So sayeth the Hill Times, and my brother Bob Richardson. I think it’s funny and pretty accurate.  (I also like that some North of the Queensway types think calling me an “idealist” is an insult.)

Ironically, the lovely Bea’s story is behind a paywall.  But the picture will entertain you.  I look like a crazy street person, which, most days, I sort of am.

Highlights from Bea’s interview, with me fixing up some of the prose with punctuation (I do tend to speak fast, so it’s my fault, not Bea’s):

How have Conservatives “radically changed their approach to politics?”

“It’s by learning how to win elections better. Their achievement is considerable. … [Harper’s] doing it by communicating better than his opponents do.  And he does that by speaking about values, the Tim Hortons and the hockey dad stuff. It may be phony, and it may be made-up, and it might come out of focus groups.  But it works. … That’s one of the reasons why [progressives] are losing. The other thing he’s been assisted by, obviously, is that Liberals and New Democrats stupidly still refuse to acknowledge that they’re fighting over the same piece of political real estate.  And so Harper just sails up the middle.”

You say the left needs to take back values and words. Which ones?

“Well, what I talk about in Fight the Right is this: the most powerful message – the most powerful words to come out of progressive politics in 100 years – is the one per cent versus the 99 per cent. When you consider what the Occupy [movement] kids did, [it’s amazing].  They didn’t have a Madison Avenue advertising budget behind them. They had no leader – you can’t even name a leader of the Occupy movement. They had no organization. They had no membership. They had no fundraising.  [Despite that,] they changed progressive politics.  Or, they had the potential to do so, with this one per cent versus 99 per cent. That IS the message.”

“That is why Obama was ahead of Romney – because he was saying, ‘He’s part of the one per cent and I’m with you guys, I’m with the 99 per cent.’ Then he stopped doing that, and he starts losing. … It may be the reason that Obama may lose.  And it’s certainly why we [Liberals] might lose.

You say the media are mostly right-leaning, but people like Kory Teneycke say the right still needs more space. What do you think the media’s role is or was in helping the right win?

“One daily newspaper in the last federal election did not endorse the Conservative Party. The Toronto Star endorsed the New Democratic Party. [Every other daily newspaper endorsed the Conservative Party – ed.] You look at radio, it’s totally dominated by voices on the Right. The media…are dominated by the Right.  On TV, they have to be careful, because it’s public airwaves and all that stuff.  But with the exception of the CBC, I don’t think anybody feels that the Left dominates the [TV] discussion. I’m not whining about that. 

I’m not complaining about that. That’s why I say, Fight the Right. That’s why I’m the house communist at Sun News, because I believe in taking the fight to [the Right].  I like getting up in their grill and just letting them have it.  I enjoy that. My friend Bob Richardson says I’m a walking Irish bar fight, which I thought was funny.  But that’s how you win. That’s how you beat them back. These kinds of gentle discussions about policy, that ain’t how it is.  And it hasn’t been that way in a decade. So you’ve got to Fight the Right.”

So you don’t think in Canada they’ll be able to get their act together for 2015?

“No, [Trudeau and Mulcair] say they won’t. They’re categorical. Both of them are doing the ‘read my lips’ kind of thing. Trudeau, in fairness to him – because I like him – I understand he can’t run for leader and then say he’s going to turn off the lights. But, [Trudeau should’ve] just left the door a little open and say: ‘You know, I always listen to Mr. Chrétien, because he is the most successful Liberal of the past century (with the exception of Mackenzie King). I pay attention to Mr. Chrétien. But I’m running for this job, and that’s what I’m focused on now.’ But he gave a very unequivocal condemnation of [cooperation with the NDP] last [week].  When, in March, he said this is what we need to do. I  think [the Conservatives] are going to go after him on the contradiction. 

“I don’t know [Justin] as well as I used to, but I think he is very decent. He’s exactly what we need. Harper and Mulcair are angry old guys.  And Justin has this positive energy.  He’s a young guy, a lot like Obama in 2008.  Hopefully he has the same result –  bringing young people back into democracy.

But some of the folks around Justin, giving interviews about themselves and all that stuff, I don’t think it’s a very good idea because we should be hearing just from Justin. Katie Telford, she should just stick to running his campaign instead of talking about her world view.”

What’s the response been from right-wingers about your book?

“They say they hate it, but they’re all buying it. So I’ll take their 25 bucks.”

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Here.

I’ll have my own take in the Sun tomorrow.  But, for what it’s worth, his expert’s assessment (voters are “six-week-old puppies”) is extremely condescending.

As anyone who has read my books will know, I live by these truisms about the new media age:

• People indeed have an attention span of about seven minutes.
• However, that’s not because they’re dumb as “puppies.”  It’s because they are busy – busier than any humans have been since humans were invented.  Sleep-deprived, stressed, working all the time, and simply too busy to pay attention to politicians yammering on about themselves. Or the media, who are overly-preoccupied with things real people consider irrelevant.
• Finally, David Shenk’s memorable phrase – data smog.  Humans are bombarded by more words and more images, every single minute, than at any time in recorded history.  So they tune out the data smog.  It’s the only way to keep sane, sometimes.

My point?  Simple.  The guy or gal who “wins” in the new media environment is the one who uses repetition, simplicity and VOLUME.

That’s why Mitt Romney won the first debate, and why Barack Obama lost.  Romney repeated his messages over and over, he kept his language accessible, and he talked over the president (and the moderator).  Even though he’s a good-for-nothing, bald-faced liar and a loathsome corporate scumbag, he won.

It won’t happen in the second one.  Obama will be back, just watch.

 

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The accompanying picture.  Jesus was there to meet Justin, front and centre, and the Liberal leadership candidate didn’t even break into a sweat! Is that the kind of leadership strength you want at a time of crisis, or what?

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Good luck. You’ll need it.

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Quote:

[Fight The Right] is a quick, but powerful and inciting read. And if you’re on the progressive side, especially if you’re an activist, you should read it and take it to heart–as, believe me, those on the conservative side will be doing exactly that.”

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Four years ago this fall, during the U.S. election campaign that would send Barack Obama to the White House, Sarah Palin made a mistake.

As historians are aware, Palin would go on to make a great many mistakes. Her name would become so synonymous with political misstatements and miscalculations, in fact, that her party would eventually come to treat her like political kryptonite.

But back in 2008, the former governor of Alaska — and the then-Republican vice-presidential candidate — was still a pretty big deal. Conservatives swooned over her. Pundits sang her praises. She was arguably more popular than the Republican presidential nominee, John McCain.

Some Democratic Party smart alecks poked fun at her, however, and Palin didn’t like it so much. The Democrats ribbed Palin for her apparent lack of experience, particularly as a small-town mayor in Alaska. So Palin struck back.

At the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., to thunderous applause, Palin said: “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer. Except that you have actual responsibilities.”

This was a swipe at the employment history of Barack Obama, of course, and the GOP crowd loved it. Obama was soon forced to defend the period in which he had worked as a community organizer in Chicago in the late 1980s.

As the above-noted historians will remind us, the insult didn’t really work so well, did it? Obama — a young black man, the son of a single mom and, yes, a community organizer — would go on to be president of the United States of America.

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From “TRT,” trtinajax@gmail.com!

This is an unfortunate consequence of the JUST SOCIETY brought to us by Mr Kinsella, his friend Pierre Trudeau and the other HUG A THUG Liberals that believe the low life of this country are to be supported in the filth they wallow in while the good, decent people of the country must take the crap handed out by these low lifes. Mr Trudeau gutted the courts bringing in Judges who had no time for punishing the guilty, finding them all to be poor under-priviledged souls in need of our sympathies. Even if they catch the individuals who pushed this girl to her death, the Liberal’s YOUTH CRIMINAL PROTECTION ACT will ensure they are treated with kid gloves, treated as heroes of the JUST SOCIETY while Amanda Todd pays with her life. The time to have had sympathy for Amanda was years ago while the JUST SOCIETY was being created. It is a great society that you and your Liberal friends have created here in Canada Mr Kinsella. I hope you are proud of yourself.

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Andrew Coyne’s Dad has passed away.

I didn’t know Andrew’s Dad. But when my own Dad died – eight years, three months and 28 days ago – I was drowning in grief. I could not breathe.

Andrew and I weren’t close friends or anything, back then. I didn’t understand him all that well; intelligent conservatives have that effect on me.

But Andrew took me to lunch, and I admit I was having a bit of a hard time keeping it together. Despite that, it was apparent to me that this was a son who also loved his father, a lot. You could tell.

If Andrew sees this, this is the only insight I have to offer him: things aren’t the same, afterwards. You stay sad, but it gets a bit less sad as time goes by.

Also, you need to remember him in every achievement you have, on every single day you have left.

And this: I didn’t know your Dad. But I know he must have been pretty proud to have a son like you.

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I am a hockey dad. Forget about this book tour stuff, or politics: I was with Son One at a game on West side of town to almost midnight (we won). Then, up way too early to get Son Two to goalie school on the East side (he’s not bad).

If you are unsure who I am, look for the guy wearing combat pants and boots, leather jacket, and a DOA T-shirt.

Asleep in his truck.

Over and out.

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Her sad story has now attracted international attention: this is the top news item on CNN’s web site.  Not the U.S. election.

I hope that means that a lot of people are paying attention to this issue, and learning from it.  Hope it gives her family some comfort, too.

(As I write this, my eldest son is sitting in my office, and he has just finished telling me about one of his closest friends at St. Mike’s, who was beaten up earlier this week by three bullies, as he left a soccer game.  So, yes, this is all much more than a media creation.)

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