You know what makes me cranky? Finding political junk mail in my mailbox. It’s a blatant abuse of power and taxpayers’ money.
I’m talking about those insidious campaign ads the Conservative Party (aka the Reform Party) is mailing out. I think I’ve received four of them so far. They’ve all come from that creepy John Baird, who isn’t even my MP. I blogged about this one back in March.
A week or so ago I got one called “CANADA’S BACK.” It says, among other things, “Canada has once again reclaimed its role as the True North, Strong and Free. After more than a decade of Liberal government rule, Canada’s reputation abroad floundered and even our capacity to patrol our own borders was significantly diminished,” followed by a bunch of blah blah blah Vote for Stephen Harper.
Yesterday I got another one, called “LOWER TAXES FOR SENIORS.” It says, among other things, “Tax relief….certainly matters to Canada’s seniors, who are on a fixed income and need to make every penny count,” followed by a bunch of blah blah blah Vote for Stephen Harper.
I’ve got nothing against seniors, but why should taxation be based on age groups?? Plenty of seniors are not “on a fixed income” and don’t need to “make every penny count.” Some of them are stinkin’ rich and don’t need subsidization. If taxation is based on income and wealth, seniors who need extra help will get it and those who don’t, won’t. That’s fair and reasonable, isn’t it?
But my point really isn’t to argue about the messages conveyed by these dumb, over-simplified ads (although the ads they’re blanketing Vancouver with are unconscionable). My point is that the Conservatives have no right to be sending these things out in the first place. They’re using OUR money to pay for their election campaign. All of these ads contain graphics of ballots with the four party leaders listed on them. They are clearly election ads. It’s illegal, and rightly so.
Anyway, I was very cranky about finding yet another one of these things in my mailbox yesterday, but I was pleased to see that both Saskboy and Wandering Coyote had something to say about them. So did McLeans Magazine. And there’s a Facebook group too.
TAGS:
My favourite not-my-MP MP Cheryl Gallant has been filling my mail box with these bloody things for weeks now. Two today alone – Lower Taxes for Seniors and Ending House Arrest for “thugs, drug dealers and sexual offenders”.
Lower taxes for seniors is pretty rich coming from the fiscally challenged clods who killed income trusts, which has damaged the incomes of seniors far more than can ever be offset by a GST cut. And ending house arrest? Well I’ve never met a Reformer who doesn’t want mor eand bigger jails, so I guess this is just one more way to fill them.
I just wish there was a way to bundle all these up and drop them on Ms. Gallant’s coifed head from a great height!
I’m at my wit’s end about this issue, because I am totally being bombarded.
Here is Garth Turner’s latest on it:
http://www.garth.ca/weblog/2008/08/21/incoming-2/
Thanks for blogging about this!
The ones about daycare made me so angry I actually knocked my mailbox off my wall. I sent one back saying I wanted them to take away my theoretical $100 a month and put the money towards a universal child care system. Never heard back!
Another thing very annoying about the latest about the military is that it implies our troops are “protecting us” by fighting “over there”.
Raising awareness of the underhanded, self-serving dealings of the Conservative party in time for the next election could make these flyers the best thing that ever happened