The Political Equivalent of a Two-by-Four

from JoeUser Forums

A truly phenomenal political commercial, courtesy of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Sweet Jesus, is this ad terrifying!

Do not misunderstand. It's a sleek, professional spot. It has every component of a crushing body blow. It's delivery is high art.

But this thirty second montage of reeling, staccato visuals leaves the viewer thinking that whoever conceived it must be as evil as the monster it describes:

Fade in, bleery sunlight.

VOICE: Stephen Harper would have sent our troops to Iraq...
-- an amour strewn battlefield --

VOICE: billions on tanks...
-- a thundering main canon --

VOICE: and aircraft carriers...
-- a barreling, nuclear powered warship --

VOICE: weaken our gun laws...
-- barrel of a semi-automatic --

VOICE: sacrifice Canadian-style healthcare...
-- the viewer is surrounded by peering doctors; an anesthesia mask is lowered on to the 'patient' --

Flash -- cut to scrambling medical staff.

The Liberal coup de gras, however, is their attack on abortion:

Interior, medical clinic. Sterile, wide angle shot of two university age young women.

The first is seated on the floor -- rocking anxiously while grasping her legs tight to her chest.

The second is curled up in her chair. Worried, she shifts, her gaze cast downward at the clinic floor.

VOICE: He won't protect a woman's right to choose.

He won't protect a woman's right to choose.

Terrifying.

Amazingly, this ad debuts as SES Research reports floundering Liberal poll numbers, driven by a growing gender gap. Men are throwing in with Stephen Harper's Conservatives, women are increasingly undecided or NDP.

Elements of this commercial are clearly targeted at scaring female voters -- those considering any party other than Paul Martin's.

This ad will not only leave women scared, it will leave them horrified -- but horrified at whom?
politics
3,561 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Is it too early yet to start guessing how much longer he will last as Liberal leader and who will replace him? Manley hung around Chretien's cabinet long enough to be sufficiently tainted, I think. Tobin never had a chance and never will, I don't think. McKenna? My darkhorse: Jim Watson.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
I wouldn't misunderestimate Tobin -- he's wily.
Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Or...another question...are we about to see a decimation of the Liberal party on the order of the Progressive Conservatives of a few years back?
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
I watched the debates in French and in English. As a debater, you cannot get much more cool-headed than Duceppe. The man had me wishing he was a federalist and running candidates outside La Belle Province! Calm, cool, collected and in command of his research and facts. Duceppe kept handing out the rope; recipients (Martin, Harper) kept right on hanging themselves.

Both debates were the stuff of high comedy.

On a lighter note, am I the only one who perceives Paul Martin to be working - actually working - for what looks like the first time in his life? If the man perspires much more, he'll leave little puddles of butter in his wake (all that pork-barreling has its drawbacks!)