The view from afar
I don’t know a lot, but I think I know a little bit about how Prime Ministers think. So, when the Wall Street Journal writes that “members of the ruling Conservative Party attempted to suppress opposing votes in the May 2011 election,” important people notice. And not just in Canada, either.
In places like the White House, that story is being read, and Stephen Harper is increasingly being measured in an entirely new (and, for him, entirely unwanted) way.
“Did you get there, Steve,” they ask themselves, “by cheating?”
Vote suppression: Tea Party North was doing it too
Liberal and NDP politicians in Ontario say some of the alleged dirty tricks used in the federal election also surfaced in last fall’s provincial campaign.
Just like the federal contest, Ontario’s election featured automated calling machines with messages directed at voters.
Several Ontario candidates say there were messages designed to mislead voters — although none that said their polling station had been changed at the last minute, as is alleged in the federal vote.
Ontario Liberals, who were reduced to a minority government, say they were targeted in several ridings with so-called robocalls to voters suggesting they were going to set up a provincial gun registry as the federal registry was wound down.
The dog ate my election
The Harper Government™ “categorically” played no role in defrauding voters says, er, Harper.
Forget about the Conservative staffer they fired. Forget about the Conservative firm that was hit with an RCMP search warrant a few days ago. Forget about the Conservative firm facing Elections Canada questions next week. Forget about the 41 ridings now linked to Conservative electoral fraud. Forget about all that.
We didn’t do it, says the leader of the Conservative Party.
Well, I’d say that clears up the matter, wouldn’t you? Nothing to see here, move along.
Gotcha.
Ridings where voter suppression made a difference
If in town, I’m goin’!
Why hasn’t Santorum performed better among Catholics?
Because – and I say this as a Church-going one, now in the first week of Lenten observance (no hooch!) – modern Catholics are way more liberal than far-right lunatics like Santorum. We left his ilk behind back in the Middle Ages.
Saying JFK made him want to “throw up” wasn’t such a good idea, either. In Irish Catholic households, we still regard that man as our King (much like our Uncrowned King, Parnell, which is a story for another day).
That said, the longer Santorum’s in the race, the happier I am. He’s practically guaranteeing an Obama victory in the Fall.
Canada Live, Feb. 29: Robocalls, Robocon, Robowhatever. It’s a scandal.
RIP, Davy Jones, from the Hot Nasties
We of the Hot Nasties (like all punks) were huge Monkees fans. In the Nasties, in fact, we covered Monkees tunes more than any other band’s.
Here’s our take on ‘Steppin’ Stone,’ from our self-made LP. (If you listen carefully, you can hear my circa-1980 voice break.)
Do we have a winner?
My highly-scientific poll didn’t include “RoboCon” as a choice. Andrew Coyne told me that was the name, whether I liked it or not.
So, I used that for my Sunday Sun column…but my editors aren’t so sure. Jury’s still out on the Name the Scandal contest.
In the meantime, here’s a magazine sure to become a big hit: