"Paper Holes", Not "Bullet Holes"

Liberal Party response to photo controversy not a pretty picture

In some sectors of the Canadian media, the response to the outrage swirling around the Liberal Party's "Anywhere but Copenhagen" contest has been anything but torrid.

On the National Post's Full Comment blog, Jeff Jedras offered the same response as Warren Kinsella: the Stephen Harper-as-Lee Harvey Oswald photo was bad, but the Conservative party has been just as bad.

Jedras and Kinsella both pointed to an image that appeared ont the Conservative Party website during the 2008 election, in which Stephane Dion appears in front of a red background peppered with what they had described as "bullet holes".

That the bullet holes in question don't resemble bullet holes as most Canadians would recognize them is just one problem with this attempt at a diversion. As Tim Powers points out in the Globe and Mail, the second problem it is that simply has no basis in truth:

"Warren's prop today was a picture of Stéphane Dion surrounded by paper holes depicting his flawed policy initiatives - like the carbon tax - along with comments from Liberals. But according to the Liberals these were bullet holes and this was therefore a terrible thing - as offensive as their assassination photo.

It was prepared by purchasing an iStockphoto image called 'Paper Holes.' That’s right, paper holes. The supplier (a Canadian company, by the way) describes the image as 'black hole [sic] in paper.' Check it out here."

And to make matters worse, the "headshots of possible shooters" were actually the headshots of people who had been challenging and questioning Dion's Green Shift policy (poking holes in it, if you will -- perhaps even paper holes).

Moreover, if one were to actually take time to read the text in question, they'll find this all makes perfect sense.

Of course, it's very unlikely that Jeff Jedras, Warren Kinsella, or anyone else from the Liberal Party will stop peddling their rhetoric even after it's shown to be demonstrably false.


Other bloggers writing about this:

Lord of the Universe - "Liberals and Fake Harper Assassination Pic: Idiots of the Day"

Kitchener Conservative - "Hey Libs, You Screwed Up... Just Admit It!"

Dion's Problem With the the Economy

Stephane Dion's 'plan b' is still 'plan a'

With the Liberal campaign continuing to sag (yet somehow the Toronto Star figures it's "firing on all cylinders" -- Quelle surprise!), the common wisdom seems to be that Stephane Dion needs to stop talking about the Green Shift plan.

Because most Canadians are clearly more concerned about the economy, they argue, Dion should instead be talking about that.

Unfortunately for Dion, Dion's plan for the environment -- the Green Shift -- is also his plan for the economy.

And it only gets worse from there. As Conservative strategist Tim Powers points out in today's Globe and Mail, Bob Rae carries all kind of economic baggage with him from his days as the Premier of Ontario. Rae also managed to almost entirely alienate his former NDP followers -- the same followers the Liberal party will need to woo in order to stave off a third-place finish in this election, let alone win.

But Stephane Dion's environmental problem has become his campaign problem. And with little else of substance to campaign on, Dion may have no way out of this one -- and little hope of even holding on to the keys of Stornoway, let alone upgrading to 24 Sussex Drive.

Just to Reiterate: Scott Reid is Still a Clown

We remember This too, bud

Man. I just finished watching Scott Reid on Mike Duffy Live, and I can't get over how this guy proves more and more that he is a clown every time he's on TV.

Conservative strategist Tim Powers was seemingly gracious enough to stop PWNING Reid on TV this week (as he has been prone to do for consecutive weeks, if not months). Instead, the esteemed mr. Reid was given an opportunity to collide with Geoff Norquay.

Clearly never missing an opportunity to prove that he is, in fact, a friggin' clown, Reid took the opportunity to launch himself into conspiracy theorist mode, trying to hold the Conservatives responsible for an RCMP pension scandal that actually took place while the Liberals were in office, all the while claiming that the RCMP "screwed" the Liberal party by investigating the income trust leak.

This all despite the fact that former commissioner Juliano Zaccardelli was known to be extremely close to Jean Chretien.

So, just to reiterate: Scott Reid is a clown. As far as third-rate Warren Kinsella wannabes go, mr. Reid certainly does take the "intellectual" out of "intellectual coward".