The scorched earth policy of Paul Martin

With the Liberal campaign seemingly collapsing upon itself, the last two weeks of the campaign stand to be the most negative that Canadians have seen in the almost 139 year history of the Confederation. And that certainly carries a lot of negative territory over the years.

The Liberals launched their salvo of ads today, featuring numerous scary visions of a possible Stephen Harper government. Haper hates Atlantic Canada, Harper loves right wing Americans, US money is flooding into the Conservative coffers, Canadian soldiers with guns in Canadian streets (oops even that one was to unbelievable for the Liberals) nothing was left to chance with the blitz prepared by the Liberals.

Some of the ads featured a teeny weenie little disclaimer, described by the Toronto Star ( a long time Liberal paper) as similar to a Hitler moustache over Harper’s lip, something that to even to this veteran follower of the political wars seems a bit over the top.

It’s a sign of the desperation of the Liberal campaign that they have gone nuclear negative. With a Toronto Star (remember its a Liberal paper) poll showing the Conservatives leading almost into the double digits now and even making inroads in fortress Quebec, the end seems nigh for the natural Governing party.

Perhaps the only thing left is to try and scare enough of the parking vote back into the Liberal camp, to at least keep the option of a Conservative minority government alive. It doesn’t seem to be much of a coincidence that the rumblings of a Conservative majority government have suddenly become louder over the last number of days.

Realizing that they may have not only lost their minority government status but stand close to the precipice of the Conservatives taking power in a majority situation, the ads will try to frighten the dissatisfied Liberals from straying to far to the right. Park your vote with the NDP at your peril is the whispered warnings, keeping your vote with a Conservative candidate in the hopes for a minority Tory gov’t may not be the gamble you want to take is the veiled threat now. It worked last time, but one wonders if it will work once again.

Scott Reid the beer and popcorn guy of the campaign and the Prime Ministers communication director put his own bit of spin on the ads. Suggesting that the ads are not negative (apparently when viewed through a pair of rose coloured Liberal glasses), but since they are using Mr. Harper’s own words over the years; then surely Harper must be negative. It’s a wonderful bit of wordplay, also a bit of theatre that defines the state of politics in Canada these days.

The Prime Minister has surely signed off on the ads, putting himself entirely in the hands of the spin masters and practitioners of the dark ops side of the political agenda. It’s kind of interesting in a way, for a party that constantly decries the Americanization of the political process; they seem to be following the lead of the worst examples that American Politics has had to offer.

There’s apparently no civility left in this debate, one which has been bereft of leadership in the Liberal camp (not just the PM either), constructive ideals have been left behind in the mad rush to demonize the Conservatives and their leader.

It used to be in Politics that all parties would put forward their vision for the country under their guidance, a template of success and where the nation would go. Now in far too many instances it’s more akin to recounting a nightmare ahead under the stewardship of the other guys, leaving the voter with precious little information, but a nice little migraine for their troubles.

It may be that the negative attacks will serve their purpose and scare Canadians away from the bogeyman that Harper has been painted as. But then again, perhaps Canadians will just turn on the light and see what the next day brings.