Mixing Messages

The Liberal Party has already drawn considerable fire for its "Anywhere but Copenhagen" contest.

But by displaying the contest entries on their webiste and using them for political purposes, the Party runs the risk of being embarrassed in more than simply the "whackos fantasize about assassinating Stephen Harper" department. They also run the risk of embarrassing themselves in the "can't keep the message straight" department.

A case in point is the above image, in which Harper's face is superimposed on an image of Kanye West interrupting Tailor Swift and the MTV Video Music Awards. The Spaceman award Swift just received is replaced by a picture of the Earth, and Harper/Kanye is saying "Yo Copenhagen, I'm really sorry about those GHGs, and I'mmma let you finish, but Canada-China relations are the worst of all time."

First off, Canada-China relations are currently not the worst of all time.

But even aside from that, the creator of this image seems to have forgotten that not only is China the world's top producer of Greenhouse gases, but that China's top three companies alone produce more greenhouse gases than Britain -- or Canada.

Moreover, China has yet to pledge to cut its emission of Greenhouse gases. It's actually only pledged to slow the growth of its production.

So, the creator of this particular image expects Stephen Harper to be "sorry about the GHGs". But he also expects Harper to be sorry about allegedly damaging relations with China. And if Canada succeeds in cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2050 (very likely the commitment Canada will make at Copenhagen), and China's emissions continue to grow, what precisely will happen to Canada-China relations if Canada helps pursue sanctions against China?

This is why partisan ideologues shouldn't mix their messages. It simply doesn't hold up to scrutiny.


Other bloggers writing about this topic:

Christian Conservative - "Do Thoughts of Harper's Assassination Make Liberals Smile?"

James Morton - "It Was Right to Apologize"

Russ Campbell - "Dirty Tricks at Liberal-ville"

Hatrock's Cave - "Can Liberals Stoop Any Lower? Possibly"