Christy Clark and Political Messaging

General Forums General Chat
1

I am putting this into a new thread because it has nothing to do with the school board. I will let others continue the discussion about political messaging in schools. However, while looking for information about that topic, I came across this article.

sd52.bc.ca/sd52root/sites/defaul … hool_1.pdf

In this government of BC article, we learn that the district of Port Edward committed $2M for its new school and the province added another $500,000. Certainly, a good amount of money. So what does Don McRae, the Minister of Education, say at the opening of the school.

“The District of Port Edward and the Prince Rupert board of education have worked hard to create this new school… We are delighted to be a part of this unique, district-led project.”

A very classy speech. He praised the community for its hard work and in a low key way stated his pride in being a part of its success. Nobody can find fault with anything he said.

But what is Christy Clark’s message?

about 1:50 thenorthernview.com/news/203881741.html

(after Dave Macdonald and his council left) “I turned to my education minister and said we are going to find the money to get that school built because I believe in Port Edward.”

Now maybe those were the exact words used and maybe they weren’t. Maybe the money would never have come from the province without Christy Clark’s say so. Who knows. (As I have said before, it is hard to believe a lot of what she says.) But, unlike Don McRae who praises the community and is delighted to be a part of the process, Christy Clark, focuses the attention on her. Classic, but not classy, political messaging.

2

When there’s an election on, take full and complete credit for any good news, and blame the other guys completely for any bad news.

3

[quote=“DWhite”]

(after Dave Macdonald and his council left) “I turned to my education minister and said we are going to find the money to get that school built because I believe in Port Edward.”

Now maybe those were the exact words used and maybe they weren’t. Maybe the money would never have come from the province without Christy Clark’s say so. Who knows. (As I have said before, it is hard to believe a lot of what she says.) But, unlike Don McRae who praises the community and is delighted to be a part of the process, Christy Clark, focuses the attention on her. Classic, but not classy, political messaging.[/quote]

Yes, you have said many times before that you find it is hard to believe anything that Christy Clark says. Emphasis by constant repetition; apparently it sometimes works.

As for your question about whether the money would have come from the province without Christy Clark’s say so, Mayor Dave Macdonald of Port Edward pretty much tackles that head on:

“When this school was in trouble, it was Premier Clark who stepped in and helped us save our school,” said District of Port Edward Mayor Dave MacDonald. “The new Port Edward Community school is not only benefiting our children and families, it will also foster the growth of our community.”
< bcliberals.com/news/in-the-n … ort-edward >

I see that premier Clark also took some time out to read Cat in the Hat to kids at the Port Ed School < northcoastreview.blogspot.ca/201 … shelf.html > I wonder if there was some political messaging in that?

Mayor Macdonald certainly seems to be good at positive messaging, especially by putting Port Edward front and centre in discussions of future LNG developments. It seems to be paying off for Port Ed. Hopefully that continues after the NDP forms the government.

Perhaps our own political leaders here in Rupert could learn a few things from Mayor Macdonald. I see that at the last council meeting Councillor Thorkelson was talking about how we should, in her words, “lay the boots to the Port”. < northcoastreview.blogspot.ca/201 … -made.html >

I’m not sure what she meant by that. I think that I prefer Mayor Macdonald’s approach.

4

[quote=“BTravenn”]

Mayor Macdonald certainly seems to be good at positive messaging, especially by putting Port Edward front and centre in discussions of future LNG developments. It seems to be paying off for Port Ed. Hopefully that continues after the NDP forms the government.

Perhaps our own political leaders here in Rupert could learn a few things from Mayor Macdonald. I see that at the last council meeting Councillor Thorkelson was talking about how we should, in her words, “lay the boots to the Port”. < northcoastreview.blogspot.ca/201 … -made.html >

I’m not sure what she meant by that. I think that I prefer Mayor Macdonald’s approach.[/quote]

I agree and, in my opinion at least, this sums up the difference in the approach between the NDP and Liberals as it relates to corporate relations. I think that’s a fair assessment and its why I can not vote NDP.

5

Makes me wonder what would happen if teachers would wear red or orange t-shirts to work.
The red t-shirts will say Christy Clark on them and the orange ones Adrian Dix.
Will they be considered political massaging or not? Or perhaps just the orange t-shirts will be too political and the red ones just teach the kids the name of our premier.

6

Good analysis of Dave Macdonald. His approach does seem to be successful. I was at some of the public meetings on school closures and he was very effective defending his school and advocating for Port Edward. And like Don McRae, he emphasized the other people in the process. Christy Clark emphasized “I”. That’s the different messaging I was referring to.

But, you might be right. Perhaps I am too negative. Maybe I was unfair to over scrutinize a single remark in the midst of a campaign. And as for her truthfulness, perhaps I am reading too many blogs.

[quote]
In Sunday’s thirty minute TV commercial, Christy Clark said that … her goal was to leave a debt free province.“You don’t leave your kids with debt. It’s just the wrong thing to do.” That statement is fatuous… it is an intentional untruth; a lie. Christy Clark’s government has added more provincial debt than any government in history [/quote]

northerninsights.blogspot.ca/201 … ed-to.html

Think the blogger is too biased. How about the more respectable Harvey Oberfeld.

harveyoberfeld.ca/blog/bc-electi … /#comments

Don’t like bloggers. Then how about the MSM. I can’t figure out how to embed twitter but Gary Mason said

Gary Mason (@garymasonglobe)

Or the the reality check at CBC about Clark’s claim that Moody’s has said that her budget is balanced.
cbc.ca/news/canada/bcvotes20 … oodys.html

So yeh excuse me if I have a hard time accepting much of what she says.

The Liberal platform is based on their ability to be better fiscal managers than the 1990s NDP when the Liberals themselves have run several deficits and raised the debt more than the NDP. And even their claim that everybody left during the ‘90’s is spin. cbc.ca/news/canada/bcvotes20 … ation.html

Their partisan tax-payer funded ads about their jobs plan whose theme is still part of their platform aren’t completely true. cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c … -plan.html

And they are promising billions in LNG and a debt free province when everything is in the earliest of stages and markets can change rapidly. And even if there were total certainty in LNG, there is no reason to think another government couldn’t work the same magic.

Say what you will about the platform laid out by the NDP. People can criticize it all they want but at least it is out there, not hidden by spin or half truths. (Was that being positive? It’s hard to tell anymore?)

And on another positive note, haven’t the NDP done a wonderful job with our recent weather. I am going to take advantage of their excellent management today because I hear the Liberals will be taking control of it soon.

7

The NDP platform is out where?

I have no problem finding the Green’s platform, “Green Book 2013”:
greenparty.bc.ca/green_book_2013

And the BC Liberal’s platform, “Strong Economy, Secure Tomorrow”:
bcliberals.com/news/in-the-news/ourPlan

But I’ve yet to find a detailed platform for the BC NDP.

Their web site has a “Get the Facts” section with eight Issues, but there is little detail; far less than in the Green’s and Liberal’s platforms. The NDP mostly offers a series of little clips with little content. It’s nice that they wished us ‘Happy Earth Day’ but what is their environmental policy?

They mostly go on about Liberal “neglect”, but I’m not particularly interested in hearing about that from the NDP (I prefer independent sources such as the links you cited). Presumably the NDP will do the opposite to what they regard as Liberal “neglect”, but they avoid committing themselves.

For instance, the NDP is against log exports - fair enough - but does that apply to the entire province or will there be exemptions to an export ban, particularly where there are no or few mills? Will they stop log exports from the Northwest, which provide longshoring jobs here and forestry jobs in Skeena? What will happen to those jobs?

The NDP platform - if it can be called that - is still mostly an empty box. I don’t see that as being more persuasive than Liberal spin.

8

^^Precisely!

Just WHAT IS the NDP’s plan? Will they support LNG? They still have not given an answer on that.

My fear is they will ban log exports completely and put a moratorium on natural gas fracking…both of these actions would be devastating to our local riding.

9

[quote=“bthedog”]^^Precisely!

Just WHAT IS the NDP’s plan? Will they support LNG? They still have not given an answer on that.

My fear is they will ban log exports completely and put a moratorium on natural gas fracking…both of these actions would be devastating to our local riding.[/quote]

I agree totally…I’m afraid that the NDP could be very bad for this area. They seem to be kissing the asses of the Environmentalists. The future of this area is based on shipping resources, without it Rupert would become a ghost town.

10

[quote=“BTravenn”]

The NDP platform is out where?

I have no problem finding the Green’s platform, “Green Book 2013”:
greenparty.bc.ca/green_book_2013

And the BC Liberal’s platform, “Strong Economy, Secure Tomorrow”:
bcliberals.com/news/in-the-news/ourPlan

But I’ve yet to find a detailed platform for the BC NDP.

The NDP platform - if it can be called that - is still mostly an empty box. I don’t see that as being more persuasive than Liberal spin.[/quote]

I guess what I meant by out there is the NDP strategy of making an announcement each day. They have talked about funding for education. They have talked about the environment. They have talked about support for BC agriculture. They have even talked about raising taxes. They make an announcement and explain its cost. Maybe that’s not a strategy that everybody prefers. A lot of people - and I include myself here - do not read through slick party booklets because I figure it is all spin. I prefer to hear it from a candidate, hear how they respond to questions from reporters, and then read a hopefully independent analysis in the media and blogs.

Maybe they are slow with all the announcements but I am sure they will come. And, I still find it more persuasive than Liberal spin.

11

The NDP is stalling in bringing out their platform.

theglobeandmail.com/news/bri … e10599788/

Dix started with a fiscal platform and is apparently set to release a health care platform…

vancouverdesi.com/bccanada/d … ed/541796/

I feel that this is a stall tactic in handling the important issues that we all want answers to. What’s their stand on LNG? Forestry? Mining? They’re banking on the current rift between the general public and the Liberal government to pull them through the election because if it was solely an issue based election they know that their likelihood of being elected would be low. I hear about the Liberal spin but at least they’re communicating and not holding back. It’s all politicking and the NDP are just as guilty of playing the game.

God help us if they get elected.

12

[quote=“DWhite”]

I guess what I meant by out there is the NDP strategy of making an announcement each day. They have talked about funding for education. They have talked about the environment. They have talked about support for BC agriculture. They have even talked about raising taxes. They make an announcement and explain its cost. Maybe that’s not a strategy that everybody prefers. A lot of people - and I include myself here - do not read through slick party booklets because I figure it is all spin. I prefer to hear it from a candidate, hear how they respond to questions from reporters, and then read a hopefully independent analysis in the media and blogs.

Maybe they are slow with all the announcements but I am sure they will come. And, I still find it more persuasive than Liberal spin.[/quote]

No doubt the NDP has an electoral strategy, largely based on constantly deflecting attention to the failings of the Liberals. Releasing details in bits and pieces as late in the campaign as possible, presumably to avoid close scrutiny, comes across as being rather sly on Dix’s part.

The NDP didn’t used to be like that.

What I’m waiting for is a platform that explains what they are going to do, because the NDP will form the next government and they should be telling us their plans in detail. Written platforms become part of the public record, against which a government’s performance can be measured, even years later. Little news clips and how a candidate answered a question at a scrum are quickly forgotten.

As for the Green and Liberal platform documents, which are more than just ‘booklets’ (they’re both quite weighty and comprehensive), read them before dismissing them as ‘all spin’. (There seems to be a bad link to the Green’s platform, by the way, but it should not be hard to find.)

13

Exactly! Under close scrutiny I have no doubt that Dix would be much less appealing to elect.

14

[quote=“Crazy Train”]
God help us if they get elected.[/quote]

I think there is a very strong likelihood that the NDP will form the next government, but I’m not feeling comfortable enough to conclusively call it.
I find it odd and also a bit funny that some here are suggesting that as soon as the NDP is elected there will be huge group hug with Suzuki et al and all industry will grind to a halt. The scare tactics are a little bit over done in my opinion.

15

they aren’t hiding their platform, they just misplaced it, they will forge a document, back date it, present it to us and say it was there all the time :stuck_out_tongue:

16

Here on the farm we have a saying

“Your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray.”

17

Kind of like HST e-mails, discussions? :smile:

18

nope sort of like a forged memo and handed in as evidence during an official RCMP investigation :stuck_out_tongue:

19

Even though the Liberals have had a hard time with telling the electorate the truth over the past 12 years and even though it is extremely difficult to tell when Christy Clark is being completely honest during this campaign, I will give up reminding you of that, if you quit bringing up something from so long ago that it is not even relevant anymore.

(And I think you win in that deal.)

20

The upside of having the NDP in power would at least mean a fresh wave dishonesty and blunders for us to gripe over, and finally the Liberals will be able to use the “oh that!? that was years ago silly!” excuse.