We are professionals. Do not try this at home.

Susan Delacourt sounds like she's getting a little defensive over criticism of her non-story story:

Q. Is it possible that the Conservative source made up this story to make "mischief," as Liberals allege?

A: Yes it is. But our usual practice is to "out" the source if we find out it was a deliberate lie, so stay tuned. Seasoned political people know that you only get to lie once to a reporter.

Q: Who are the possible defectors?

A: No names were given. And that's the beauty of it for Conservatives, as one of my colleagues pointed out. Now every Liberal will be wondering if other Liberals are going to jump.

So let me get this straight. A single, unnamed, partisan source hands her an unsubstantiated rumour that she acknowledges may well be a total fabrication, and then not only does she run it as a legitimate news story but then decides to attach the name of a random Liberal MP to it that sorta kinda sounds plausible based on no evidence whatsoever... and THAT'S journalism?!?

I'm going to remember this one the next time a journalist makes a snide comment about bloggers.

Brief Thoughts on Ruby Dhalla

I've never particularly cared for Ruby Dhalla, especially since her rather lame and transparent attempt to 'engage the the grassroots' and (coincidentally) raise money for her leadership run. But still, if these accusations are false I sincerely hope she is fully vindicated. If they are true... well, under the bus with her.

While we wait for all this to come out in the wash, a few thoughts:

1) The latest Dhalla employee to step forward, Lyle Alvarez, was interviewed in the Star today. In her case, she was actually hired as a housekeeper rather than a caregiver, although she was promised a caregiver position if she worked out. She told the usual tale of long hours, late nights, polishing shoes, scrubbing floors, etc. But what caught my eye was this:

Alvarez said she told Magdalene Gordo about the job and accompanied her to the interview at the home on Feb. 1, 2008.

If I were cross examining this woman, my very first question would be, "If the job was so horrible, why on earth would recommend it to anyone except as something to avoid at all costs?"

2) If Dhalla's family has any interest in rescuing her political career, then at some point her brother and mother need to step forward and accept full responsibility for their dealings with these women. Preferably sooner rather than later. The fact that they haven't already is a little disconcerting.

3) I found it even more disconcerting to notice the Google ads next to the article in the Star:



Sigh. Lovely.

Engaging the Grassroots: ur doin it wrong

I was very excited to hear that Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla had taken it upon herself to start a website called YourVoices.ca. In an obvious attempt to emulate the success of the Obama Nation down south (Hope! Dream! Inspire!), the website invites Liberals to "make your voices heard!"

Yourvoices.ca is about you. It's about having your voice heard. It's about making a difference.
Yourvoices.ca is a grassroots campaign to open the Liberal Party to new voices, to new visions, and a new future. This campaign is about building from the bottom up, about reaching into communities, about connecting with families, listening, and changing the way we do politics in our nation. With Yourvoices.ca you have the power to be apart of history for a cause that is greater than any one of us.

Yourvoices.ca has been created to hear your thoughts and suggestions of how we can better connect with Canadians, give them hope and inspire them to believe. As the Liberal Party goes through the journey of electing a new leader you have the opportunity to be apart of this change to make sure we get it right!

Unfortunately, when you go to the website, it turns out that the only way to have your voice heard, or indeed to access any real content, is to make a donation.

Now, the donation can be as little as $1.00, and I can sympathize with the rationale behind it (it keeps out the trolls, plus, well, we really need the cash). But I think that making dialogue, input and grassroots participation contingent upon a financial contribution sends entirely the wrong message.



People donated to Obama in the millions because they WANTED to. The participation and dialogue came first, and was open to everyone - even Canadians like me. I signed up early in Obama's campaign so I could contribute to their forums and receive email updates. Only THEN did they start hitting me up for money, and I'll tell you - I was sorely tempted to send them some, and it wasn't even my country!

A lot of the appeal in Obama's case was obviously the desire to be "part of history" and all that. But a lot of it was a simple desire to participate and interact, and feel that someone was listening. Oh, and the merchandise: buttons, posters, limited edition bumper stickers, and those coveted 'tickets to history'.

The point is, you need to get people engaged FIRST. Get them to register, sure - that way you can do troll control and build up your database at the same time. And yes, you could even have a special section for 'premium members' who have made a donation.

But to ask people to give you money - even if it's only a buck - without showing them what they can expect in return (but asking them to give their input anyway) is entirely the wrong way to engage people or to get them to donate. And on top of everything else, you are effectively excluding everyone who doesn't have a credit card, and double-dipping off of people like me who have already joined and/or donated to the party.

Oh, and in case you were wondering - yes, I hauled out my VISA card, donated $5 (just to make it worth the trouble), filled in my info, gave them my ideas, expressed my concerns about the format of the website, and hit 'SUBMIT'. Not because I really wanted to, but just so I could see what happened and tell you about it.

I'm not sure what I expected - a secret password emailed to me, an online forum, a look at what all the other "voices" had to say - something.

This is what I got.



Groan.

Dhalla gets an A for effort and for having the right idea, but a C- for execution. We've got a lot of work to do here folks.

UPDATE: John Laforet proves that great minds think alike, and also makes a connection (also mentioned in the comments) that I hadn't noticed: between the 90,000 'voices' that Dhalla wants to enlist, and the $90,000 it takes to enter the Liberal leadership race. Things that make you go hmmm...