NDP also seeks ice-time with voters

I was forwarded this email by a friend of mine who is on the mailing list of the Jack Layton Party (my sarcastic comments are in bold):

Dear Canadian hockey fan, (hey, that’s me!)

The final round has begun — and Canadians from coast to coast have been captivated by the story of an underdog (parallel to be drawn soon) team that has exceeded early expectations, faced off against tough opponents, and is now poised for a success that few had foreseen. (where is this going?)

Oh, and the Calgary Flames are in the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs (oh, he was talking about the NDP! Genius!)

I want to tell you how excited we are to have this election finally underway. With Jack Layton (this guy has idol status in his party, but is generally unknown nationally) as our team captain (groan), the NDP is off to a great start! Our message of new ideas and positive energy (blaming Paul Martin for killing homeless people may not qualify as “positive energy”) is scoring big points (I like hockey!) with the Canadian public. Now we urgently need your support so we can continue to turn up the heat. (Flames are hot… with me so far? Cause here comes the empty netter)

Click here to make an online donation to support the NDP election campaign.

On Saturday night we’re going to hit the airwaves in a big way (wow!), when we launch our new TV ad on the CBC broadcast of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs from Calgary. We’re going to reach the biggest Canadian audience ever with our vision of new hope and a Canada where no one gets left behind.

It’s expensive, yes, (it would get even more expensive with Jack as PM) but like the Calgary Flames, we’re giving everything we’ve got (I’m getting teary-eyed). And we have to. The other parties are pouring million of dollars ([sic]) into their own radio and TV campaigns.

I hope you’re ready to go the distance with us, and that you’ll give us the support we need to keep our positive momentum going. Please click here to make a secure online donation today (if they win the election, this won’t be the last time they ask you to open your wallets).

Sincerely,

Bruce Cox

Campaign Director

Canada’s NDP

p.s. Don’t forget to watch for our TV ad on Saturday night’s game (wasn’t this the main point of this very short letter?). And don’t forget that we need your support to continue getting our message to as many Canadians as possible.

I sometimes don’t know if the NDP approaches their communications in a “fun” way but whenever I read any release by the NDP to the electorate, I feel as though Jack Layton thinks that, as a voter, I’m dumb. The Jack Layton Party uses catchphrases so we can all better understand complicated issues like Adscam and the economy.

Low Blow

Jack Layton ratcheted up the rhetoric a notch yesterday when he declared that Paul Martin is directly responsible for the death of homeless people in Toronto.

“I believe that when Paul cancelled affordable housing across this country it produced a dramatic rise in homelessness and death due to homelessness. I’ve always said I hold him responsible for that.” — Jack Layton, Leader of the Jack Layton Party (the NDP)

Paul Martin says it’s a low blow and says that Mr. Layton’s comments reflect more upon Mr. Layton than they do upon him. Stephen Harper says that Layton’s comments were over the top.

This is not the first time that Layton has politicized dead homeless people against the Liberals. I remember watching a waterfront announcement by Liberal incumbent Dennis Mills (who, by the way, is running against Layton for the same seat). The press conference was upstaged by a throng of ‘activists’ making lots of noise. One reporter immediately suspected a Layton stunt and asked one woman about it. Her response? “Jack Layton? I don’t know uh… PEOPLE ARE DYING IN THE STREETS”. This woman not only yelled it, she howled it. Mills’ response to the demonstration? He calmly tried to explain that the money has been earmarked for the homeless, it just has to go through the bureaucracy first.

The stunt was particularly obvious and particularly sickening.

The issue of homelessness is concerning to everyone, yet there is a forum for constructive debate of the issues. Jack Layton’s brand of guerrilla activism and outlandish personal attacks debases not only the issue of homelessness, but also the very people at the centre of it.