Canada Kicks Ass
Callers to radio phone-in shows scripted by Conservative HQ

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ridenrain @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:50 am

It's simply more of that "get Harper" mentality.

Lily and the others bitch that the Conservatives spend more time slagging Dion than promoting their party and their platform.
This gets the talking points to the people who ask for them.

By reflection: I get a letter from my NDP MP and it has very little to do with my riding and is filled with NDP propaganda. I don't ask for it and it's paid for by the government, not the NDP. I'd be sure there is far more abuse of the system through those letters because they are sent to everyone, not just those who go looking for it.

   



Scape @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:15 pm

I get letters and calls to action all the time by various groups but usually the call to action is a letter to send to the local MLA, MP, the Minister or the PM Never does it give talking points to relay to local media. I think this level of organization by the Conservatives is actually kind of neat because it allows to really explore and research the local issues to a whole new level. The problem I see is when this is used to whip the locals in line with talking points. There is a big difference between engaging debate to inform the public and a commencing in commissar like tactics.

Still, on the local media when this was covered they did a poll:

$1:
What do you think of the revelation that the Conservative Party's website offers suggestions on "talking points" for supporters who might use them when participating in radio talk shows?

A: Great idea. The party should use every medium to spread its message

B: A classic case of political dirty tricks. People should have their own opinions; not be spoon-fed scripted lines.


I'll let you guess which option ended up with over 70% of the vote. People know BS when they see it.

   



BartSimpson @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:28 pm

Scape Scape:
In Soviet Russia...
$1:
OTTAWA — Next time you're listening to your favourite radio phone-in show, those pro-Conservative opinions you hear from callers might not be as spontaneous as they sound.

Some of those apparently ad-libbed musings are actually being choreographed at the Conservative Party of Canada's national headquarters.

The governing party has produced talking points for grassroots supporters on a variety of issues, feeding them lines on everything from climate change to child care.

For Conservative supporters, the process is as simple as 1-2-3.

Surf the party website. Type in your postal code. Click on a topic you'd like to discuss on the radio.

And the website spits out the times, phone numbers, and names of local talk shows to call - along with a handy list of good things to say about the Conservatives and bad things to say about their opponents. The website includes similar advice for letter-writers to newspapers.

The system has been in place for months but an Ottawa-area talk show host first raised it with listeners Tuesday after learning about it.

"We want people to phone in and express their own opinions. We don't want people phoning in and reading from a script," said Mark Sutcliffe, who hosts CFRA's The Chatroom.

"(But) I don't think we get a ton of calls like that."

The Conservatives describe the practice as state-of-the-art politicking. A party spokesman said the practice offers enhanced transparency, and is used elsewhere in the world.

"This is part of campaigning in the Internet age. Party activists are increasingly becoming virtual volunteers," Conservative spokesman Ryan Sparrow said.

"And just as rank-and-file investors want the same data as market professionals, grassroots activists want the same info and (talking points) as party strategists and spinners."

The Conservative talking points on taxation, for instance, list details on the GST cut, the child tax credit, and tax cuts to seniors.

The same talking points contrast Conservative achievements with the Liberal sponsorship scandal, gun-registry boondoggle, and failure to cut the GST. They also suggest the Bloc Quebecois could never achieve real tax relief because it's perpetually in opposition and describe the NDP as tax-hikers.

All parties produce speaking notes for elected MPs, staff members, and lobbyists or activists who serve on their behalf as unsalaried, unofficial spokespeople.

Liberal and NDP websites also include phone numbers for radio shows or tips for getting on the air.

But the Tories appear to take it one step further: their site offers speaking points for members of the general public to pass off as their own musings to fellow radio listeners.

The headline on the Tory web page with the call-in instructions says: "Tired of hearing the vested interests of the Liberals and the special interests of the NDP get their messages out via the media? Call in to a show yourself and fight back with the facts!"

A Liberal party spokesman says it's a new extreme for a government that has already placed an unprecedented gag order on its elected members, political staff, and civil servants.

In one famous incident during the last election campaign a Conservative MP was stuffed into a restaurant kitchen by a Stephen Harper staffer when approached by the media.

That strict discipline has survived their two years in government: requests to speak publicly are routinely vetted by the Prime Minister's Office, scores of MPs will recite identical sound bites on any given topic, and the government often allows only one person to make public utterances on a given issue.

"This undermines our democracy," said Liberal party spokesman Daniel Lauzon.

"It's not up for someone in Ottawa to tell someone in Blind River what they should think. . . All we tell our supporters is, 'Speak your mind. Get out there and talk.'

"Never do we dictate messaging."

The Conservatives do pay more attention to talk radio than some of their rivals, seeing it as a more useful barometer of public opinion than other media.

Upon taking office, a Harper strategist famously told prime ministerial staff he didn't need to see daily clippings from the major national newspaper - he wanted talk-show transcripts.

But the attention to detail in messaging has occasionally raised eyebrows.

On a recent CPAC television call-in panel, host Dale Goldhawk interrupted at one point when a caller appeared to be stumbling over a list of written notes.

"Are you reading from something?" the frustrated host interjected.

The radio-host who reported the practice to his listeners Tuesday noted that even if callers phone in with a script, they still need to be able to engage in live conversation.

As Sutcliffe says, they're not speaking to an answering machine but a radio host whose job it is to ask probing questions.

Still, the system for distributing government talking points through the general public does strike him as somewhat strange - and certainly more elaborate than what other parties do.

"What I think is unusual about this Conservative website is just how systematic it is," he said.

"The process for the Conservative one is a little more automated: punch out your topic and your postal code, and we'll spit out a script for you to follow."


Nasty ol' Cons! Liberals would NEVER give their followers talking points!

http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/001700.html

   



kenmore @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:42 pm

its the tory way... cut up the other guy to make him look bad so you dont look half bad.. and if they have a birth defect, speech impedement all the better.. spend alot of tax payers money on useless ads saying how wonderful harper is (isnt) and throw shit at whoever ... works for them.. but hey Kimmie
Campbell got her lesson and when the defunct torys didnt ever offer her squat when she was thrown out ... who gave her a job? you bet.. M. Chretien the bigger man and better Christian than any tory breathing..

   



Scape @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:45 pm

Liberal says Conservatives blitzing key ridings with advertising flyers sent at taxpayer expense

What's good for the goose...

I applauded the efficiency and I hail that they encourage the rank and file to get involved at the local level and go so far to arm them with info. I think that is great news for an informed public.

   



Bodah @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:54 pm

Meh, the Libs are just pissed off because they haven't firgured out how to use google yet.

   



kenmore @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:55 pm

dont forget to send them to tory liar school and fuck the public 101

   



hurley_108 @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:56 pm

The response should be obvious: opponents of the Conservatives should simply go to the website, get these "talking points," get on the air, and be incredibly obvious that they're reading from a script but seemingly genuine in believing what they're saying. It would make a complete mockery of the whole thing - the sycophantic talk shows like Adler and Rutherford here in Edmonton who are as much or more the mouthpieces of the Conservatives as the CBC is of the Liberals, the Conservative position, and the pushing of these talking points.

   



kenmore @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:01 pm

join the conservative party and be indoctrinated... dont think for yourself and when you have time attend the church of your choice.. but make it WASP

   



RUEZ @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:01 pm

hurley_108 hurley_108:
The response should be obvious: opponents of the Conservatives should simply go to the website, get these "talking points," get on the air, and be incredibly obvious that they're reading from a script but seemingly genuine in believing what they're saying. It would make a complete mockery of the whole thing - the sycophantic talk shows like Adler and Rutherford here in Edmonton who are as much or more the mouthpieces of the Conservatives as the CBC is of the Liberals, the Conservative position, and the pushing of these talking points.
Are Rutherford and Adler being paid by the government?

   



RUEZ @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:02 pm

kenmore kenmore:
join the conservative party and be indoctrinated... dont think for yourself and when you have time attend the church of your choice.. but make it WASP
Grow up little boy.

   



hurley_108 @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:08 pm

RUEZ RUEZ:
Are Rutherford and Adler being paid by the government?


Predictable. :roll:

   



hurley_108 @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:14 pm

RUEZ RUEZ:
kenmore kenmore:
join the conservative party and be indoctrinated... dont think for yourself and when you have time attend the church of your choice.. but make it WASP
Grow up little boy.


I'm an atheist, but my wife drags me to church. We used to go to an Alliance church, and we went the Sunday after the SSM bill passed. You'd think the Liberals had personally gone to everyone's house and killed their dog or cat. There was seriously a palpable mood of being in mourning. It was pathetic. Then they sang O Canada and added these lines:

$1:
Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our Dominion, in thy loving care.
Help us to find, O God, in thee,
A lasting rich reward.
As waiting for the better day,
We ever stand on guard.
God keep our land, glorious and free.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!


It was absolutely disgusting.

   



RUEZ @ Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:17 pm

hurley_108 hurley_108:
RUEZ RUEZ:
Are Rutherford and Adler being paid by the government?


Predictable. :roll:
Why is that predictable? I don't question private media that wants to take one side or the other. As a tax payer, I will question the CBC if they do it. I don't support the Liberals with donations and I won't support them with my taxes. Now back to your comment, you said that Adler and Rutherford were Conservative mouthpieces as much or more than the CBC is for the Liberals. Yet they don't receive tax dollars to voice their opinions.

   



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