The View from Under the Bus

In political parlance, one is "thrown under the bus" when they take on, either on a volunteer or voluntold basis, responsibility for a mistake or miscalculation of a campaign. I think given the events of the last couple of days, it's pretty clear that Michael Sona is being thrown under the bus as the robo-call controversy from last May's Federal Election has erupted with new vigour.

Obviously, I'm no fan of Sona's. He was one of the prime architects of the Marty Burke campaign's deflect-a-thon as the Conservative candidate's Communication Manager here in Guelph. Sona was one of a number (seven being the number I was told) of CPC operatives from Ottawa HQ parachuted onto the Burke campaign to help seal this riding's deal for Harper. For Sona and his associates though, the election in Guelph was fait not accompli as their strategy of minimal public engagement outside of campaign events and door-knocking only severed to separate Burke from the electorate he was trying to court.

But I don't want to re-live the campaign. My comments on it stand, and I know others see the campaign differently believing that media members believing themselves ignored and marginalized are either media elitists upset by the snub, or perceived as too liberal to be dealt with reasonably. I think though that everyone can agree that the optics at the special ballot on the University of Guelph campus didn't look good for Sona. The accusation that he caused a ruckus, shouting about the legality of the poll before making a motion to grab the ballot box, made him a national headline; a notoriously active member of the party at best, a Rovian in training at worst.

Waiting for Paul Dewar

It was an offer I couldn't refuse. NDP leadership candidate Paul Dewar was making a stop at the Brass Taps in the University Centre at the University of Guelph. I assumed that this would be a hot ticket, not as an indication of the popularity of Dewar as future leader of the Official Opposition, but because Guelph, as a political animal, usually loves this kind of attention.

Or at least, I thought it did. 

Rolling With the Big Boys Now

When I was talking to Communist Party leader Elizabeth Rowley yesterday, she said that now, 20 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, it seems that Communists are having an easier time of it out on the trail, promoting their agenda, and even planting signs in people's yards. Here in Guelph, while I haven't seen any Communist signs in people's yards, they are up at heavily trafficked corners of town. They're kind of nondescript, and they don't have Drew Garvie's name on them, but it is interesting to see. These pics are from the corner of Norfolk and Waterloo.

Craigslist Candidates

The online classifieds site Craigslist has been rather reviled recently for its "Adult" section and the services of varying degrees of ickiness that have been offered there, but can Craigslist be a homebase for grassroots politics? Somebody seems to think so.

While job searching the other day I came across an item in both the Guelph and Kitchener/Waterloo Craigslist. The subject line said "Member of Parliament candidate," and when you clicked on it, the post read:

"We are looking for good people.

This is a new party with a very different and far more democratic ideal.

Before replying please take a look at http://www.pppoc.ca and learn what we are all about. If interested please reply from there."

It got me interested anyway. This is certainly a new approach to recruitment.

The name of the group that placed the ad is The Participatory Politicians Party of Canada (or PPPOC), and the goal, as outlined by party founder Richard Hirtle (The Ricky McMountain's Buyer's Guide), is to take back the political process from scheming, ambitious politicians and give it back to the people and get them more involved in the democratic process. "Our politicians are acting very badly," he says on the PPPOC website. "We have politicians and political parties who routinely mislead to get elected, hide facts and cater to special interest groups. They don't listen, they make back-room deals and give beyond logic explanations."

If you read through the website, you can see that Hirtle's but a lot of thought into his party's philosophy and believes passionately in what he's saying. I'm not sure Craigslist is the place to go to find candidate material, but I wish him luck in the endeavour.