In keeping with my own admonition, I won’t spend too much time amplifying the messages the Cons want to send in attacking NDP leader Thomas Mulcair. But I do think it’s worth pointing out how the main theme could prove to be self-defeating. One of the points which worked well
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Accidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor report that the Council of Canadians is leading the charge in challenging election results which may have been influenced by Robocon. And perhaps the most noteworthy point as to how the move may shine a spotlight on
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On early definition
It’s entirely predictable that far too many in the media are starting their coverage of Thomas Mulcair’s election as NDP leader with the Cons’ instant spin – in some cases even while showing plenty of optimism about Mulcair. (On that front, due credit to the Winnipeg Free Press for criticizing
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to start your week… – Remember the Cons’ talking point that we should assume all of the Robocon calls which purported to come from Lib candidates could safely be said to have come from that source? Because Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher just shot a massive hole in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
Assorted content to end your weekend. – pogge rounds up last week’s news on the Robocon front – while the outside attack on the NDP’s leadership vote suggests that the block-the-vote crowd isn’t limiting its work to general elections. – Meanwhile, Dave connects some dots between the Harper Cons, the
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, featuring my musings on how political parties should be able to function without the top-down direction of a permanent leader – and the example the federal NDP has set on that front. (And as you may have noticed, it’s running a couple of days later than usual due to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – Brian-Michel calculates the expected outcome of the 2011 election minus the Robocon election fraud based on Anke Kessler’s data. Alison, thwap and Saskboy all rightly lament that a government claiming that a majority entitles it to treat Canada as a helpless plaything may
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Sixth Estate catches a right-wing election contractor defending vote suppression, then theorizes as to how Robocon may have come together. – The introduction of Doctors for Fair Taxation is certainly a positive step in ensuring that Canadian physicians show their support for
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Dan Gardner writes about the Cons’ backup plan of answering their own wrongdoing with criticism of anybody who dares to investigate it – and points out the dangers of that approach: (W)hat happens if Elections Canada delivers a report even a fraction as
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Glen McGregor and Stephen Maher uncover an apparently-fictitious employee listed as one of Con contractor RackNine’s key contacts – nicely paralleling the obvious coverup behind “Pierre Poutine”. And Dr. Dawg places the latest revelations in context with the rest of the Cons’
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Random readings to occupy your time. – Stephen Maher and Glen McGregor are still digging into Robocon – with a focus on figuring out exactly how “Pierre Poutine” assembled lists of anti-Con voters to target. And Sixth Estate both points out that the count of affected ridings is up to
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Mark Kennedy reports that once again, Canadians are largely opposed to the Cons’ plans to attack social supports: The poll found that 49 per cent of Canadians are preparing for a “bad news” budget from federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and that 57
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Friday Morning Links
Assorted content to end your week. – On the Robocon front, Terry Milewski connects the dots between identification of voters as non-Con supporters and the deceptive robocalls that followed. Steven Chase and Daniel Leblanc discuss how Elections Canada figures to determine who placed the Cons’ fraudulent calls, while Glen McGregor
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – William Black suggests that we consider applying the “broken windows” theory to the financial sector – particularly since the signs of a severely damaged system are still obvious. – Jim Stanford proposes one way to make sure that resource extraction actually does benefit
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your afternoon reading. – Linda McQuaig writes that Robocon is placing Canada at the forefront of dubious electoral results in the developed world. Which of course means it’s time to evaluate the Cons’ fraud merely as a matter of political damage control, rather than focusing on who’s
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Sixth Estate rounds up the party and organizational affiliations on Canada’s major opinion pages. And in case anybody was wondering why our political dialogue so often has nothing at all to do with the public’s real concerns about inequality and instability: I
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Alison draws the links between Robocon and an American firm proud of its efforts in some of the Republicans’ most odious causes, while Sixth Estate provides a timeline of shady election dealings by the Harper Cons. Dr. Dawg asks the media to stay
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your weekend reading. – Tabatha Southey speculates as to the inevitable results when the Cons try to summon the entire Internet to answer for its political activity. – David Olive points out that for anybody who wants to buy into “tax freedom day” messaging, the corporate sector
Continue readingRusty Idols: How the mighty have fallen
Last year Gary Mar was the odds on favorite to win the leadership of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives and by extension the Premiership of the richest province in Canada. Now he’s been peremptorily and unceremoniously summoned back to Alberta from his consolation prize/exile job as Alberta’s Asian trade representative in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On risky business
Michael Den Tandt suggests that the Cons’ budget later this month will be “revolutionary” – which fits the conventional wisdom that a majority government will try to get its most controversial moves out of the way at the earliest opportunity in order to seem less dangerous by the time the
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