08.13.2015 06:29 AM

KCCCC Day 12: let’s measure our GDP in hugs!

 

  

110 Comments

  1. DougM says:

    Disaster. This goes hand in hand with “the budget will balance itself”. In an attack ad the context doesn’t matter.

  2. Jason says:

    To me this story, when it broke, was hysterical journalism at its worst.
    The “beer and popcorn” remark was bad because implicit is an arrogant attitude towards how people make their own decisons. Growing the economy “from the heart out” is touchy feely, but everyone by now should know that’s part of Trudeau’s personality, and why he is likeable. The meaning pretty obvious – our economic choices should be rooted in compassion. I guess we’ll see what the public thinks if he starts to go down in the polls.

  3. Ty says:

    I’d say “funny” and “weird” (the cover made me lol) but not a disaster. Even the Sun editorial is basically just a leftover attack on his father.

  4. Tim Little says:

    This wasn’t off the cuff. It wasn’t picked up from a personal chat. It was the best line on economic recovery JT could offer Canadian voters. Further evidence that we are into a two horse race.

  5. Mike Smith says:

    Wow, I like Justin but his advisers are obviously useless…

  6. Ron Waller says:

    Justin Trudeau has a neoliberal agenda — more tax cuts + download $36-billion of healthcare costs onto the provinces — which he tries to cover up by attempting to tug on the heart strings of voters. This particular attempt at manipulating people obviously didn’t work as planned.

    Perhaps the Trudeau campaign team should consider the concept of “theory of mind” (which even chimpanzees possess.) Before Trudeau is to say something in the public forum first consider: a) how the Harper war room will interpret it; b) how the Mulcair war room will interpret it; c) how the media will interpret it.

    If they would’ve got as far as step a), “growing the economy from the heart” would’ve ended up on the cutting room floor.

    • terry quinn says:

      At least JT doesn’t lie every time he opens his mouth like both Harper and Mulcair do. I think people will be surprised on Eday at how well he does.

  7. ian turnbull says:

    He is feeding into the NDP and Conservatives storyline that he is just not ready. Its like he is auditioning for a role in Zoolander 2 versus running for Prime Minister. There is no history of this, it is something no politician in Canada has ever attempted. So its difficult to predict if it is a winning formula. He did say he was going to do politics differently.

  8. Jon Powers says:

    Fuck me, I’m convinced now. I’m voting for this guy just to see who he assigns as his Minister of Unicorns and Rainbows.

  9. Joe says:

    Ah remember back when you were a freshman at college/university and you and your buds would sit around your dorm room and over a few “beers” or what ever discuss the deep thing. you know like re-thinking the space time continuum and growing the economy from the heart? I know it made sense at the time but I can’t remember the details – I was too wasted.

  10. billg says:

    I doubt very much that on a white board in the Liberal war room is a line with a check mark beside it saying…”have JT throw out a line and hope everyone knows what he meant”. His inner circle needs a shake up.

  11. I think that reasonable people who aren’t political junkies will understand his meaning. Assuming they are paying attention to the campaign. I suspect most people who aren’t political junkies view not only politicians as highly suspect, but also those who report news on politicians.

    Beer and popcorn was different. That came off as an insult to people. This isn’t insulting at all. It could have been said better but it’s just Justin Trudeau trying to reach people on an emotional level.

    • doconnor says:

      I think most people will understand what he meant and even agree with the sentiment, but how he said it was the problem. It wasn’t just not “Prime Ministerial”. It was childish and reinforces the “He’s not ready” narrative, which after all, isn’t that he has bad ideas, just that he lacks maturity (despite being older then me).

      • I think the term “Prime Ministerial” is a highly suspect term because most people dislike politicians immensely. Most people are sheeple … we have a herd mentality. We want to be led. Most people defer to authority on an instinctive level and unfortunately, Trudeau doesn’t come off with much authority at all. He’s got some likability but Harper is an asshat control freak paranoid angry boy – everyone knows it and he won a majority.

  12. MF says:

    Harper’s rabid support of certain countries is paying dividends with certain media.

  13. Lance says:

    I think will have much of an impact – it only confirms what is already a known quantity about him as an utter flake.

  14. Maps Onburt says:

    I think Trudeau and his pal Butts were stoned when they came up with this one. Trudeau senior must be screaming at the bottom of his tombstone right now.

  15. Pipes says:

    And just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse……….!

    Next will be this on terrorism: “Folks the best way to deal with ISIS is ‘a little song, and a little dance and a little seltzer down their pants’!”

  16. Kelly says:

    I actually liked it. It’s obvious what it means. We are living in an age where Canada’s infant mortality rate is worse than Cuba’s (yes, really) and food bank use is at record levels even with unemployment not great but not nearly as bad as it has been at other times. This statement wasn’t designed to appeal to the average Sun reader and besides…the publishers of the Sun are serial failures at business…even in an industry that gets all sorts of regulatory concessions and direct government handouts. So what do they know? The statement will appeal to people who usually haven’t bothered to vote because they are sick of typical promises and don’t think the government matters to them. That’s 40% of eligible voters. Harper and Mulcair have no ability to activate that segment of the electorate. If Trudeau can — as Obama did — he will be PM. Just watch.

    • John from Saskatoon says:

      You smoked the same shit as Trudeau and Butts didn’t you?

      • Kelly says:

        Yeah and Saskatoon has the highest child poverty rate and highest violent crime rate in Canada…and its not because the Liberals or NDP have been running the place or the Province lately. Think about it. One could be forgiven for thinking that more people die when conservatives run things. More wars. More guns. More infant mortality. More hallway medicine. More tainted meat. More Walkertons. More homeless freezing in bus shelters. All there in plain site. Reality is about to take a great big bite out of your side’s collective saggy a$$. Just like it did in Alberta. There are more of us on my side than on yours.

        • Justin says:

          I’m no fan of Harper and the Conservatives but I just looked up those stats, the comparison between Canada and Cuba is like 0000000000000.01%. Get a grip.

          • Kelly says:

            No need. Harper already runs that style of government. Which is why the public ser if is going to leak something on him that will finish him for good. Just watch.

        • UFP Ambassador says:

          Walkerton?!! Shit man, that was the Koebel brothers. Are you really still living in the Harper/Harris are the root of all evil lefty dreamworld? Chavez your socialist hero yanked $4B (yes billion) out of Venezuela into his personal accounts and your “PROGRESSIVE” lovey dovey Linda McQuaig thinks he’s the cat’s ass. I will take evil conservatives running things 9 days a week before I’d take a socialist in charge of anything larger than a lemonade stand.

  17. Lance says:

    I love the Liberals attack ad on the NDP and Mulcair. It talks about how Mulcair flip-flopped on the debates.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA64vnPfQgY&feature=youtu.be

    What is the rather more interesting part is that it was Trudeau’s flip-flop to not run attack ads in the first place…………now he uses one to tell us about Mulcair’s flip-flop. Did you see what he did there? 😉

  18. Michael Bluth says:

    Hear hear!

    This quote plays into the just not ready narrative. There is no misrepresentation or distortion of what he said.

    It doesn’t come across as the words of a candidate who should be seriously considered to lead our country.

  19. Jnap says:

    i agree with Sean, Jason, Scott and others who interpret this “from the heart outwards” comment as simply meaning a broader approach to economic decision-making. The purely bean-counter approach has shown its limitations, and no one can claim that the Harper bean counters are objective about who gets the beans.
    The Toronto Sun is clearly not able to deal with the murky Duffy trial, and so uses distraction again to attack JT and the Liberal Party. Easy way out.

  20. Peter Mumford says:

    Overall, I’d file it in the same category as that “treating people equally isn’t fair” episode. Both were poorly executed explanations of something that could otherwise have been a reasonable point. If it needs follow up, admit you could have phrased it better and move on.

  21. Al in Cranbrook says:

    Ever increasingly clear, there’s only one adult running in this race.

  22. Mulletaur says:

    Federal Liberals may want to start thinking about succession planning. That is, if anybody actually wants the job(s).

    • Jason says:

      If they are (and I imagine they are) this is precisely why they keep losing elections.

      The point has recently been made on this blo… website that most leaders lose an election before winning.

      The LPC is becoming like the PQ, ditching leaders after one kick at the can, when they really should play the long game.

    • Vancouverois says:

      Martha Hall-Findlay… if she’ll still take it.

      • UFP Ambassador says:

        I would have left the conservatives for the Astronaut. I don’t care about boring. Less economists and lawyers are needed in our political class – more scientists and engineers please.

        • Vancouverois says:

          I was supportive of him too, but I was profoundly disappointed when he pulled out of the race. Numbers be damned, he should have seen it through to the end.

          Besides, by the time he gets his next chance, he’ll be kind of old for the job. He’s already over retirement age.

  23. fan590 says:

    The media coverage is great for Justin.

    As the Dippers have already become yesterday’s blip and Angry Tom is looking more unattractive all the time, this gets people talking about Justin and his desire to have a more caring economy.

    At the same time the trial is going on.

    Justin vs. Steve.

    Cute care bears for the middle class or crumpled up old Duffy bears. That’s the choice out there.

    • Taco says:

      I’d agree that I haven’t seen Tom in the Media enough. Don’t know if that is the NDPs fault, or traditional Ontario centric liberal party bias media.

      I suggest you talk to swing voters, and those who vote some elections. People want Harper out, but the Trudeau not ready narrative is working.

      Trudeau isn’t ready, Just like Stockwell Day wasn’t ready.

      The ballot question is, “Do I want Harper Out or not”

      The maturity issue is sticking just like John Tory’s religious school issue is sticking. (Though one issue was policy, the other is character.).

  24. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Warren,

    Justin has a big heart. That’s why he’s pushing for the Compassionate Canada that we all remember. People first, that’s his priority. Economic and fiscal policy in light of that reality.

    • fan590 says:

      I remember in 1993 Reformers were saying Jean Chretien was an old school Liberal softie who “wasn’t right for the harsh new economic times ahead” and if elected Canada would be ruined beyond repair.

      How’d that work out?

      • Maps Onburt says:

        Chretien eviscerated the provinces by downloading his high cost budget items to them and took all the new GST revenues he campaigned against to balance the books. Just shows he’s rather ruthless… Trudeau Jr has shown flashes of that when he’s told all his MP’s and MP’s together that they WILL support abortion and cut the Liberal senators loose without a (micro) second’s thought. The problem is though that Just(i)NotReady has shown that he leads from his “heart” and not his brain… this ad just goes to show that even more.

      • Joe says:

        Trudeau aint no Chretien.

        • fan590 says:

          How was Chretien doing in mid summer 93? How was Chretien being perceived by the media (and on interest boards that a few of were on back then)?

          People forget.

    • Pat says:

      I’m sorry Ronald but I can easily hear Sean Penn and slew of other Hollywood jugglers saying that about Hugo Chavez and Maduro.

  25. Mark says:

    I don’t think the statement was bad in itself, just misconstrued. I thought people might take offence because it COULD mean from Quebec/Ontario (“the heart”) out (to the rest of Canada). Care bear? Whatever. Would anyone but their wives prefer to hug Harper or Mulcair?

  26. BrianK says:

    Here’s the best part – the line was obviously lifted from Obama, and JT just got it straight up wrong:

    http://blogs.canoe.com/davidakin/politics/is-justin-trudeau-channelling-barack-obama/

    Not surprising, considering that the “Hope and Hard Work” mantra is also a callback to “Hope and Change”, and JT’s entire candidacy is premised on being a Canadian version of Obama (getting youth engaged, lifting the masses with his soaring rhetoric). It is, of course, absurd for a silver spoon-fed lightweight like JT to believe that he can channel Obama, and the fact that his handlers don’t see it is a testament to how out of touch with reality they are. This is honestly like bad high school-level plagiarism, except it’s coming from a guy who wants to be Prime Minister of Canada.

  27. davie says:

    I caught the line live on tv.
    I figured, at the time, he was using a metaphor alluding to heartland, or roots(to use another metaphor)…that is, grow the economy from the heartland, or roots, or mainstreet (hey a 3rd metaphor, or metonymy, or something…).

    Of course, I would expect the metaphor would be deliberately misrepresented by people who once pretended that they did not know what ‘dutch disease’ meant in economic terms.

  28. JH says:

    Sometimes watching this crowd in action, I actually think it’s an espisode of the Big Bang Theory. There’s even a couple of Pennys floating around looking pretty and decorative.

  29. Mark says:

    I ❤️️ THE ECONOMY

  30. eric weiss says:

    It was a dumb statement. It just reinforces the idea JT is not a person to be taken seriously.

  31. doconnor says:

    I was thinking about why the NDP is focusing attacks ads on the Liberals. They probably realize the remaining Conservative voters are partisans and are unlike to switch, especially to the NDP. I think they are trying to keep the Liberals down to prevent what happened to Chow in the Toronto mayor race from happening to them. In that race Chow was leading and there was a stumble and suddenly all the anti-Ford vote switch from Chow to Tory. The NDP need to keep the Liberals down to prevent that switch from happening if a stumble occurs (which is often outside their control).

    • davie says:

      I usually support NDP. I agree with your points. If we figure polls are reflecting reality, over 60% of voters want something other than the Conservatives. My ideal would be a minority in which the partners push each other to update our electoral system so that we get more accurate representation in our House of Commons.

    • Krago says:

      “In that race Chow was leading and there was a stumble and suddenly all the anti-Ford vote switch from Chow to Tory.”

      Ix-nay on the umble-stay.

  32. Piper says:

    Somewhere between “root causes” and “from the heart” we have Justin “Just Not Ready” Trudeau…. our Canadians Dr. Phil ….lol

  33. Max Delicato says:

    Care Bears, unicorns and lollipops aside, would anyone actually be naive enough to believe Trudeau isn’t pure laissez-faire? ex. “Kenney was immortalized on the cover of Maclean’s as “The Tax Fighter,” a man then finance minister Paul Martin felt obliged to consult before unveiling his budget.” NP headline today: “NDP was paying Punjabi phone canvassers $13 an hour — $4 less than English workers.” Every party has adopted the New Economics. Foreign workers. No labour standards. The race to the bottom. The iron law of wages. Hunger games, Canada edition.

  34. Al in Cranbrook says:

    Speaking of the economy…

    This is what Obama’s refusal on the Keystone pipeline is costing Canadians, in spite of five studies over six years giving it the go ahead…

    http://business.financialpost.com/news/energy/in-alberta-30-loonies-will-get-you-a-case-of-beer-a-bottle-of-whiskey-and-now-a-barrel-of-oil

    Frankly, this is just bloody well criminal.

  35. Chucker says:

    What baffles me about this quote is that the country Trudeau admires most is China. He admires China most precisely for its top down ability to wholesale re-engineer its economy on a dime. So, if he admires top down “benevolent” autocracy, why wouldn’t he want to bring that kind of management style to Canada? He said he loves Canada in his blood and bones, but not enough to bring us the kind of government he most admires?

  36. George says:

    My impression when I heard the audio yesterday on the radio was that JT reminds me of *me*, about 15 years ago, when I managed to land an interview for a job I knew I wasn’t qualified for.

    I did quite well for the first half hour, then I was asked a question that I didn’t really have a great answer for – I had the “big picture” but I didn’t have the details. My delivery of the response to the question, even more than the answer itself, probably sealed the deal on my not getting this particular job – except in my case (and in context), my answer was far better than what JT said yesterday.

    People can tell when you are making s*** up on the fly, and I thought JT came across as really naive yesterday.

    In short news cycles under heavy scrutiny, it’s the little sound-bites (and the impressions they create) that matter more than the words themselves. JT isn’t doing himself any favours.

    Shame too, because I do sense a palpable appetite for change. I really wish Marc Garneau was the LPC leader, I’d probably vote Liberal.

  37. MC says:

    Haven’t looked much at the other comments, and don’t have much time to engage today, but here’s the thing (and this goes for anyone who purports to look down on those who they condescendingly suggest don’t “get it”): it was sanctimonious.

    It was more of Trudeau purporting to be the touchy-feely, I-see-things-more-deeply, I-care-more, -than-you, kind of politician. “Doing things differently.” In other words, it’s a crock, it’s misleading, it has no real meaning. It reeked of the same preachy, smug hypocrisy that has characterized other of Trudeau’s comments, and the smell isn’t getting any better.

    Compassionate economic policies is likely what he wanted to talk about (though his mixing of metaphors calls it a bit into question), and, if so, it would have been less Hallmarky, less cheesy, less, frankly, stupid, if he had. But then, of course, he would have had to back that up. I am not sure that he ultimately can.

    I cannot respect a politician who chooses to play heartstrings rather than speak simply with reason with clarity, because such a politician has no respect for the people to whom he is speaking; and Trudeau seems to play that kind of game very often.

    • Maps Onburt says:

      Well said!

    • Christian says:

      Word bro.

    • fan590 says:

      Oh right, and slogans and going for the heart strings with a simple message never happens in politics, does it.

      That Sun cover is going to be remembered as helping Justin get noticed, seen as the alternative to Steve, and to become PM this year.

      • Michael Bluth says:

        That’s a very optimistic outlook. If the growing the economy from the heart line actually helps Trudeau gain support it will definitely be surprising.

        Let’s look at this through the eyes of a swing voter. I’ve seen the ads on tv, but I’m not going to let the Conservatives scare me into voting for them. But Trudeau has said some things previously that give some credence to the Conservative (and now NDP) lines of attack about readiness for the big job.

        On the face of it the line does sound goofy. The care bear photoshop did bring a smile to my face, even if just for a second. That much more support to what the Conservatives and NDP are saying.

        This ad makes most Liberal/other party swing voters more likely to swing away from the Liberals.

        I’m really interested in understanding the (imagined) thought process that a swing voter would go through after hearing the line (and seeing the care bear picture) that would make them more likely to vote Liberal.

        If you are being openly mocked (for a legitimate reason) it is never, ever, a good thing for a campaign.

  38. Derek Pearce says:

    Maybe he’s just trolling the Conservatives and the conservative press. Heh. Put that in an ad and play it over and over and over and over, it’ll do Harper as good as his just not ready ads have done him, which is remarkably little considering all the money he’s spent.

  39. Boucher says:

    All he had to do was use the word “core” instead of “heart” – FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST

    • fan590 says:

      He used “heart” for a reason.

      Look at how many people are talking about Justin. Pretty smart, eh?!

      • Christian Giles says:

        Most people are talking about what an idiot Justin is. Yeah. That’s pretty smart alright. Better tell Steve to hand over the keys to 24 Sussex right now.

      • UFP Ambassador says:

        Yep, pure genius. You, Scott, and Kelly all agree….how could you be wrong?

  40. Jon Evan says:

    Using Obama advisors makes for Obama-like comments from Justin. I think it’s true Justin has a heart, but not a brain. I listened to him in Saskatoon today. He loves to talk and wax eloquently about the middle class. But there is no substance to it. It’s JJJ. Just Justin Jabbering proving that he is just Justin and not ready!
    Obama could make comments like that in a two way race when your opponent is all brain, but not here in a three way race unless he thinks he’s the only one with a heart? Maybe.

  41. patrick says:

    Can’t have compassionate fuzzy politics in a fear and loathing political world. Might make someone think the world is not about being in it for yourself, by yourself at the expense of everyone else world. What kind of nonsense is that.

  42. ottlib says:

    Ooh, the Toronto Sun does not like what Mr. Trudeau is saying. What a startling development!

    One thing forgotten in all of this is Mr. Trudeau seems to be sticking to the strategy of pounding the economy as his election message. He virtually ignored the Duffy trial yesterday and every time I see him on the news he is pushing the message of building an economy that benefits all Canadians.

    Taken in isolation his statement might seem silly but it really is just a continuation of the message he has been putting out there for weeks.

  43. fan590 says:

    ‘Trudeau pledges millions for First Nations education’

    If this is part of his care bear way of running Canada I’m voting for the care bear.

  44. davie says:

    I strolled through these comments again, especially those interpreting what ‘…from the heart’ meant.

    I think of a scene from the movie, ‘Life of Brian,’ where Brian dashes away from the crowd, losing his sandal behind. His followers pick up the sandal and begin interpreting the deeper meaning of his leaving that sandal behind.

    (If you’re under 40, you might have missed that movie.)

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