bats

We on BE know that Harper meant Cradles here are some suggestions from Buzzfeed.



http://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverm...ian#.po8lnqy78

Former Lancastrian

I wonder how many of the replies were made by this new stock of inventive Canadians that featured in last night debate.
There again rather than spending their time on buzzfeed and doing these they could be researching cures for cancer or what road surfaces don't crack and heave in minus 40C temps or brewing a better coffee for sale at Tim Hortons.
We Canadians can be very inventive on websites but sort of meh for job creation not reliant on resources and energy.

Some are pretty funny though.

scrubbedexpat091

Leave it to Harper to create a new term... Maybe he has hired Donald for some advice on what not to say and accidentally put a what not to say into his response.

Shard

Mi'kmaq elder calls Harper's 'old stock Canadians' offensive and racist - Home | As It Happens | CBC Radio

Oh, the irony.

JonboyE

Classic Lynton Crosby.

We all know what Harper meant and I am sure the clumsy way he used the phrase and all the subsequent "clarifications" were quite deliberate.

In a close three way tie the winner will be the party that gets its vote out. The recent BC election was a case where the opposition was way ahead in the polls but the government won in a landslide. Quite simply, most of the people who said they would support the opposition didn't vote and most who said they would support the government did.

In recent general elections there has been quite a low turnout. Those that do vote tend to be middle aged or old white people. They tend to be the core of conservative support. I guess the Conservative campaign is not that unhappy. Even though they are third place in national polls their private polls, of people who will actually get off their behinds and vote, will be quite encouraging. Their biggest fear is not that their supporters will vote Liberal or NDP but that their supporters will not vote.

This is where Crosby has been so successful in the past. He recognizes that the decision of who to vote for, or even whether or not to vote, is an emotional decision not a reasoned one. The parties can discuss economic or foreign policy until they are blue in the face. Most people do not understand or even care. People vote for politicians who reflect their values.

The Conservatives are now running on a "we'll protect you from the darkies" platform. Of course, they can't say that and their supporters will swear blind there isn't a racist bone in their body (and most will sincerely believe that) but this isn't about reasoned thinking. It is playing to unspoken base fears. It gives the wavering Tory a reason to go and vote even if they are fed up with explicit government policy. And it is very, very effective.

Steve_

It's in the Canadian OED.

caretaker

I thought of the beer first. CBC news on the interweb had a good piece on this today.

dbd33

Hasn't that always been the crux of Harper's pitch?

He's not keen on non-white, non-Protestant, non-straight portion of the population. He's not my kind of chap but it's not our country and if the Canadians want to elect the likes of that we have the choice to move somewhere else.

JamesM

I hear the Euro's have gone soft on refugees!

colchar

He didn't create the term - Justin used it a couple of years ago and Stephane Dion used it before him.

Oink

I suppose when you're co-opted someone else's country, you probably want to invent terms that help temper the shame and the guilt. I'm sure the white South Africans, Kiwi's and Aussies have similar terms to create a sense of legitimacy and belonging.