternate delivery methods so long as it means health care remains universal. It’s a fact that health costs are going up ridiculously fast so I think it makes sense to experiment and try to hold them to a reasonable annual increase. If the choices are to raise taxes, lower service, or experiment with alternate delivery.. I’m in the third camp. That deals with 1, 2, and 4.

        For the third one, I don’t get it. What’s a “tax point” and what does replacing cash with them actually mean?

        The last one’s just odd. Like most Canadians, I am “very proud” of our system. Is “Northern European welfare state” supposed to be a slur?

        I think they should have found better options for the replacement or just stuck to their guns and pointed out it that was said by the organisation he represented as a VP.

    • Auditor General on line 1

      PBO is holding on line 2….

  22. billg says:

    Now thats the Liberal party war room I was waiting for….now we got us a fight!!
    Now…Im a big fat knuckle draggin beer swillin Con from out near Hec Clouthier’s way, but, I gotta say its about friggen time the Liberal war room woke up….this was like watching a soccer game.
    WK and Monte should have a blast with this one.

  23. R says:

    http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&biw=1259&bih=515&sa=X&ei=9YasTbaJIa2N0QHey5n5CA&ved=0CCIQvwUoAQ&q=dental+teeth&spell=1&fp=3c5e5770f41ad87

    canada need to put dental teeth is public too as teeth is part of body and like brain like kidny you can not say No to teeth and allow
    this even lead to stroke if infection incrased they can help dentist to include their public to help all people in fix their teeth too

    when harper confuse between ill kid and criminal kids in his history of Harper he beat up black children in court under youth offender not release this is back to povery education and those kid are inncoent and victime not criminal to go to jail or arrested becuase harepr like to help police money salary more not to help kids easy study of hebophernia grow among youth are never study in Canada unless police force some one to become mentally ill as well as record of dark side of Harper as well.

    http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/The-CEO-Poll-Harper-best-canadianbiz-288870457.html?x=0

    It means lower tax for ceo caused ceo with Harper but the above report is vague because
    most ceo do not say thier name in above report and or most likly smart ceo never will say who they vote too!


    http://www.ctv.ca/mini/election2011/polltracker/index.html

    some one need to watch conservative since they lie before to other comeptitors and did criminal illegal competition
    with lying to others to see may be counting vote in each place need to camera to wacth by ndp and liberal and conservative
    make sure place for counting are camera to not allow any illegal job done
    but it is too late because harper change rcmp and all May again May do some illegal countring this need to monitor closly
    for any prevention or any fan of each party to do not add more to any party illegaly

    or can matter of Guelph counting was excuse to allow them counting more other, i donot accuse anybody of wrong doing but is competition need to monitor closly before force for recount again

    http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110415/guelph-university-vote-mob-legitimacy-dispute-110415/20110415?hub=TorontoNewHome

  24. Lance says:

    LOL that IS funny!

  25. John Larocque says:

    Don’t remember much about David Somerville (author of the famous health care quote), except he claimed he was a journalist. He was author of the 1978 book, “Trudeau Revealed: By His Action and Words”, from BMG publishers, a right wing publishing house out in Richmond Hill, better known as the publisher of Jock Andrews famous “Bilingualism Today French Tomorrow” series. Somervillle’s thesis was something to the effect that Trudeau was a communist agent and that under his rule, Canada was on the road to Soviet socialism. About a decade after its publication, Somerville became the hand-picked successor of National Citizen’s Coalition founder Colin Brown.

  26. Elisa says:

    The Frazer Institute wants Harper to scrap the Canada Health Act for 5 years………….

  27. jack says:

    Keep the quotes coming. Link Harper to the NCC and its anti-public health care beginnings. He MUST explain them. Did he do a big flip flop since the debates or is he pushing for private health care as he has stated many, many times on the record.

    Not sure how much these will change the vote but its about time harper gets held to account for his views. My guess he says nothing as it will really open the can of worms. The Libs will need to keep up the pressure.

    Do any Cons actually know his views given all his anti-public health care statements? I bet they guess but none know. You will hear every side of the issue because they just don’t know.

    Should be interesting to see what else is planned for the week.

  28. Craig Chamberlain says:

    Pot, kettle — kettle, pot? Not by a long shot!

  29. George says:

    “the Liberals are getting frantic, so it’s time to try once again to convince Canadians Mr. Harper is the anti-Christ. “It’s about Canada!” Mr. Ignatiff shouted hoarsely at his weekend rally, apparently sharing the notion that Conservatives are from a different country and only Liberals represent Canadian values. “Rise up, rise up!” he shouted, echoing Mao Zedong* for the second time in a week, in what’s turning into a worrying tendency. Does the Liberal leader seriously believe Canada is a dictatorship overseen by a repressive, blood-stained one-party state? All because Bev Oda put a “not” in a funding document?”

    from the above column. Funny stuff truly.

    • Craig Chamberlain says:

      Yep — time for Canada to Rise Up! And TOGETHER WE CAN DO IT!

    • Patrick Hamilton says:

      Here is what I attempted to post to Mr. McParlands “Comments” section.

      As a former member of the Conservative Party, I do indeed fear a Harper majority…..downplay it all you like Mr. McParland, but I know these people having stayed with the merged party for three years until I could stomach it no longer. The Reform, ahem, Conservative Party of Canada is controlled lock, stock, and barrel by the fundamentalist Christian right. I dont know about you, but a majority govt run with the likes of Con candidate Wally Daudrich scares the hell out of me….If the Canadian electorate values gay rights, a womans right to choose, a sound, rather, ANY environmental policy, and not for profit health care, they must deny Mr. Harper and his ilk the majority they so desperately seek.
      Preston Manning said that “Reformers had to be as silent as snakes” in order to institute radical changes to Govt, It is the only tenet of Reform Mr. Harper has stuck to, knowing full well that is the ONLY way he will be able to achieve his majority govt and enact the radical legislation he wants.
      Mr McParland pooh-poohs these notions, but I know different. In order to maintain the Canada we want to see, the Canadian electorate must keep Mr. Harper on a very short leash. I trust on May 2nd, we shall do so.
      Sincerely,
      Patrick Hamilton
      Frmr Conservative Party member
      Frmr Sec. Pitt-Meadows-Maple-Ridge-Mission
      Conservative E.D.A.

    • How do you make that connection that he’s ‘echoing Mao Zedong”?

  30. Marc L says:

    What a bunch of babies. THESE are the people who want to govern us? Four year olds are more mature than this. I thought Harper and his crowd were alone in acting like this. Now we have Iggy stooping down to his level. “You called me names…I’ll call you names. Gnanananana poopoo !”

    Layton is the only one who is still acting like an adult. Too bad his views don’t make more sense or I’d vote NDP. What a pathetic election campaign.

    • Lew says:

      You’ve got that right Marc. And the so-called experts wonder why voter participation keeps dropping each and every election. The Cons lost my support over the last few years, but sadly there is no alternative to vote for. Since the 2 major parties are all acting like clowns, I think I will vote for the ultimate clown party and cast my vote for the Rhinos…if I decide to vote at all.

      • Marc L says:

        Yeah, and just read what you’ll find here and on sites like the G&M’s. People love this. They seem to think it’s all so clever — “you attacked me..I’ll attack you harder! — so there!”. People…it’s NOT clever. It’s pathetic.

  31. jack says:

    Les,

    What’s the lie? The quote or Harper’s stance on public vs private health care? That is if you even know his stance. If you don’t know just do the research and find a few quotes and articles from Harper. A few are listed on this very site. Then you’ll know.

  32. Ottawa Girl says:

    The CONS walked into a neat little trap. The Liberals have been ready with this one for quite a while. I wonder if the CONS have figured out how they just got snookered.

  33. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qvKZO0d0Ps

    Don’t Forget ..

    It doesn’t matter what Harper says or promises .. his word can not be trusted .. don’t forget Income Trusts!

  34. George says:

    @davidakin from twitter:

    First political ad ever aired on #SunNewsNetwork — It’s a Liberal ad! Thank you, #LPC. We appreciate your support!

  35. Paul B says:

    So we now find out the quote was actually taken from someone else at the NCC in 1998 and attributed to Harper. Kinda blows half the comments on here out of the water.

      • Namesake says:

        it’s a — get this — COALITION !

        the National Citizens Coalition, that is:
        http://nationalcitizens.ca/index.html

        Here’s how one commenter described it on Macleans:

        “Mr. Harper served as President of the National Citizens Coalition from 1998 to 2002. National Citizens Coalition is a Canadian conservative lobby group founded in 1967 to oppose the concept of a national health care system.

        National Citizens Coalition supports privatization, tax cuts, government spending cuts and opposes laws that limit spending by non-party organizations during election campaigns. It has been heavily involved in advertising, political campaigns and legal challenges in support of its goals of “more freedom with less government.” (ie – fewer regulations, less enforcement).

        During its almost four decades of existence, the National Citizens Coalition has campaigned against the Canada Health Act.”

        by ‘BC Ed’ http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/03/31/too-many-elections-please/#IDComment139393711

        • Namesake says:

          ok, so the above was all cribbed from Wikipedia, so just go there, which has an interesting timeline at the end:

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Citizens_Coalition

          ‘cuz there’s a long relationship b/w the three: the NCC, Stephen Harper, and opposing the Canada Health Care:

          because the first was created BECAUSE of the last, and continues to revisit the subject on a regular basis; and the first has supported the 2nd’s political career all along, and hired him in-between his political stints

          (and more lately it’s also hired Blogging Tories co-founder and chief conbot field marshal Stephen Taylor as their social media director, BTW: http://www.stephentaylor.ca/2010/12/lets-keep-building-the-conservative-movement/

          So any pretense that that NCC quote grossly misrepresents Harper’s own views on the subject is, well, pretty harpocritical.

    • nic coivert says:

      Not at all. That is Harper’s position after all. Well documented as well. He wants to scrap the Health Accord and move to the American system, if you can call it that.

      And if Harper does get a majority you can bet you’ll begin seeing direct to consumer advertising, and this of course will further drive costs and open the demand for pay what you can clinics. Harper knows all about slippery slopes. He can’t wait to skid Canada’s Health Care down it.

  36. Wayne says:

    And Iggy’s leadership numbers continue to circle the bowl. Just a coincidence I’m sure.

    Jack has you libbies in a box and there is no way out. Snookered by Smilin’ Jack. Ouch.

  37. Wayne says:

    Carolyn Bennett near tears on Power and Politics. Libs in full meltdown mode now.

    Can the libs save the furniture?

  38. Namesake says:

    It’s not a “lie” since they believed it was true, they were drawing it from what they considered to be a reliable source (Andre Picard of the Globe & Mail, who’s written not only many articles but actual books on health care, incl. one very critical of the Libs, on the Tainted Blood Scandal), and it was consistent with many other things that Harper has said over the years on the subject.

    And, in the pot calling kettle black dep’t., it seems the Libs aren’t the only ones who’ve misattributed a quote — except theirs wasn’t made on a world stage like Harper’s was a couple years ago:

    “Prime Minister Stephen Harper was forced to apologize publicly for attacking his political rival Michael Ignatieff at the G8 over a quote that was wrongly attributed to the Opposition leader by a senior Harper aide.”

    “Harper misfires in Ignatieff attack”
    Tonda MacCharles, Toromto Star, Fri Jul 10 2009

    http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/663961

  39. JH says:

    The problem with the quote – the hoopla over it – and the decision to change it is, now that folks know the quote was wrong, they associate all the quotes with the Liberal ad as being wrong. The war room should never have said anything, quietly withdrawn it and moved on. End of story, right there. That was just bad strategic advice.
    Also, I’m telling you war room types on here, even though you don’t want to hear it – every time that millionaire, wasp, Center of the Universe, millionaire TO lawyer shows up on TV bleating about the people and the 5 point family plan etc., people just want to puke. He reeks of the kind of self-seeking arrogant, entitiled to my entitlements crap you don’t want to be associated with. WK may not want to admit it, but I bet he’d have had him out of there a month ago.

    • Namesake says:

      I dunno — do they associate all the quotes Harper attributes to Ignatieff after his Dimitri Stupidous -inspired broadside at the G8 in June ’09* ?

      And if it’s Apps you’re talking about, there, well, yes, WK has criticized him, here, but, ironically, he’s only been on TV so much over the last couple of months because of WK’s other media commitments, appearing in lieu of him, which makes this a kind of ticklish area.

      * “Harper misfires in Ignatieff attack”
      Tonda MacCharles, Toromto Star, Fri Jul 10 2009

      “Prime Minister Stephen Harper was forced to apologize publicly for attacking his political rival Michael Ignatieff at the G8 over a quote that was wrongly attributed to the Opposition leader by a senior Harper aide….”

      http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/663961

      • JH says:

        No I meant just this ad should have been ignored etc, because took the power out of any quotes that will be associated with a health care issue ad. Folks now assume all the quotes in ads re health care are wrong, trust me. They just catch a story like that briefly on the news for the most part and thus the result.
        They also must find someone, less arrogant and irritating, who can go head to head with Jamie and the NDP ladies. Apps just personifies everything people associate with the ‘natural governing party’ tag, that the Libs want to lose.

    • Namesake says:

      Well, chances are, he DID actually write that disputed 1997 quote, even if it appeared under his then- boss’s byline at the time, because as Gerry Nicholls explains in this new Hill Times article (“Private insurance system ‘workable solution’ for Canada’s rising health care costs, Harper said as NCC head” http://urlm.in/hnzw ),

      Harper actually had a very powerful role at the NCC even before he became its President, writing a lot of their policy stuff, kind of like he did for the Reform Party (before leaving in snit).

      Moreover, two years later, he explicitly endorsed an American style private insurance system and trashed the Canadian model, in a 1999 book review of ‘Code Blue: Reviving Canada’s Health Care System,’ “a scathing book on the Canadian health system by University of Manitoba medical student David Gratzer.”

      The H-T journo Tim Naumetz summarizes the book & Harper’s review here:

      “In the final chapter …Mr. Gratzer recommends a form of private medical savings accounts for employees, combined with a separate insurance plan for catastrophic medical situations, that had become popular in the United States. He appears to set out a system similar generally to the U.S., where a basic public system serves as a net for individuals who cannot afford private insurance or do not have employer-paid insurance.

      ‘Gratzer proposes a workable solution for the biggest public policy problem of the coming generation — our government-controlled health care monopoly,’ Mr. Harper said in comments that are quoted on the back cover of the book. ‘Our health care isn’t just sick, it’s killing people. Canada needs Gratzer’s new prescription.’ ” http://urlm.in/hnzw

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