Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Friday, March 09, 2012

Robocalls spin unsettling

The federal Conservatives are sending troubling messages to the public in their communications on the robocalls file.

The government’s recent comments in the House of Commons on this subject suggest it doesn’t regard this seriously enough.

The government has adopted a spin position that this issue is only a partisan “smear campaign.”

It has also rolled out a variety of different attack-responses on this subject. Among those have been assertions that the robocalls might have been a result of Elections Canada errors or of Liberals phoning their own supporters to harass them. It has also made these while stating both that the Conservative Party of Canada is conducting an internal investigation into the robocalling and that it is not investigating this matter. And it should not be forgotten that the party has also floated the idea that this episode might be the work of a “rogue” operative of the party.

The government is under fire about this matter. But it does itself no political favours and it undermines public confidence in it by offering ever-changing, seemingly evidence-free allegations about alternative theories of culpability for the robocalls that are only consistent in that they suggest the Conservative party is not guilty in this affair. It also sends an unsettling message by characterizing this as a smear campaign as opposed to a terrifically troubling unresolved attack on Canada’s electoral process.

People are rallying about this matter across Canada because they regard it as illegal voter suppression and an attack on our democratic system.

The federal Conservatives’ seem not to share that sentiment.

If they did, they would communicate clearly and consistently that they see this matter as one of national importance, that they will support the Elections Canada and RCMP probes in any manner those agencies deem necessary, and that they look forward to these investigations uncovering who was responsible for the robocalls.

Original Article
Source: guelph mercury
Author: editorial

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