Garth Turner: Raw and Uncut

Today was the official launch of the Garth Turner Campaign here in Halton. Esther was positively giddy with delight at the crushing numbers of volunteers, board members and dignitaries who packed the new campaign office. Senator Betty Kennedy was there. Former Provincial Liberal candidate Gary Zemlak was there (sorry, Gary - nothing personal). The candidate's papers were signed, the signs were bagged, and team members were assigned to spread them out across the land.

Meanwhile, Garth handed me his camera and asked me to record the whole thing for posterity. Which was quite a trick given that I already had my own still camera and my camcorder to juggle - but hey, anything for the cause. I snapped a few shots, noticed the thing kept shutting down in between, checked the display and... the batteries were very nearly dead.

Sigh. Note to self: always bring spare batteries for the boss.

No worries, though. I took a few more still shots with my own camera and [gulp] handed my data card over to Garth so he could post them on his blog.

I'm gonna want that back, Garth.

In the meantime, here's some quick video of today's festivities:

BREAKING NEWS! Brent Fullard to run against Jim Flaherty

Word came today to Garth Turner's campaign office that Brent Fullard, activist and founder of CAITI (The Canadian Association of Income Trust Investors) will be the Liberal candidate in Whitby-Oshawa and will run against his nemesis Jim Flaherty in the October 14th election.

Photos and video from today's campaign launch in Halton will be posted later today. Stay tuned!

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

By now, most people following the meteoric rise of Republican superstar Sarah Palin have read the email written by Wasilla resident Anne Kilkenny and circulated amongst the blogging rabble in recent weeks days (my Gods, has it only been a few days?).

Now, many supporters of the Republican ticket have pointed out (and rightly so) that this is just one person saying these awful, awful things. One voice in the wilderness, when there are apparently millions thousands of Alaskans out there who think Sarah Palin is just the bee's knees.

Today, that one voice has grown to a somewhat soft-spoken chorus.

Alaskans Speak (In A Frightened Whisper): Palin Is “Racist, Sexist, Vindictive, And Mean”

“So Sambo beat the bitch!”

This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama’s win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

According to Lucille, the waitress serving her table at the time and who asked that her last name not be used, Gov. Palin was eating lunch with five or six people when the subject of the Democrat’s primary battle came up. The governor, seemingly not caring that people at nearby tables would likely hear her, uttered the slur and then laughed loudly as her meal mates joined in appreciatively.

“It was kind of disgusting,” Lucille, who is part Aboriginal, said in a phone interview after admitting that she is frightened of being discovered telling folks in the “lower 48” about life near the North Pole.

Then, almost with a sigh, she added, “But that’s just Alaska.”

It may well be. But really - a waitress? That's the sort of thing that someone with an agenda might say because, well, you can't really verify it. But then there's this.

Something else has a familiar Republican ring to it: Her tax policies, and a “refund surpluses but borrow for the future” attitude.

According to Kilkenny and others in Wasilla as well as Juneau, Palin reduced progressive property taxes for businesses while mayor and increased a regressive sales tax which even hits necessities such as food. The tax cuts she promoted in her St. Paul speech actually benefited large corporate property owners far more than they benefited residents. Indeed, Kilkenny insists that many Wasilla home owners actually saw their tax bill skyrocket to make up for the shortfall. Two other Wasillian’s with whom I spoke said property taxes on their modest, three bedroom homes rose during the Palin regime.

To an outsider, it would seem hard to do, but an oil-rich town with zero debt on the day she was inaugurated mayor was left saddled with $22 million of debt by the time she moved away to become governor – especially since nothing was spent on things such as improving the city’s infrastructure or building a much-needed sewage treatment plant.

And this:

En route to the governor’s igloo, Palin managed to land what Anne Kilkenny says is the plumb political appointment in the state: Chair of Alaska’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC), a $122,400 per year patronage slot with no real authority to do anything other than hold meetings. She took the job despite having no background in energy issues and, as it turned out, not liking the work.

“She hated the job,” an OGCC staff member who is not authorized to speak with the news media told me. “She hated the hours and she hated what little work there was to do. But she couldn’t figure out a way to get out of the thing without offending Gov. Murkowski” and the state Republican Party regulars, some of whom were pissed off they didn’t get appointed.

But ever the opportunist, Palin quickly concocted a way. First, she waged a campaign with the local news media claiming that the position was overpaid and should be abolished – despite the fact that she lobbied Murkowski hard to get it. Then, mounting what she saw as a white horse, Palin raised a cloud of dust by resigning from the OGCC and riding away with an undeserved reputation as a “reformer.”

And this one I found particularly amusing:

“The GOP is kind of like organized crime up here,” an insurance agent in Anchorage who knows the Palin family, explained. “It’s corrupt and arrogant. They’re all rich because they do private sweetheart deals with the oil companies, and they can destroy anyone. And they will, if they have to.”

“Once Palin became mayor,” he continued, “She became part of that inner circle.”

And... well, it just kinda goes on and on.

The thing is, having seen her on television and hearing her speak and based entirely on my entirely subjective but usually reliable first impression, I have absolutely no problem believing any of this.

We all wait with bated breath for the chorus to become a deafening roar from the 49th state. At which point the wags may well be vindicated when Sarah Palin suddenly drops from the race citing a "family crisis" or "personal issues".

Otherwise... well hey, at least Alaskans would be rid of her.

(oh, and a big H/T to my S/O, who always finds me cool stuff like this:)

Learning From the Master

Today's debate appears to be about "should the Liberals should go negative?" in the upcoming election, and if so to what degree. I'm sitting here watching Barack Obama speak in Pennsylvania, and I think I've found the answer.

To me, Obama is striking exactly the right balance between strong criticism of Bush/McCain and presenting specific, positive solutions. He calls out McCain and Palin for lying about him wanting to raise taxes, and points out that his plan would actually reduce taxes for 95% of Americans. He mocks McCain's health care advisor for suggesting that all those 'uninsured' aren't really uninsured because they can just go to the ER - and then explains how he would help employers reduce insurance rates for their employees and allow average Americans to access the same type of plan members of Congress have.

This is the way to do it. Criticize the policy, not the man, then present a clear alternative. Left, right, keep your gloves up, stay on your toes.

Or you could just go with the sweater vest and kittens approach.

You can tell you're a real party when...

... people start digging up dirt on your candidates.

John Shavluk will not be a Green candidate

NEW GLASGOW – The Green Party has announced that John Shavluk will not be the candidate for the party in Newton—North Delta, following revelations that he made comments in 2006 on an online discussion forum that could be construed as anti-Semitic.

“Respect for diversity is a fundamental principle of the Green Party,” said leader Elizabeth May. “We condemn anti-Semitism and our members work to encourage respectful dialogue, diversity, peace and cooperation.”

Kudos to David Akin for giving credit where credit's due - to a blogger who picked this up when none of Akin's colleagues did. And for displaying just the right mix of amusement and disgust at Robert McClelland's comments insisting that someone explain to him exactly what's racist about the term "Jewish world bank".

I recommended teh Google (actually, "Zionist world bank" works even better).

It's quite fascinating to go in and read the original context of this and other comments that Shavluk has made. In fact, it's remotely possible that the "Jewish world bank" comment really was some sort of attempt at irony or sarcasm or... I dunno. Something. Unfortunately, it's impossible to discern his intent because the man's writings are all rambling, incoherent and borderline illiterate. One would think that that alone would disqualify him from running for public office.

Oh, yeah - and he's a 9/11 Truther. Groan.

The Green Party of Canada has struggled with the paradox of being both left-wing and right-wing ever since the Harris regime, so I suppose the idea of an anti-semitic conspiracy theorist who supports legalized marijuana appearing among their ranks isn't quite as bizarre as it might first appear. I also suspect this won't be the last time this sort of thing surfaces. But kudos to May for dealing with swiftly and efficiently.

The Green Shift Shift, Sarah Palin... and Kitties!

I was thrilled to hear that Stephane Dion and the Liberals have listened to the legitimate concerns of farmers, fishers and truckers, and come up with a way to help them bear the costs of the Green Shift by giving them subsidies for equipment and technology to help them actually reduce their emissions. And all within the financial leeway already built into the Green Shift plan.

Win, win - right?

Pulease.

..................

I am getting seriously fed up with all the "You hate her because she has a vagina" crap coming out of the Republican Party. I got news for you guys - we hate her because she's a religious right-wingnut with a gun fetish and a propensity for using her powers for evil.

How about this. Every time someone criticizes Sarah Palin, let's apply a little test and ask ourselves, "Would [X] be an issue if she were a man?" Let's try it, shall we?

Would the fact that she's anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage be an issue if she were male? Of course it would!
The fact that she's being investigated for abuse of power? Oh yeah.
The fact that she tried to have a librarian fired for not removing 'offensive' books from the library? You betcha.
The fact that she's a supporter of abstinence-only education who now has an unwed pregnant teenaged daughter? Rightly or wrongly, yes. Absolutely.

Even this would still be funny if she were a man. Ok, maybe not quite as funny...



In fact, the only person who seems to be treating Palin any differently because she is a woman is John McCain. Because if she were a man, would McCain have even considered picking her? Uh...

Oh, and check out the shenanigans on Wikipedia today:



Heh.

....................

And just for fun, here's my cat Max watching a YouTube video called "The Kittens discover the crack under the door":

If I Ran the Campaign...

Politics is my favourite spectator sport. I find it far more entertaining than... well, sports. So, in the tradition of armchair quarterbacks everywhere, here are a few suggestions for the Liberal campaign team.

Pay attention, boys.

1) Stick to the high road.
Dion's dignity is one of his best attributes ("I'm a big boy" was the best line ever), so let Harper and his minions rant and spew and taunt all they like. It just makes them look like assholes. Not to say you can't rightly point out the many, many failings of his government and his policies - just make sure you don't get personal. Except for Danny Williams. He can be your Insult Dog.

2) Use your Grassroots and NetRoots.
Learn from Obama. Use every tool you have to engage people and keep them engaged. In fact, you should have had a big, obvious button on your 'Green Shift' website from the first day you launched it where people could register for 'updates' or 'Green Shift News' or something - and then used those contacts for fundraising. Do it. DO IT NOW.

3) Make lemonade.
I know, you're still mourning the loss of all those millions from your Corporate Overlords. Get over it, and turn it to your advantage - as in, "Yes, we used to be under the financial thumb of the corporate establishment, but now... we're not!" (you're not, right?) And give Dion more self-deprecating jokes. I wish I could remember the one where he apologized for his "Australian accent" - it was hilarious.

4) Use your proxies.
The country is full of people who are pissed off at the Conservatives. Let them have at it so you can stay above the fray. Like Danny Williams. Or how about all those Canadian celebrities who testified against C-10? I'm sure Sarah Polley and Paul Gross and all their friends would be more than happy to put together an ad reminding everyone about just how badly Harper has screwed the arts & entertainment industry. Same with supporters of the Wheat Board. Or those CMA members that Tony insulted. They don't have to support you - just remind people of what Harper hath wrought.

5) Work the regions.
Nationally, you guys look bad. But the Maritimes have a long list of their own grievances against the Conservatives. Quebec has a bunch of Bloc seats up for bid, and most of them are really unhappy about arts cuts and Afghanistan. The arts cuts will play in Ontario too, as will food safety deregulation. There, you need to woo both NDPers who think you're no different from the Cons, and old PCers like my dad who are fed up with Harper but not ready to vote Liberal yet. The Prairies... well, do what you can. And in BC (or at least, urban BC) you have the arts cuts plus those insulting 'junkie' flyers.

6) Above all, have a plan, and a vision.
Not a plan to get elected - a plan for what you're going to do after you are. The 'Green Shift' is a start. Now we need to see the rest of it, front and centre. No band-aids. No lollipops. No envelopes of cash. A solid, integrated, bold plan to help us weather the coming storms and emerge with a resilient, transformed economy and a renewed social contract. And a vision of Canada like the one the Liberals talk about but never manage to quite bring about. Progressive. Compassionate. Prosperous. Generous. Trusted and respected on the world stage. Supportive of its citizens at home.

You guys can manage all that, right?