The
Leaders had a debate on Thursday. I
copied a transcript (courtesy of http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/tale-of-the-tape-transcript-of-the-globe-debate-on-the-economy/)
into Word so I could do highlighting, word-finds etc and study it.
The Word file if you want to try the same thing is at https://archive.org/details/LeadersDebateSept182015TranscriptPerMacLeans
It was quickly obvious that each candidate
had mantras to be repeated more or less frequently.
I think this is usual in all such presentations. There would be plenty to learn from seeing
them in an organized heap so I copied them into a spreadsheet with a column
for each of the speakers so I could present them here separately.
The criterion of selection was
nothing more than that an item should have a certain quality to it. It’s hard to define exactly what that quality
is. Incantatory repetition is part of it,
also a certain air of being intended to paralyze the mind and numb the senses, lastly each nugget should bear a disconnection with objective reality, a
saying-nothing about the world. They are
statements that don’t have to be either true or significant in order to
work. For example, Mr. Harper comes back
again and again to what a risky and unstable world economy we’re living in
but that is a vacuous statement. Any
unplanned free economy would always be unstable and appear on the brink of
collapse. That’s what happens when
people are free to spend their money as they like, innit?
I’m going to do another post about the BS
items. Just pointing out that the
current list will have some overlap with it.
I will not impose any more comments on the
material, except to note that Stephen Harper not once but twice says ‘Let me
just correct the facts.’ This gives me a picture of being back in school with Mr. Harper as the teacher with a
ruler in his hand and a bunch of misbehaving Facts standing in line with their
hands extended, waiting for correction.
If any that I missed are posted in the comments I'll revise accordingly and credit the discoverer.
If any that I missed are posted in the comments I'll revise accordingly and credit the discoverer.
Nuggets from Justin Trudeau
- Mr. Harper has not only the worst growth record on jobs -
the worst job creation record since World War II; he has the worst record on
economic growth since the Great Depression
- He has the worst job creation rate since World War II, he
has the worst growth rate of any Prime Minister since the Great Depression
- That's not what Mr. Harper has delivered. He has the worst
record on growth since R.B. Bennett in the depths of the Great Depression
- Mr. Harper talks about growth but he hasn't been able to
get it done for ten years. He has the worst growth record in 80 years of any
Prime Minister.
- What we need - because Mr. Harper has been unable to
deliver it, having the worst growth record of any Prime Minister since the
depths of the Great Depression - is a plan to grow the economy.
- We have low growth, you have the worst job creation record
since World War II of any Prime Minister, and that's what Canadians are
feeling.
and from Thomas Mulcair
- Mr. Harper put all of his eggs into one basket, and then he dropped the basket. Four hundred thousand well-paid manufacturing jobs lost on his watch
- Mr. Harper put all of his eggs into one basket, and then he dropped the basket. Four hundred thousand well-paid manufacturing jobs lost on his watch
-
Mr. Trudeau is proposing to dump tens of billions of dollars in new debt on the
backs of future generations
- We want to drop the taxes of Canada's small and
medium-sized businesses because they create 80 percent of new jobs in this
country
-
Mr. Harper has dropped the taxes of Canada's largest corporations by tens of
billions of dollars. If that was such a good idea to create jobs, how come we
lost 400,000 well-paid manufacturing jobs?
- I'm tired of watching successive Liberal and Conservative
governments dump these massive ecological, economic, and social debts on the
backs of future generations
- Stop leaving this massive ecological debt to - on the
backs of future generations
- the old Liberal approach of leaving tens of billions of
dollars in debt on the backs of future generation(s).
- We've lost 400,000 well-paid manufacturing jobs on Mr.
Harper's watch.
- our small and medium sized businesses create 80 percent of
the new jobs in this country
- I come from a family of ten kids.
- I don't want to do like Mr. Trudeau, leave a massive debt
on the backs of future generations
- It's something that reflects exactly how I've been as a
public administrator. I've been in public life for over 35 years.
- We don't want to leave more billions on the backs of
future generations.
- With their short-term approach, leaving tens of billions
of dollars on the backs of future generations.
- I do come from a very large family and times sometimes
were tough, but I've seen what it is when people work together and they hold
together.
- I come out of provincial politics. I know that it's part of my job, if I become
Prime Minister, to sit down regularly with the provincial Premiers
- When I was the Minister in Quebec, Mr. Walmsley, I lowered
greenhouse gas production in our province every year
- I used to be chair of the Quebec Professions Board. I've
got a lot of experience on this.
and from Stephen Harper
- We are living in a very challenged global economy. We have
enormous economic instability out there
- Living in a very unstable global economic environment
- We're in a fragile global economy
- You know, we heard the same, old story from the NDP on
this.
- In their platform yesterday, they put in a bunch of tax
increases
- This is the same story we had in Alberta when the NDP came
to office
- Move the energy sector or the Canadian economy
forward ... in a challenged global economy
- Running a deficit is not the kind of protection our
economy needs right now. We're in an unstable global economy
- Is the same, old NDP playbook. We saw it in British
Columbia, we saw it in Ontario, we're seeing it in Alberta.
- The reality of the NDP plan wherever
it has been tried. And when we are in a fragile...
- The same story we had in Alberta when
the NDP came to office.
- Let me just correct the facts.
- Around the world where there have been all of these
financial and other crashes
- How do we in this unstable global economy continue to
protect that going forward?
- The
kind of reckless approach that these two parties...
- Tax increases on ordinary Canadian families who pay low
taxes, or permanent deficits. These are risks we cannot afford and they're not
good for homeowners.
- Seen this NDP playbook everywhere.
- That's what we had with the NDP in power in Ontario.
That's what we had with the NDP in power in British Columbia, and we're seeing
exactly the same story here in Alberta
- In an unstable global economy we have ...
- Look, the, the whole essence of Mr. Mulcair's plan is that
he says he will balance the budget through tax hikes. That's what the NDP's
tried everywhere. They left Ontario in a massive deficit, they left British
Columbia...
- Manitoba is in a massive deficit. Alberta's deficit got
larger since they took office. The former Saskatchewan Auditor General says
they left Saskatchewan in a deficit
- In this unstable global economy, that is an
important guarantee.
-
Not a risk you or ... our economy in this fragile ... economic
environment...
-
Let me correct the facts.
- Why would we return to deficits now when we have an
unstable global economy
- A terribly unstable
and risky global economy.
- Seven years in a row with
nothing but economic crises around the world.
- This fragile global economy.
- Significant risks and significant challenges.
