09.24.2022 06:12 PM

Kinsella vs. Kouvalis: a comparison

Why does anyone hire Nick Kouvalis? Good question.

Because the media are in the shorthand business – and because social media renders everything bite-sized and/or stupid – some folks have occasionally contrasted me with conservative lobbyist Nick Kouvalis.

I welcome that, because we couldn’t be more different. So, as a public service, here are some of the ways in which I differ from Nick Kouvalis.

• Kouvalis has been charged, criminally, for making death threats. I have never been charged with anything, although I have received two speeding tickets in my life, for which I apologize.
• Kouvalis has been found guilty of several ethical violations by the professional marketing/polling organization to which he belongs. I have never been found to have breached any professional rules or standards whatsoever – although, I was on the executive of both the Canadian Bar Association and the Ontario Bar Association, which I suppose was punishment enough.
• Kouvalis has not written any books of which I am aware, and I do not know his educational background. I have written ten books and have degrees in Journalism and Law. The journalism one is from Carleton, however, which cannot be helped.
• Kouvalis brags about using dirty tricks – fake identities and whatnot – in election campaigns. I have written books in which I have said, among other things, that dirty tricks do not work – and I have fired youngsters who show up with same. I did, however, wave around a purple dinosaur on TV once to poke fun at Kouvalis’ friend Stockwell Day. I admit that.
• Kouvalis brags about how much money he has. I was brought up to believe that the people who brag don’t have.
• Kouvalis uses front companies to conduct “polls” to push voters one way or another. I have written books in which I have said that “push polls” should be banned, and that those who make use of them are hurting democracy. I am old-fashioned about democracy, in that I think it is a fragile thing, and worth defending.
• Kouvalis says that he is good at beating Liberals, and then went on to work for BC Liberal leader Christy Clark; he has said terrible things about John Tory, and then turned his back on the Ford family to work for John Tory. I, for my part, worked for many years for guys named Chrétien and McGuinty, and I have stuck by them, in good times and in bad.
• Kouvalis has driven drunk, been caught and charged by police. He has continued to drink, despite promises to “get help.” I’ve never been charged with anything. Ever.
• Kouvalis even got drunk and broke into a Burlington Kelsey’s. He pleaded guilty to criminal trespass and received a fine. None of that has ever happened to me.
• Kouvalis called an academic critic a “cuck,” a term favored by white supremacists to describe race traitors. I, meanwhile, have spent more than three decades exposing and fighting white supremacists.
• Kouvalis enthusiastically defended supporting the white supremacists who led the so-called trucker convoy. I, meanwhile, called for them to be prosecuted for breaking the law. Which is happening.
• Kouvalis tweeted and subsequently retracted a false claim that anti-rascists and Black Lives Matter activists ⁠— not supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump ⁠— were responsible for the January 6 Capitol riots. He also said Trump would beat Joe Biden. I worked for Joe Biden. Who, you know, won.

Anyway. There you go. Those are some of the key ways in which Nick Kouvalis and I (and any other people who try to be ethical, tolerant, law-abiding people) differ. There are others.

And there will be many, many more.

9 Comments

  1. Mark says:

    “Kouvalis says that he is good at beating Liberals, and then went on to work for BC Liberal leader Christy Clark”

    To be fair to Nick, he has been seen standing within the general vicinity of campaigns that coincidentally also happened to win, (federal Conservatives, Rob Ford.) As for the BC Liberals, they are “liberal” in name only. (And most people seem to be aware of this.) This is why, for example, many of those with BC Liberal membership cards have federal Conservative membership cards.

  2. Dwight Duncan says:

    Note to Kouvalis: I have known Warren Kinsella for a number of years. Warren Kinsella helped get me the opportunity to serve in government. Warren Kinsella is a friend of mine. Mr Kouvalis you are no Warren Kinsella. BTW you never beat a Liberal in Windsor. Ever.

    • Michael says:

      Not quite accurate. He’s only lost one election (2011 Windsor West) to a Liberal. In all other cases in the Windsor area, Kouvalis was ahead (sometimes way ahead) of the Liberal but lost to the NDP. He’s never been involved in Windsor-Tecumseh provincial campaigns.

  3. .. not knowing Mr Kouvalis personally.. from a hole in the ground
    I somehow have gained an ‘impression’ of him..
    How interesting .. or dull .. or dark ..

    The impression is that of a political groomer ..
    enabling those who would groom the citizenry.. and game the system
    which is pretty low.. tho maybe not as low as Joe Oliver
    or Peter Kent.. or the ruler of Harperland.. or his enablers

    now Mr Kinsella.. I have also gained an impression of you, as well
    and though immersed in the political world
    you communicate openly, don’t seem very scary or secretive or nasty
    and admit to driving too fast.. and indulging in very loud music
    You don’t seem at all inclined to manipulate the electorate..
    or groom them in readiness for even more devious chicanery
    & manipulation.. or fraud …

    Perhaps a fool or an idiot would see you as just like Kouvalis
    but then its a free world.. and one can vote for or support
    a crude mayor like Ford, a dim premier like Christy Clark..
    or an omnipotent PM like Harper
    or badmouth a spirited bon vivant such as yourself ..

    Revel in the difference… tween yourself and the mercenary political animal
    You are evolving upward.. he is devolving downward
    and unlike you, he will never ever be described as an exemplar ..

  4. Adam says:

    Staff as the Story? My pet sheep says that is baaaad.

    Don’t let the cook ever come to the front of the house. (not even for a re-fill of coke, let the server bring it to the back of the house! Even on hot summer days)…

  5. e.a.f. says:

    Never met either of you but you get my vote as the good guy. What sunk the other K.? He worked for the B.C. Lieberals, who have maintained the highest rate of child poverty in Canada for 9 out of 10 yrs. Has the highest medical premiums in Canada, more than Ontario’s by a couple of billion. Oh, and when it comes to corruption, Christy and company come with a whole lot of stuff. Redford stepped down over expenses which in B.C. is considered pocket change for the senior politicians and their friends. Christy Clark went to China, stayed in a hotel suite at $800 a day and then had one breakfast bill charged to her room for $700. When you lay down with dogs you get fleas, or you shall be know by the company you keep. He is “friends” with Rob Ford? I don’t believe Rob Ford has friends. He has co dependants and acquaintances.

    You can’t be all bad, you’re working on Olivia Chow’s campaign, play in a band and your kids still talk to you.

  6. Andrew says:

    Well said.

    Although you could have punched up the fact that Nick deviously baiting John Tory into not running in 2010 so “Robbie” Ford could run and win.

    You also could have mentioned the disregard for loyalty Kouvalis demonstrated by witholding 2010 data that was — from an intellectually property standpoint — rightfully owned by the Ford Campaign.

    You also could have mentioned that his utter lack of moral fibre ensures that anyone who shakes his hand would be wise to take a soapy shower afterwards, but there you go.

    But all of that would have required a 6th minute and as we all know, the most precious commodity on the planet isn’t oil and it isn’t money — it’s time.

    Happy New Year, Warren!

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