Showing posts with label Summer of Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Summer of Love. Show all posts

03 September 2011

Looking beyond normal

labradore wasted no time in converting the numbers from Friday’s editorial in the Telegram into a chart to show the number of money announcements issued by the provincial government in each week in August for the past four years.

The Telegram editorial uses these numbers to refute Premier Kathy Dunderdale’s claim that:

“There’s nothing going on here now that hasn’t gone on every year since we’ve brought down a budget, no matter who formed the government,..”

She made the comment.  They counted the news releases.  Way more, finds the Telegram, so therefore “liar, liar pants on fire.”

Or words to that effect.

In defence of Kathy Dunderdale, there is nothing that her provincial Conservatives did in August 2011 that is different in kind from anything the provincial Conservatives did in any other one of the four polling months each year since 2004..

The fact that there are more money announcements in 2011 is really much ado about nothing.  Sure the whole thing is so outrageous in August 2011 that the local media couldn’t ignore it any more, but other than that this is just another Tory poll-goosing month.

And the fact this is an election year doesn’t really make the Dunderdale version stand out.  Scroll back through the archives list of these e-scribblers for the summer of 2007.

Summer of Love.  On August 18, your humble e-scribbler note that the Tories seemed to be inventing excuses to issue happy-news releases.  25 additional campsites at a provincial park, for example.

Toward the end of July 2007, you’ll find a post about the spate of announcements comparing July to previous Julys:

Note, however, that cash announcement in the 25 days of July 2007 already done are already at the same level of 2004 and they are double those of 2005 and almost quadruple those of 2006.

The post starts off with a quote from Danny Williams that will look awfully familiar:

Flanked by two Progressive Conservative candidates in Bay Roberts, Premier Danny Williams told reporters on Wednesday that what government has been doing over the past couple of weeks is just government "carrying on business."

What really stands out in the Telegram figures is the big jump in 2010 and the larger jump in 2011. Poll goosing and the pre-election impetus – the Telegram’s point – are just penetrating insights into the stunningly obvious. Something else is going on.

It’s the trending that shows up when you look beyond the polls as most people misinterpret them. In May this year, your humble e-scribbler pointed out that the Tory polling numbers have been slipping pretty significantly.

This chart shows CRA polling as a percentage of actual respondents not of “decideds”.  That second hard point from the right shows the results of last August’s jump in cash announcements.  And the reason for it is the slide the quarter before.

But then look what happened over the next three months before Danny Williams left abruptly.

Big slide.

And in the months since then, the Tories have continued to slide downward.

They were at a point in May where losing a raft of seats in October looked like a very real possibility.  As noted around these parts last May, if the trends continued the Tories would be even weaker in August.  The leader numbers could also continue their downward trend to the point where all three party leaders shared the same distinct lack of interest from voters.

So if you were the incumbent party headed into an election with public support apparently weakening,  you’d pretty much be guaranteed to do the only political thing you know how to do:  take as many spending announcements as you can type up and e-mail them out to try desperately to stop the spiral in the polls.

As far as Kathy Dunderdale and her crowd are concerned this is normal.  For the rest of us, though, you have to look a little beyond the obvious to figure out why their “normal”  is even more “normal” than usual.

- srbp -

31 July 2011

The Summer of Love 2011

Five years after your humble e-scribbler first wrote about it, the world pretty much accepts the notion that the governing Conservatives time their communications to coincide with polling done by their contract pollster. A couple of university professors have taken up the task of documenting the extent of the poll goosing and talk radio stacking activities.

Well, labradore posted a couple of reminders last week about just exactly how intense this can get.

First, he show a chart comparing the number of releases issued in the middle of summer.  Not surprisingly, 2011 showed the heaviest news release output on record.  That’s not surprising because it is an election year and the the incumbent Tories apparently are having some problems with popular support.

Second, labradore charted the number of media advisories issued by the provincial government, by month from 1996 onward. No one ever said this poll goosing thing was something the Tories invented.  It’s just that they do it more aggressively than the gang that went before.

- srbp -

12 July 2010

The ferry tale of New Ferrole

Not exactly destined to be a Christmas classic but a tale that is nonetheless as misshapen as the dental work of any Pogue’s front man.

The Telegram reported on Saturday that the provincial government’s ferry building program is behind schedule with more delays expected. One new ship is expected later this year with another to follow next year.  More will come along after that.

Transportation minister Tom Hedderson didn’t have any explanations to offer for the delay:

"It's a catch-up game, and we understand that," Hedderson said in an interview.

"But the significant dollars that we've put in are making significant differences. We plan - and not always can we stick to the timeline - but we have made the commitment, and the money. It is going as fast as (it) can, given the circumstances."

He never said what the circumstances were just that they were there. Hedderson was, however, fulsome in his self-praise:

"Obviously, very simply, we've taken the bull by the horns," Hedderson said.

"It's not an easy task, especially when the shipbuilding industry had not been developed over the years as well."

These sorts of delays are now par for the course in the Williams administration.  capital works projects and legislation routinely take years from the date they are announced. Cost over-runs mount at the same time for many of the capital projects.

The Telegram doesn’t really give a full accounting of the delays in the ferry work.  Nonetheless, it is worthwhile to take a look at just exactly how long this construction work has been in the works.  After all, Hedderson told the Telegram the vessel replacements might not be finished for another decade.

September 30, 2005: transportation and works minister Tom Rideout said that government was thoroughly examining options for building vessels in this province. Minister Rideout said, “My department is analyzing opportunities to build vessels in this province in terms of net economic benefits to the province, including job creation and economic development.”

February 16, 2007:   Transportation and works minister John Hickey,  said "Our plan to build these two new ferries is the first stage of our Vessel Replacement Strategy," At the time, Government anticipates the total cost of the two ferries will be approximately $25 million 

November 15, 2007:  The provincial government announced that Clarenville and Marystown Shipyards were to bid on ferry construction. Transportation and works minister Diane Whelan said that Clarenville Drydock Limited and Peter Kiewit and Sons of Marystown had been invited to submit bids on construction of two new provincial ferry vessels. 

June 10, 2008:  The provincial government awarded a $50.5 million contract to for the ferries.  Peter Kiewit got the contract with a guarantee that 25% of the sub-contract work would go to Clarenville.  The release refers to design work for a possible fourth ferry of the same size in addition to the three contemplated.

The Southern Gazette reported that work on the ferries was expected to begin immediately, with the first ferry due to be delivered by the end of next year (2009) and the second in the spring of 2010, notwithstanding any unforeseen delays.

December 17, 2008: Transportation and works minister Trevor Taylor told the House of Assembly:

Mr. Speaker, the member is correct, we did make an announcement back earlier this year on construction of two new ferries in – basically led in Marystown but part in Clarenville.

Mr. Speaker, discussions with Peter Kiewit and Sons have been proceeding. As the member may know, the construction of these two ferries is basically a design-build approach, where approximately 70 per cent of design has been done. The testing on the hull and what have you was done at the Centre for Ocean Dynamics, or the Centre for Marine Dynamics over at back of MUN.

Basically, where we are right now – actually, just earlier this morning there was a meeting between officials of the department and representatives from the Marystown Dockyard. Mr. Speaker, it is moving along. I hope that in the very near future we will be able to begin construction. There are some relatively minor, I would hope, matters around the design of the vessel and the performance of the vessel that Peter Kiewit and Sons have to commit to. When we sign off on the vessel, we want them to guarantee us that the ship is going to float and that the ship is going to perform and have the appropriate sea keeping as was required and that is what we are –

I can tell the member and the House that the propulsion systems for both ships have already been bought. They are here in a warehouse in St. John’s right now. As for cost overruns, Mr. Speaker, given the current state of the world economy and the declining demand for steel and cooper and everything else that you would be required to put into a ship, we would not expect any cost overruns. If anything, Mr. Speaker, our indication to Peter Kiewit & Sons is that we would probably see a decline in some of this stuff.

February 26, 2009: The Packet reported the Clarenville shipyard had pulled out of the ferry construction project for unexplained reasons.

June 10, 2010:  With two ferries delayed, the third not begun and fourth in the design stages, the provincial government announces calls for expressions of interest in designing six new ferries.  Note that, as part of the Summer of Love 2007 election campaign, the Williams administration made a large number of capital works announcements that didn’t happen for two to three years.

- srbp -

26 June 2009

Not quite the Summer of Love, again, is it?

Nope.

It’s pretty far from the Summer of Love when the provincial government has to start issuing lame news releases in an effort to quiet the discontent growing around the province.

Not the Summer of Love.

Not by a long shot, although the government cash is flowing with the same or greater intensity.

If Danny jumps in the Winnebago again, you’ll know things are bad.

-srbp-

11 June 2009

“Old money” from Williams cabinet called “stimulus”

Danny Williams may not like it when federal cabinet ministers recycle announcements, but of  the 52 specific projects listed in the provincial government “economic stimulus” update news release issued on Thursday, almost half - 21 projects - were already announced, some as long ago as 2005. 

Some of the recycled old news slipped out earlier but the announcement on Thursday made the whole thing plain.

The Corner Brook long-term care facility project listed among the stimulus projects has been underway since March 2005. The Corner Brook court house, health facilities in Lewisporte and Labrador west  and renovations to the James Paton hospital in Gander date back to March 2006.

Many of those in the “old news” category were announced in 2007 in the Summer of Love spending commitment frenzy leading up to the last provincial general election. 

One project - the St. Alban’s aquaculture veterinary facility  - was announced in 2007 with a commitment the place would open in 2009.  Instead, the project has just been tendered.

There’s more to it than just the inclusion of old announcements that predate the ‘stimulus’ news conference pulled together as part of the February poll-goosing frenzy; some of the projects seem to include contributions of federal money as if the whole thing was provincial government spending.

The Torbay and CBS by-pass roads, for example, were announced in 2007 and 2008 respectively.  They’re cost-shared 50/50 with the federal government but the provincial news release shows the total cost without indicating it is only ponying up half the total. 

And while the Premier may sneer when his federal cousins announce announcements previously announced, that didn’t stop his own team from discussing projects, some of which have been included in as many as seven separate government news releases.

They are:

College of the North Atlantic campus, Labrador West:

Francophone school, HVGB:

Port Hope Simpson school:

L’Anse au Loup:

Labrador West hospital:

Here’s the list of the 21 Old Announcements from the “stimulus” update:

-srbp-

 

 

 

 

07 September 2007

Pull the other one

vocm.com is carrying a story featuring comments from Corporate Research Associates president Don Mills on his company's latest poll results in Newfoundland and Labrador.

It includes this statement:
Mills says the timing of the Hebron announcement was 'impeccable' for the premier given the election is just weeks away.
Well, the timing was impeccable but it had little to do with the election, which, as pretty well everyone knows, has been underway since at least last June.

Nope.

Check the timing on when CRA was in the field.

August 9 to August 31.

The Hebron announcement came, quite suddenly, and quite inexplicably given that there was no final deal, on August 22.

Right smack in the middle of Mills' data collection.

Not like the first time this administration - or its predecessor for that matter - timed major government announcements to coincide with Mills' quarterly data collection.


Take a look at the graph at left. The blue line is the weekly number of news releases from the provincial government. The green spaces are the times CRA was in the field.

The provincial government knows when CRA is collecting data since the provincial government is a CRA client for the quarterly survey.

The coincidence of the peaks with the polling periods doesn't look random. In fact it's a bit hard to explain making a major announcement in August, for example, or a high volume of government releases in August when most people are on vacation.

It's harder to explain a quickie announcement of a huge oil deal before the deal is actually finalized. Election? Well, there was a whole block of time after Labour Day for that, especially the time when the election is on and people are focused on electioneering.

Impeccable timing, yes, but timed for the election?

Pull the other one, Don, it's got bells on it.

Telephone bells ringing with a pollster on the other end of the line.

-srbp-

06 September 2007

Summer of Love: MHAs continue gifts of public money

Remember Tom Rideout's dance trying to explain away how he and all his colleagues in the House of Assembly misled the public on when the Green report was taking effect?

Remember his gift of $5000 of public money to a local charity just a few short weeks before Chief Justice Derek Green condemned the practice?

Remember the claim that the Progressive Conservative caucus had taken The Pledge and would not be handing out public money as gifts? It was a big part of the story on how - according to Rideout - today was today but tomorrow was October 9 and not June 15, the day after the Green bill was passed. The old rules can stay in place - even though we suggested something else to you already - because we have promised not to hand out public money as gifts to the public.

Turns out to have been a crock.

The gifts - always labelled "donations" - are just coming from a different pot than the one they used to come from.

Clayton Forsey, the Progressive Conservative MHA for Exploits, shows up in St. Alban's (not in his district) in August and is referred to in the local paper as handing out $500 "on behalf of" none other than Premier Danny Williams.

Then two weeks later, the local paper prints a correction saying that the "donation" - to a local fundraiser for a cancer centre - was actually from the provincial health department. The money came, but it was from the health department. Check the hard copy because Transcon hasn't updated thecoaster.ca for almost a month.

Delivered by Clayton Forsey, mind you and so obviously identified as a partisan. The money didn't come from the minister or even the deputy minister or even the head of the local health authority. Nope it came from visiting Tory back-bencher, like that was a secret.

Since when does any provincial line department give a "donation" to an event such as this in the first place let alone deliver a cheque by such an obviously partisan means?

Good cause, mind you but departments put up the capital to build cancer centres and staff them. They don't make "donations" to local fundraisers, especially through an MHA, Tory now or Liberals before. If the Liberals did it before, then it is no more right than Forsey and whoever of his buddies are doing it these days.

This one needs some investigation by someone. If there's one example, there's like more that never got picked up by the local weekly.

This little story is highly suspicious.

So suspicious in fact that it should get the attention of the Auditor General, not to mention members of the general public who have already been misled on this issue at least once before by members of the House of Assembly.

oh yeah and while we're at it, where did this grand come from? [By mid-day this link turned up dead for some unknown reason. google search "clayton forsey $1000" and it will re-appear. Check the "cached page" for the full story from August 20. if that doesn't work, try this link which seems to be a new page identity for this story.]

Someone should be taking official notice of these goings on. After all, it's not like this is the first time Forsey's been reported handing out public money, even before the Summer of Love officially kicked off.

-srbp-

03 September 2007

From the Worst Kept Secret file...

Danny Williams will visit the Lieutenant Governor on September 17 to seek a proclamation of the fall election on October 9.

Remember that date.

Monday.

September

17.

Two weeks from today.

Williams told reporters that date last week.

Call Elections NL and that's the date they will tell you.

They will also tell you people have been casting votes already.

Yes, people, the election started two weeks ago.

That's what makes the whole thing increasingly farcical.

Farcical, as in idiotic, as in having the House of Assembly management committee boasting it had stopped members of the House from using their allowances during the election period.

Problem 1: There are no members of the House of Assembly one the election proclamation is issued and the House is dissolved and the seats are vacated.

Do they think we are stupid or are they that stunned?

Problem 2: The election has been on all summer, what with the Premier and his Winnebago running around dispensing public cash to anyone with their hand stuck out. The House management committee - including three of the cabinet ministers who approved the Summer of Love spending spree - knows full well that what they announced amounts to the old limerick about some guy named Paul's hexagonal sphere.

Problem 3: Even if that weren't true, voting started on August 20. The fantasy restriction doesn't start until 17 September. Big freakin' deal.

-srbp-

28 August 2007

Lono Launches into the Deep

Now when He had left speaking, He said unto Simon: "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught."

And Simon answering said unto Him: "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net."

And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
Luke 5: v. 4-6

Provehito in altum
.

"Launch forth into the deeps", or in some translations "reach for the heights."

It's the motto of Memorial University which chose the words from Luke to set a goal for students seeking knowledge.

The motto is also an admonition to strive for seemingly unattainable goals, to abandon the comfortable and the secure.

By any translation, that pretty much describes what Simon Lono has decided to do.

Lono announced today that he will be seeking the Liberal nomination in the provincial district of St. John's North in the October 9 general election.

St. John's. Traditionally deep blue Tory country.

Launching into the deeps is nothing knew for the guy who tried for a seat on St. John's city council two years ago n a shoe-string budget and with a call for greater accountability for council and investment in basic municipal infrastructure.

Lono didn't win a seat, but he finished in the middle of a large pack; not bad for an unknown. Dismissed by Mayor Andy Wells as a nitwit who didn't know what he was talking about, Lono was vindicated with the attention Wells and his newly elected council paid to investments in roads, sidewalks and water and sewer projects.

As the author of Offal News, Lono has been taking some shots and offering some insights. When the House of Assembly spending scandal broke open last summer, he spearheaded a call for a public inquiry into the mess.

So far we've been jokingly referring to this pre-election period as the Summer of Love. Well, something says that as of tomorrow, there'll be a few people who will be showing something other than love for candidate Lono.

All their personal attacks will do is show how much a particular crowd are worried Lono will get elected. The louder they howl, the more you know Lono has scored a point.

Here's Lono's news release as he launches once more into the deeps of local politics:

Simon Lono Declares for Liberals in St. John's North

Simon Lono today declared his candidacy for the Liberal Party nomination in the provincial district of St. John's North.

"The people of St. John's North deserve strong, vigorous representation in the House of Assembly," said Lono. "They deserve more than the attitude that St. John's can take the hit in elder care, education and the economy."

This was not a decision taken lightly, Lono said. "It was not an easy choice; I have been thinking about this for a while. I'm running because I'm concerned about the direction the province going."

"The Williams government has neglected important issues and has misplaced priorities," said Lono. "They've taken no action to address the needs of our aging population. In education, they've decided to break up Memorial University without counting the cost to the public purse, the effect on post-secondary education or even if this is the best option for our students.

"As for the economy, we can't be satisfied to accept mere crumbs of information on a project as important to our future as Hebron; we need more information than government has revealed so far, so we can judge for ourselves. Secret deals are not acceptable."

Lono notes that it takes a strong representation to make the difference. "The people of St. John's North have had no voice. We have too many silent, passive members sitting on the government side of the House," he said. "This government has taken St. John's North for granted and it shows."

"Public service has always been important to me, and I know I can contribute energy and new ideas to this province as a member of the House of Assembly working for the people of St. John's North."

-30-

Contact:
Simon Lono
689-0809
Simon@SimonLono.ca
-srbp-

24 August 2007

SOL Special Ballot update: Voting started Monday!

Turns out the eagle-eyed e-mailer wasn't so right after all.

Turns out too, your humble e-scribbler needs to check some fine details sometimes.

Advance voting by special ballot began on Monday, under a set-up proposed by former chief electoral officer Chuck Furey (see story below) and passed in the House of Assembly in June of this year.

The Elections Act, 1991, as amended last spring, allows for anyone otherwise qualified to vote in the province to apply for a special ballot now , get a kit from Elections NL and then write in the name of the candidate, the name of the candidate and party or just the name of the political party he or she wants to cast a vote for.

Who might be affected by this new voting method?

Well, anyone qualified to vote. If you are a "Canadian citizen 18 years of age or more on polling day is qualified to vote at an election if he or she is ordinarily resident in the province immediately preceding polling day," then you can vote.

So like remittance workers who take the Fort Mac express but maintain a permanent residence in the province?

Yep. They're in.

But basically, anyone can vote early provided that, as a minimum, they have a personal reason to believe he or she won't be able to vote on the actual polling day on October 9.

And here's another fun piece of work: under the Act, those ballots will be collected and can be counted before polling day.

The election campaign has been on for months. It got a big boost with the Hebron announcement on Wednesday.

But it will be really interesting to see how many special ballots are cast, let alone how many are cast before the campaign officially starts sometime in mid-September.

We'll know that sometime after October 9.

-srbp-


The Telegram
November 28, 2006

Voting window could widen to accommodate Alberta exodus

Rob Antle
The Telegram

The province may be losing its workers, but it's hoping not to lose their votes.

Elections officials are proposing changes that would allow voters to cast their ballots nearly two months in advance of the 2007 provincial election, to accommodate Newfoundlanders working out west.

"The idea is to try to make it as flexible and as open and as transparent (as possible), and to give everybody the full opportunity and the fair opportunity to cast their ballots," chief electoral officer Chuck Furey told The Telegram.

In 2004, the Williams administration passed legislation setting fixed election dates every four years. The next provincial election will be held Oct. 9, 2007.

By law, the premier must officially ask the lieutenant-governor to dissolve the legislature and drop the election writs a minimum of 21 days before polling day.

Currently, those who can't vote on election day can cast an absentee ballot - called a special ballot - during that 21-day time period.

Furey said his proposal would allow voters to cast those special ballots up to four weeks before the writ is officially dropped.

"We're trying to say, look, if you've got a fixed-date election, why are we limiting it to 21 days, if we have such a migratory and transient population now? They're coming and going - let's try to capture people and give them a full opportunity to vote by
adding that extra four weeks."

The proposal is currently awaiting a decision by the province.

By law, anyone over 18 can vote in a provincial election as long as they have a fixed address in Newfoundland and Labrador.

There are no official figures on how many transient workers commute to Alberta or other destinations for work while still maintaining a home in Newfoundland.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Statistics Agency does not compile such data, saying it would be nearly impossible to gather and maintain.

But there is ample anecdotal evidence confirming the trend.

An estimated 9,000 people attended an Alberta job fair held in St. John's last month.

Air Canada established a daily direct flight between St. John's and Fort Mc-Murray this year to meet the demand of workers travelling back and forth.

And Canadian North is operating weekly private charter flights linking Deer Lake, St. John's and northern Alberta.

Vincent Pratt, from the Triton area, is one of the commuters using that service.

In a recent interview with Transcontinental Media, Pratt estimated that more than half of the 2,000 people employed at his work camp in northern Alberta are from Newfoundland.

Net out-migration increased to more than 4,100 this year, according to provincial figures.

The most recent provincial population estimate is under 510,000, a drop of about 70,000 since 1991.

Summer of Love 2007 : Vote early!

But don't vote often.

Special balloting for the October 9 general election apparently began on August 20.

The Elections NL didn't issue a news release until today.

That's an interesting timing.

The Elections Act provides that "An application to vote by special ballot may be made to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer beginning not more than 4 weeks before the issue of the writ of election and ending at 6:00 p.m. on a day to be determined by the Chief Electoral Officer."

That provision was added to the act by an amendment approved in the legislature just this past spring.

So what do we know?

Well, the writ will drop sometime within the four weeks from August 20. Most likely the official campaign will be short, lasting only the legal minimum.

However, there's nothing to stop an elector from legally applying for a special ballot this week, getting it before the writ is dropped and having their mind made up - and their vote cast and in the box - well before the official campaign begins.

How many votes will be cast before the writ of election is actually issued?

We'll know on October 9.

Anyone doubt now that the election campaign has already been unofficially under way since late June?

Update and correction: An eagle-eyed e-mailer pointed out an obvious point. The ballots can't be mailed until after the writ drops and Elections NL nominations close.

Still.

It'll be interesting to see how many people apply and vote early.
-srbp-

21 August 2007

SOL: The Ontario Version

The Globe and Mail recently gave Dalton McGuinty some advice on his version of the Summer of Love.

Their advice would be well received in the eastern reaches of the country as well.

-srbp-

18 August 2007

SOL Day 53: Backdraft!

As Russell Wangersky points out, the provincial government isn't above arranging some photo ops for firefighting equipment that has already been in service all in aid of the Summer of Love 2007 undeclared election campaign.

Of course, it's also time for the quarterly polling by Corporate Research Associates so the photo ops and associated news releases come in extra handy. CRA will report its results around the time the writ for the official campaign is dropped.

If you do the math, you'll find about 84 news releases issued by the provincial government since August 1, along with some 14 media advisories of minister's attending this festival or making that announcement. overall, the releases and advisories are running about the same as last year - they always boost the good news stuff during polling season - but this year the whole little huckster game of goosing the polls seems to be taking an intensity that smacks of desperation.

Like the environment minister opening an additional 25 campsites at Butterpot provincial park on August 14, even though the season opened on the May 24th weekend. That sort of staged event just screams out as a staged political event.

Polling season plus the Summer of Love are also as good an explanation as any for the bizarre events this past week with Danny Williams chastising one of his candidates for doing what all the rest have been doing all along: telling people it's imperative to have their member sitting on the government side. Dennis Normore's only mistake: he finished off the "or else" part of the implicit threat.

The premier obviously felt a bit sheepish about having that sort of target out there in the middle of polling season. The opposition and the media would jump on it quickly, as they did.

Meanwhile, expect that the old chestnut of local politics - the threat of dirt roads, no schools and reversion to the honey wagon unless the district goes for the winning party - will still find its way into this, that, or another political conversation. The candidates making the pitch will just be sure to keep it off the airwaves and off the newspaper pages.

At least, until polling season is over.
-srbp-

11 August 2007

The Summer of Flood

Not to be outdone, Quebec premier Jean Charest is getting in on the flood recovery thing, promising to call out the army to help repair damage from a flood in the Saguenay region.

If the troops roll in, who foots the bill: Ottawa or Quebec City?

-srbp-

SOL Day 46: Other people's money

The public sector must be the engine of votes.

Danny Williams is promising to reward public sector employees - presumably with hefty pay hikes - after the next election.

It's easy to be generous when you use other people's money.

-srbp-


04 August 2007

SOL: The Saturday morning kiddies edition

Updated: see below

Imagine if by some miracle Kevin Heffernan won the St. John's East Tory nomination and then took the easiest of easy seats into the House of Assembly.

His first comment in caucus would likely be: "Danny, Steve's sitting closer to you than I am" or "Danny, tell Hickey to stop teasing me."

Such is the calibre of current politicians that the best this one can find to talk about is signs. Better Heffernan fixed his political sights on City Hall. Down there this sort of childish nonsense is par for the course.

Heffernan and the Tories are not alone. All over the place there are people who want to be "strong voices". In other words, these are people spouting some mindless cliche they heard from soemone else who spouted a mindless cliche.

The only thing these sorts of candidates do is appreciate the good ones when they come along.

Update: Is this Kevin Heffernan the same guy who spoke to CBC during the winter by-elections?

You'll find this bit toward the end of a story from February 8, 2007:
In Ferryland, where a contentious nomination contest left a bitter taste with some PC members, some Tories are openly supporting the Liberal campaign. The same has been happening in Humber Valley, which the Tories had won in 2003.

Kevin Heffernan, a voter in Ferryland district, said some voters may stay home because of disillusionment over the auditor general's investigations.

"I'm after hearing so much stuff and none of it seems to work,"Heffernan told CBC News. "Who would we put in there that would do any better?"

-srbp-

03 August 2007

SOL Emergency Photo Op Edition: The ersatzkrieg continues


Is Danny Williams pissed because the Prime Minister visited parts of the country devastated by recent flooding or, as this quote suggests, because he didn't co-ordinate a joint trip, that is a trip in which two guys who are supposedly carrying on a blood feud would travel together?
Williams told VOCM radio station in St. John’s that he wasn't notified of the prime minister's visit. "The simple courtesy of at least letting me know that he was coming so suddenly so that something joint could be arranged -- he decided not to do that," Williams said.
It's not like the Prime Minister needs to ask permission to visit any part of Canada and it's not like anyone should be worried about protocol at a time like this. Is it?

So what exactly was the value of calling VOCM, except to get this sort of coverage nationally?

Of course, it is just a phoney war - an ersatzkrieg - in which both sides lob juicy quips at each other from their respective trenches and then cozy up for the joint funding announcements.

Update [1930 hrs]: Perhaps what was up the Premier's nose was the kind of positive coverage a politician can gain - in this case the Prime Minister - from visiting the scene of an emergency and pointing to the financial assistance available.

Like say the CBC news story on Stephen Harper's visit:
"I thought I should come here and see the damage," Harper told reporters. "It's pretty severe in spots, but the town and everybody's on top of getting it fixed."

He told residents to keep their receipts as they prepared to make claims, and said the federal government will assist in the cleanup, which local officials have labelled a disaster.

"As you know, there's a federal program in place for this and a provision for advance payment," said Harper, who toured the community with the area's Conservative MP, Fabian Manning, as well as Loyola Hearn, Newfoundland and Labrador's cabinet representative.

"We just want to be here to assure people, we're here to help."
That's the main reason politicians do these tours, after all: to show up and assure the locals that help is on the way.

Then again, Danny Williams hit the nail on the head when he said pretty much that, as quoted by CBC:
"When people's homes are being washed away, and their lives are being washed away before their very eyes, that's the time that they see their government there to support them."
That's basically what happened.

First, the Premier showed up. Emergency response in these cases is firstly a provincial responsibility

Then a couple of days later, the PM shows up.

And, as Harper told reporters, this time from The Telegram:
Harper told reporters the speed of compensation largely depends on the provincial government.

"The province has to start the work, and then send some of the bills to Ottawa,” Harper said during a brief scrum with reporters.

"There's a provision for advance payment. That can be done fairly quickly if we get the documentation. Sometimes it takes time, because sometimes the documentation doesn’t come. But I hope we'll get on with it quickly."
The real piece of advice the Premier should have taken in this case was to ignore the snub of not being advised Harper was coming to the province and focus on the people whose homes and lives have been "devastated", to use the common word these past few days.

It's Danny Williams' own advice, after all:
"[It] would be nice in situations like this if leaders...can rise above other differences,"
There are a few thousand people in Newfoundland and Labrador right now who likely wish that were true.

-srbp-

26 July 2007

Summer of Love: Of cliches and rip-offs

Things you can expect to see or hear in Summer of Love.

Phrases:

  • "Quite frankly"
  • "[Insert name of organization here] receives government funding"
  • "Lower Churchill"
  • "Energy Plan"
  • "Big Oil"
  • "Energy Powerhouse"
  • "Equity"
  • "Accountability"
  • "Transparency"
  • "Danny Williams team"
Advertising:
  • A Tory television spot that looks suspiciously like this one.
  • Not much of the Love Shack, left, but plenty of the mobile Love Shack marketing gimmick.
-srbp-

Summer of Love Day 30: Carrying on business

Flanked by two Progressive Conservative candidates in Bay Roberts, Premier Danny Williams told reporters on Wednesday that what government has been doing over the past couple of weeks is just government "carrying on business."

The optics were pretty clear about what really happened.

The local Tories were in Bay Roberts for what was described as a caucus meeting, that is a meeting of elected members of the House of Assembly. But, it was really a meeting of Progressive Conservative candidates in the undeclared election campaign. Normally, unelected people, like Tory-come-lately Steve Kent, don't get to sit in a meeting of elected members of the legislature from a particular political party.

It was also fairly clear the Tories were having an election meeting since the Premier arrived in his most obvious visual campaign symbol: the Winnebago, or as it some wags have started to call it in this, the Summer of Love, the mobile Love Shack.

So what has been going on over the past few weeks? Let's look at the numbers of news releases issued by the provincial government for 2004 to 2007. For our purposes, we'll exclude offshore board routine announcements and environmental bulletins since these are routine, statutory announcements. What's left is revealing.

Total News Releases, July, By Year

2004: 93
2005: 91
2006: 76
2007: 98 (to 25 July)

The drop in 2006 can be attributed to disruption caused by the House of Assembly spending scandal which broke in late June.

Media advisories/Notices of ministers attending local festivals. July, By Year

2004: 13/1
2005: 16/0
2006: 28/0
2007: 28/5 (to 25 July)

Money announcements, July, By Year

2004: 37
2005: 22
2006: 10
2007: 37 (to 25 July)

The year of the first Williams budget, money flowed or appeared to flow. The disastrous January 5 announcement of wage freezes affected public opinion and government responded with a series of positive announcements to blunt the fall in popular support. The drop in the polls continued up to October when the Premier's war against Ottawa contributed to a dramatic upturn in voter support.

Note, however, that cash announcement in the 25 days of July 2007 already done are already at the same level of 2004 and they are double those of 2005 and almost quadruple those of 2006.

-srbp-

25 July 2007

SOL Day 29: The Zombies - "Who's your Daddy?"

Tom Rideout may be tripping out, not knowing what day it is but Danny Williams' mobile campaign platform rolled into Bay Roberts today to dispense some direct lovin' on the people of Conception Bay North.

Flanked by two blank-looking Tory candidates - they being unelected at this point - Williams told reporters that having ministers and members of the Tory caucus handing out cheques was just part of the business of government.

Business of government.

Accompanied by two unelected candidates in the election campaign that hasn't been called yet, but everyone knows is under way because Danny arrived in the Winnebago.

Riiiight.

Maybe it's time to unveil the Tories campaign theme song. From the original Summer of Love, 1967, it's the Zombies with their hit "Time of the Season".



Somehow it seems to sum up the entire business.

Now all we have to do is put the appropriate name on Danny's rolling campaign palace, which, incidentally is heading to Twillingate for the annual Fish, Fun and Folk festival.

Yes.

Danny Williams is the Premier, and the announcement came from the government news service but bet your bottom dollar Williams will be travelling in the Winnebago festooned with PC party logos.

You see, it is just the Summer of Love gettin' into full heat!

Who's your Daddy, indeed?

-srbp-