Liberal Implosion underway?

Did anyone outside the bubble believe the Liberals were going to fix their brand in thirty six days with heavy adverstisement and fluffing from the friendly media? Canadians are much smarter than some media give credit. The media spinners might believe they can still shape public opinion with flogging silly issues. From climategate to wafer gate our media has not realized how far they have fallen into disrepute for not protecting the perception of their own bias and credibility. The Social media explosion has changed the landscape at home and over seas.

Short of a game-changer between now and May 2, Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals will take a beating in Quebec next month. -Chantal Hébert

The Ignatieff campaign reminds me of the Martin campaign in 2006. The invisible platform with incoherent messaging and the inability to stay on track.  Will the media provide analysis on why the Liberals failed to close the gap in the last few weeks?

“People love to talk about strategies. But frankly, at the end of the day, logistics are at least as important, if not more important. There’s an old saying that amateurs talk about strategy and professionals talk about logistics… After the fact people go back and point to their own genius, or something that put it over the top, but as a matter of fact it’s a whole lotta luck.” (Party campaign manager) -Alex Marland, POLITICALMARKETING IN MODERN CANADIAN FEDERAL ELECTIONS

More striking than this continuity in personnel was the continuity, a.k.a. immobility, in the Board’s thinking and attitudes. Its practice had been consistently to hype expectations about the leader’s performance, “Making History” being the prototypically inflated title they had given Martin’s all things-to-all-people acceptance speech at his leadership convention victory two years before. Having ousted Chrétien and ostracized rivals by the time Martin took power in Ottawa, the Board had proceeded to deepen divisions and alienate other Liberals rather than heal wounds and bring together the party’s different camps. –Stephen Clarkson, How the Big Red Machine Became the Little RedMachine

Key Liberals absent in 2011, are some just attending staged publicity events as they did in Dion Green Shift campaign in 2008?

Does it makes sense to bring out CBC labelled Liberal “heavy hitters”, “all-stars” like Jean Chretien and Paul Martin in the last half of the campaign? Some of us think this illustrates the tone-deafness of the media and Liberal party who still view these two men as assets vs. liabilities. Chretien never faced the united right centre party that exist today. The NDP traditional campaign messaging was not resonating with their base. Martin did repeat the Chretien strategy on the pulling the plug in May giving the Conservatives very little time to adjust after their conference selecting Stephen Harper as their leader in December.

The Conservative Party political organization’s strength was evident last week. They were able to provide a casual link from research within 48 hours of an internet Face book picture with of a guest that might pose a risk of a staged publicity event during the campaign. The media and opposition parties tried to run with it and create another issue. It failed. The Conservative party messaging has been consistent with 2008.   The other  parties have not been able to match the speed and sophistication at which the Conservatives have developed their intelligence gathering capabilities.

How will this affect the ground game the advance polls and Election Day?

Liberal Party of Canada: WKRP In Cincinnati

American Sitcom:  Promotions Publicity Lessons for Liberals

As 2010 comes to a close it would be safe to conclude the recruiting of Michael Ignatieff from the United States  to succeed Paul Martin as PM, canceling a leadership contest for May 2009 was as successful as the WKRP In Cincinnati - Thanksgiving promotion. The American sitcom ran from 1978-1982.  In this episode ART "Big Guy" Carlson the owner of the radio station was instrumental in planning this promotion. It was called Turkey's Away.  Enjoy!

Mr. Ignatieff has also changed since entering public office. He's more relaxed, less inclined to play the visiting professor talking down to a nation of dull-witted students. But he's got some tough selling to do. For one thing, the "big broad tent" of Liberalism has been reduced to the city of Toronto and a few outposts in Vancouver and Montreal. Liberals still claim to be a national party but have a tough time proving it. Their one-time dominance of Quebec is long gone, meaning they actually have to compete seriously in other parts of the country. Even Toronto, its final stronghold, appears under threat by a suburban revolt represented by the florid new mayor, Rob Ford, who thinks "average Canadian" means Don Cherry.

Mr. Ignatieff also has an argument with a hole in it. If the Liberal agenda is in such great demand, why does he have to sell it so hard? If Canadians are so fervently demanding an alternative, how come the polls after five years of Tory government are almost exactly where they were at the start? It suggests the diagnosis may be correct, but the remedy is faulty. Canadians may indeed want something different, but the Liberals evidently aren't it.

Mr. Ignatieff is preaching "investment" in social programs at a time Canadians show every sign of being tapped out. Again and again in his own year-end CTV interview, Mr. Harper identified the economy as the overriding issue, and reminded Canadians they've done pretty well under Tory stewardship.-Kelly McParland

"It just shows the strength of the Tory positioning because they're seen as the best on the biggest issue," he said. "The Liberals haven't found an issue, but the Tories have a 20 to 25 per cent advantage on just about every economic question you want to ask."-Darrel Bricker Ispos Ried

HMS Pinafore:  When I was a lad & Ruler of the Queen's Navee

H/T Nicola Timmerman on Ignatieff

Liberals: Voters Are Just Not Into You.

The demise and downward trend has been since 2001. General Election Results ONLY. Perhaps the Liberal fortunes are tied to the Global Warming Scheme Kyoto to implement a Cap & Trade Wealth Transfer agreement, Carbon Tax Agenda by socialists.

 

Martin, Dion, and Michael Ignatieff all have followed the trend of weakening the Liberal Brand outside Toronto. Both Harper and Layton increased their numbers of seats since becoming leaders of their party.

The Liberals mishandled many key issues: the Nuclear Industry, Isotopes (Maple Reactors), Detainee Policy, EI Surplus and Social Contract (Equalization Transfers) when they took office. Canadian voters continue to abandon the Liberal Party for other political parties.

The thirteen dark years of Liberals ended in 2006, a new period with a right of centre party firmly in control.