Say what you will about our beloved Prime Minister, he is a consummate politician.
Case in point is his electing [oops] appointing the last Stanley Cup winning coach for the Montreal Canadiens, Jacques Demers, to the Senate earlier this year.
Let's be realistic this is a country that is heavily focused on one thing: hockey. If one is a sports fan in Canada one is probably a hockey fan. Double that for La Belle; hockey is number one in Quebec and there truly is no number two.
That said, Stephen Harper appointing Stanley Cup ring owner Jacques Demers to the Senate was a brilliant move. Not that Mr. Demers needs the cash [un like another moist and newly christened Senator, Mr. Demers has a few other irons in the fire, most notably a gig as a colour guy on RDS' Montreal Canadiens telecasts, a gig that I would presume pays more than the pittance he gets as a Senator] it is the fact that every time the Senator's mug is on TV or in the papers or on radio it increases the awareness of the Conservative brand.
This weekend was a test run of sorts for Mr. Demers. When brought into the fold he vowed not to indulge in partisan politics for the Tories; that has all changed. The Journal de Québec reports that the Senator has been called up from Ottawa to lend a hand to the Conservative candidate Bernard Généreux in today's federal by-election in the Lower North Shore riding of Montmagny-L'Islet-Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup. What they have the last winner of the Cup for Les Glorieux doing is phone blasts.
The Montreal Gazette says that the blasts, in French, translate this way:
"This election will be very close and each vote counts. As a coach, when things mattered I preferred to have my best players on the ice and not in the bleachers. "In voting for Bernard, you are giving yourselves the power to act."
The deal is that the riding is a long held Bloc seat but the Tories see the winds shifting and are selling themselves as the only voice in Parliament, what with being in power and all, that can affect change in that part of Quebec.
That Stephen Harper, sharp guy, eh?
WFDS
Well consider the alternative strategy of the Liberals and Iggy. They simply gave up.There was no attempt to stop the bleeding.
ReplyDeleteGees Dan, don't you love a PM who lies to Canadians and have a senator who knows nothing about politics? So much for an elected Senate, regardless of the BS excuse they use.I still wonder how people will vote for a PM who has LIED to the people to whom he is supposed to represent!! Defies all logic!!
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