Laforet.ca Coverage of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Leadership Race Will Start Soon
We’re about a month away from the Ontario Progressive Conservatives selecting the next leader of the official opposition, and their candidate for Premier in 2011. It’s a four person race, by any one’s standards a wide open field that will come down in large part to folks second and third choices.
Around this point in the Ontario NDP leadership race in March 2009, working with Jeff Hume, I began covering the race and giving candidates an equal opportunity to get their message out unfiltered, while providing other bloggers with some original content to work with as they chose.
Currently, I’m in the process of setting up the remaining interviews with candidates, and hope to have footage to share from these one on ones soon.
As with the Ontario NDP leadership race, my coverage will be done with an open mind, fairness for all candidates and a simple goal – to provide bloggers with original content to work with, to provide a wider audience with introductions to the four candidates who will shape the future of the official opposition, and one of three leaders who will be in a position to form the next government in Ontario.
I have to say, I have sincerely enjoyed my new role as a political active, non partisan. Doing things like covering the Ontario NDP leadership race, focusing my activism on local issues that go well beyond the limits of partisan politics has been quite the experience as well. It is my hope that using new media tools to cover this leadership race will open up the process, the issues and the candidates to folks across Ontario.
Until there is footage of the sit down interviews with the Ontario PC Candidates to post, I am going to share with you a number of my favourite videos that Jeff Hume so expertly produced as part of our coverage of the Ontario NDP race to give you a flavour of what is to come.
Enjoy.
Greg Elmer – Professor of Media Studies at Ryerson University on New Media and Conventions
Campaigns Talking Get Out the Vote Strategies
Andrea Horwath – Just Before First Ballot Result Interview
Andrea Horwath Friday Rally
Emergency Policy Resolution on US Steel (Stelco) Layoffs
Andrea Horwath Pre Convention Interview
Peter Tabuns Pre Convention Interview
Gilles Bisson Pre Convention Interview
Michael Prue – Part One Pre Convention Interview – Michael Prue the Man
Michael Prue – Part Two Pre Convention Video – Prue the Candidate
In Defense of Ray Lam and Commentary on the Hypocrisy of Politics Tolerates
It’s been a while since I’ve waded into anything all that controversial. I figured the Ray Lam situation was one with enough self righteous indignation that it would be a worthy spot for me to remind folks I do like to call it as I see it and believe there are underlying principles that are important to remember in public debate.
Ray Lam did nothing wrong. Someone looking for a way to silence his voice opted to do so with smear and public humiliation instead of better arguments. Instead of beating him on the issues, or with stronger rhetorical or oratory skills they dragged the bottom of the barrel and entered into the realm of desperate gutter politics to tear him down. It is shameful. In fact considerably more shameful than anything Ray did.
What makes Ray so unworthy to hold public office? This 22 year old, gay community activist who has dedicated himself to a number of community causes touched the breast of a smiling woman at a party and someone took a picture. Four years ago, a picture was taken of him in his underwear, and a shirt. Considering both shots appear staged and don’t seem to have any impact on Vancouver False Creek, I recognize why it wasn’t a good idea to have these pictures taken, but at the same time, I don’t see it as disqualifying him from holding public office.
His opponents decided to stop at nothing to silence his voice, to deny his supporters a champion for their causes and they succeeded by bullying him out of the race. They did so by trying to destroy his reputation. My belief is those in public life need to recognize these types of attacks for what they are – attacks on democracy. You will never convince me anyone who is ‘upset’ at Lam’s actions actually cares about what he did. They are using it to silence his voice, to defeat him unfairly and above all to win themselves. It is an attempt to discredit him, making him and his party not viable in that race. When the Liberals take that seat, their candidate should feel the guilt of knowing how illegitimate her win is. It is as illegitimate as her demand for an apology from Lam, like he somehow did something to her. She should be apologizing for letting her own desperation to win, comprise her ethics or sense any of decency she had before entering public life.
I wish Lam had stood up and hit back. He had every right to defend himself, his supporters and the issues he speaks for. He should be in the race and should not have allowed self righteous indignation to force him out and silence him on the way. It takes a lot of courage to put your name on a ballot. Especially when you’re young and not connected or cynical. He had that courage and the destructive attacks on him, hurt the chances of other young candidates getting involved in public life. All for a single riding, this man’s story and picture became national news.
For Premier Gordon ‘glug-glug-vroom-vroom’ Campbell to somehow think this disqualifies someone from holding public office but his episode of drunk driving while Premier doesn’t is the height of hypocrisy. If there is anyone who should be a champion of ‘we’re all human, and prone to doing things we’d wish others wouldn’t judge us for’ – it is the drunk driving Premier himself.
It’s safe to say, all politicians are human. That is important. We need people who understand what it’s like to be a real person. Politicians are only useful so long as they remember, and feel what we feel. Somethings should not be commented on by a political rival and generally the only things that are fair game are: record, plans, public statements and actions that have a direct impact on one’s ability or the approach they would take as an elected representative. I doubt Lam would have made his term about touching breasts in public or pulling his pants down in the legislature and trust the voters of Vancouver False Creek if not denied the ability to make up their own minds, would have also recognized that one can touch a breast and still be a good representative.
I know a thing or two about attacking an opponent in politics. I have in the past, very strongly pushed back against an opponent of mine, but did so on things he said and did that were completely relevant to the race. I never would or have attacked anyone on anything personal, because it simply not relevant. What matters is what you’re going to do with the office you’re seeking and whether you can be taken at your word. How you spend your down time, doesn’t (unless it will result in a criminal code violation, which would result in your removal from office).
Let’s talk hypocrisy for a minute. I hate hypocrisy. It’s worse than lying in my books – and lying is bad enough.
Premier ‘glug-glug-vroom-vroom’ Campbell decided Lam’s conduct was an election issue. If so, should folks also judge the judgement of a man who while running the forth largest government in Canada thinks drinking and driving is appropriate? Normally I wouldn’t touch it, but if Premier ‘glug-glug-vroom-vroom’ Campbell thinks the bar is this low (and we know he knows about bars, at least in Maui where he was arrested for drunk driving) shouldn’t this too be fair game?
I’ll leave you to decide whose action is worse. Especially if you’re a BC voter. One thing is for sure, the Maui police department probably would not have arrested Campbell if he had committed Lam’s supposed offense. Unfortunately, Campbell and his party felt it was fair to destroy a young candidate and community activist over what can only be described as frivolous crap, and that to me shows a level of mean spiritedness and callousness I would not want to associate with.
Below are two pictures. Which of these do you believe is most concerning for a public office holder?
BC Premier Gordon Campbell’s Mugshot
Ray Lam’s Boob Shot
11 Comments »The Toronto Sun Knows How To Have Fun – Impeach Miller Petition Hits 1401 signatures
I received an email that included a link to a petition to impeach David Miller (before you pull out the City of Toronto Act or the Municipal Elections Act – there is no re-call provision) that the Mayor himself apparently attempted to be-little in Council for having just 24 signatures. While I could not find Miller’s comment on it specifically and can’t verify that part to be accurate at this point, I did find a Toronto Sun article on the petition. The Toronto Sun very cleverly used the issue of a 24 signature petition to get some shots in on the Mayor – something the Toronto Sun has made a hobby of in many ways. In doing so, they garnered attention for the petition, and since writing about it on March 10th (when it had 24 signatures) by March 12th at press time it had 785 signatures. At 11:45pm on March 17th it had 1401 signatures on the nose.
When it was a 24 person effort the Mayor’s Deputy Communications Director “described the online petition and other similar groups on Facebook as an example of democracy at work.” Online petition calls for mayor’s ouster – Toronto Sun, March 10th 2009 I honestly wonder what the Mayor’s office thinks about a petition with 1401 signatures and at what point an online petition like this has the potential to impact the Mayor’s political agenda and questions like will he run in 2010.
Take a look at the wording of the petition, and click on the link to view the comments folks have been leaving when they sign.
“To: Mayor David Miller & Toronto City Council
It is time to leave office as Mayor; your services are no longer required.
The people of Toronto are taking a stand to Mayor David Miller’s endless abuse of OUR hard earned money. Giving the city of Toronto employees a 2% raise increase during a global recession is absurd! Raising property taxes and your reckless spending will no longer be tolerated.
It’s time that Mayor David Miller and his gang of thieves are thrown out of office. Mayor David Miller and the Toronto City council are out of touch with our community and our city.
We are Torontonians who love our city. We will ensure that a responsible leader is put in office, one who is in touch with our city, our province, and our country.
Impeach Mayor David Miller from office now!
Sincerely,
The link to the petition itself is here: IMPEACH TORONTO MAYOR DAVID MILLER NOW!
My primary interest in this effort is watching the relationship between online activism and new media evolve with traditional political structures and traditional media. It’s a really dry topic if you’re not into that stuff, but if you are like me, stuff like this is fascinating.
In many ways something like this can be easily dismissed (as many opposition groups are by government) because the powers that be will look at something like this and say “It’s 1400 people. The Mayor had 333 000 votes in the last election.” I guess for me though, when you consider how few people sign petitions, I begin to wonder if the signatures of 1400 possibly represent the making of a political force, something that could become a legitimate problem by November 2010.
To the Mayor’s credit though, he has more friends on Twitter than this petition has signatures.
One thing is for sure, the impact social networking tools and the internet will continue to have on politics moving forward is immense. I suspect especially at the operation level of campaigns, online tools are going to continue to have a major influence on how we do our politics. For me at least, the use of the internet as a political tool is a very neat thing to watch unfold. In many ways, I think this petition demonstrates how much less control our politicians have over the system compared to the pre-internet days.
Just imagine for a moment what happens if each of these 1400 people (whose email address the petition administrator is likely storing) makes 100 phone calls during the 2010 election, donates 100 bucks or drops 100 flyers. No one can say they will, or that they will be coordinated in any political effort, but the potential is there, and sure is interesting to watch.
Comments have been turned off after this post became the target for pornographic and pharmaceutical spam. Should you wish to comment – email me at john.laforet@laforet.ca and I will manually post it.
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