A Positive Spin on Harper? Has Hell REALLY Frozen Over?
August 28, 2007 · By Shane Edwards
Thanks for the inspiration, Lord Kitchener.
Our friend cited an example (courtesy of Woman at Mile 0) of the Globe and Mail spinning a recent poll in the Conservatives’ favour. I decided to take a boo and see if this sign of the apocalypse might actually have come to pass.
At first glance, it does appear vaguely supportive of the Conservatives. However, on deeper perusal, it is packed with the usual junk assumptions and downright idiotic misrepresentations.
Some examples:
Even if he’s not setting Canadians’ hearts aflame, most have a neutral-to-positive impression of Mr. Harper.
Right up front, he’s not setting Canadians’ hearts aflame, and they are “neutral-to-positive”. I don’t call that a ringing endorsement.
With the most committed voter base of any party, he has the luxury of doing so without much risk of losing his current supporters.
This is a positive statement I’ll concede, but inaccurate. With the events of the spring, he is quickly eroding his conservative base. A lot of die-hard conservative supporters are thinking long and hard about this man they elected to be the Conservative PM. He hasn’t been representing the grass roots of conservatism well, but I don’t expect liberals to be aware of that - precious few keep a thumb on the pulse of the conservative blogosphere.
After all, in terms of party standings, the Conservatives are still tied with the Liberals in the low 30s. What’s holding them back? The reasons are evident in the data. A large majority of Canadians associate words such as “controlling†and “partisan†with Mr. Harper.
…thanks to whom?
They think he’s too right-wing. Most believe he’s too close to U.S. President George W. Bush.
Ayup, because the rest of the media won’t let up with the “HarperBusHitlerChimp” rhetoric. At all. Even in the face of Harper’s open opposition to America’s position on the Northwest Passage, intentions of exerting our own sovereignty and foreign policy as a separate and distinct nation from our past allies like the USA and England. What exactly has he done to get painted as a Bush wannabe or chattel of Dubya? Nothing. It was Martin that pushed Canada secretly into all kinds of North America infrastructure, immigration and such policies.
He’s not seen as particularly likeable. A majority don’t think he cares about people like them.
Funny how they think that, given he comes from the middle class, has worked for a living all his life, loves hockey and plays with his kids when he’s back at home on 24 Sussex. While our previous two Liberal PMs were upper crust elitists and the last one was a multimillionaire. So how did he get this “unapproachable” reputation? You guessed it? Our “unbiased” friends in the MSM!
Mr. Harper needs to work hard to find ways to connect to more ordinary Canadians. To help dispel his image as “controlling,†he would be well advised to share the limelight more.
Funny, since he did away with the daily “PM Scrum” personality cult that Paul Martin had going in Ottawa for years, he’s been a pariah in Ottawa. A guy tries not to be center of attention and he gets accused of it anyway. Makes sense.
But after more than 18 months in office, it’s clear what’s holding Mr. Harper back politically, both in terms of style and substance. So are some of the remedies at his disposal. He has tried some – witness his reversal on greenhouse gases. But so far they haven’t done the trick. The biggest question is whether he has the will or political agility to successfully pursue his opportunities for growth.
Sorry, the only foe he needs to outmanouvre is the media. If he hits on something that resonates with the people and is opposed by the media, and he can get the word on it past our intelligentsia to the people, watch out!
Overall, I think, it was a relatively positive assessment. It is not true, however, that Harper cannot alienate his own base — many, in fact, have already been alienated (income trusts, Harper’s refusal to introduce real tax cuts or to deal with immigration problems, etc.). But they hang in there because there is nowhere else to go.
I should also qualify the previous comment by adding that even those who have been let down are holding firm because they figure that Harper can’t really unfold his full potential right now, given his minority position, and that he will deliver as expected once he has a majority government.
And, let’s face it it: what’s the alternative? Dion? What a joke.
I don’t think we need an alternative to Prime Minister Harper.
We could use an alternative to the decrepit Canadian Media though….
“Harper can’t really unfold his full potential right now, given his minority position, and that he will deliver as expected once he has a majority government.”
So there is a hidden agenda?
No hidden agenda, but things that have needed doing for a long time but can’t be done now because the opposition would nix any attempt at doing something reasonable. That’s why he has to wait until he’s got the numbers necessary to ignore the opposition whines.