“Why are they doing this? I think the answer is simple. Voting time is here again. And if that’s the case, let’s be careful where we mark our X.”
Employment minister Shawn Skinner, speaking to the St. John's Board of Trade Luncheon
20 Feb 2008
Since last weekend, Danny Williams and his cabinet ministers have been hammering away relentlessly at the federal government generally and federal regional minister Loyola Hearn in particular.
There has been no shortage of blatant hypocrisy, as in the Premier criticizing the practice of announcing announcements previously announced.
There has also been no shortage of the truly bizarre, such as the minister responsible for the status women chastising Hearn for a comment she never heard herself but received second or third hand. Attacking anyone based on speculation is never an acceptable practice. It is even more reprehensible when the minister responsible for the status of women is part of a cabinet which has, as a matter of policy, reduced women to the status of brood mares. There's a bootie call of $1000 to every women who bears a live child in this province, the whole policy based on the claim by the Premier that "we can't be a die-ing race." [Edit; run-on sentence]
Sexist?
You betcha.
A sign of a systemic set of attitudes about women and ethnicity that need to be stamped out?
You tell me.
Shawn Skinner's comments noted above are especially worthy of note since they come from a fellow who not so long ago was talking about the need for co-operation with the feds, despite whatever political feuds were going on. He was soundly and severely chastised for that, apparently and made to issue a humiliating public apology for what amounts to speaking simple truth to power.
They are also noteworthy because Skinner is himself part of an exercise that is not far removed from what he accuses Hearn of doing.
Right off the bat, let's confirm that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador are smart enough to know a federal election is coming and that politicians are announcing money hither and yon as part of the run up to open campaigning.
They don't need Danny Williams and Shawn Skinner to point this out since, just last summer, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador were treated to Skinner and Williams doing exactly that. Indeed they did so much of it that the pair, along with their cabinet colleagues are now faced with a set of public expectations that Williams, Skinner and the rest are now busily trying to tamp down.
At the same time, they are part of cabinet which is facing an ongoing series of bad news.
- Security leaks in the computer management system they built by recreating the Moores-era computer services agency renowned for its lack of service and efficiency.
- A public inquiry into breast cancer screening and the seemingly endless stream of own-goals being scored by officials despite (as a result of?) reputedly very high level political interventions on how to handle things.
- Scores of bridges and trestles in varying states of disrepair in a department whose minister admits that the department doesn't carry out regular inspections of them, a minister who also says she was surprised to learn of the problems despite the fact that her officials were aware of the problems as long ago as last summer.
- An agreement to develop the Hebron offshore project which, despite the pre-election hype given to it last summer, seems to be unduly delayed for unspecified reasons.
There are other issues both local and province-wide to add to the whole mess.
So with all that, the one thing - the only thing - provincial cabinet ministers seem able to do is take swipes at Hearn.
Why are they doing this, you may ask mirroring Shawn Skinner?
The answer is simple; it is polling season.
Corporate Research Associates started in the field late last week, oddly at the same time that the slaps at Hearn started.
The current administration, which has always been unduly sensitive to fluctuations of polling, has nothing else to lay in front of the public. Either that or their comms apparatus is overwhelmed with the string of problems that they have no time to devote to the usual, intense quarterly knob shining.
Turd polishing - regarded as a useless activity equal to knob shining among PR professionals - is apparently taking priority.
Instead, the poll goosing crowd have taken to the only tool in their arsenal that might counteract the onslaught of "bad" news: the attack on a foreign demon or a traitor. They are hoping people will be distracted for a couple of weeks, that the news media will carry some suitable stories and maybe people will be feeling just a wee bit positively inclined towards the government when the CRA pollsters call.
There are public spending announcements - like road work all over the place - to supplement the effort but the core of the provincial government effort seems to be the distraction of poking at Hearn.
We'll know if it worked in a couple of weeks when CRA releases it's results.
But in the meantime, Skinner and his colleagues need not fear. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, who historically vote anybody but Conservative in federal elections, don't need to be reminded to make their voting choices carefully.
And they don't need to be warned against politicians who come bearing gifts to court their support.
They don't need to be warned against that kind of cynical effort at vote manipulation.
They have had more than enough experience with it over the past four years from provincial politicians.
-srbp-
