September 22, 2003
As the first week of the provincial election campaign ended, the Progressive Conservatives surged at the polls and achieved a virtual tie with the opposition Liberals. By the end of week two, an Ipsos-Reid poll showed that the Liberals had gained a 14 per cent lead over the governing Tories.
The use of so-called ‘negative attack’ ads by the PCs seemed to dominate the news during Week Two. The main thrust of these ads is that Liberal leader, Dalton McGuinty, "is still not up to the job." As true as that might be, Week Two showed that Ernie Eves may not be up to the job either.
During the second week, an unnamed Tory campaign staffer sent a release out to the media in which McGuinty was described as an "evil, reptilian kitten-eater from another planet." That release, and the Premier’s response to it, say more about Ernie Eves than Dalton McGuinty.
When told about the existence of the release, Eves said, "I’m not apologizing. But I am acknowledging that it certainly went over the top." Eves went on to speculate that whoever wrote it either had too much coffee or too much time on their hands.
Since becoming Premier after the resignation of Mike Harris, Ernie Eves has flip-flopped over several issues, including the privatization of hydro and same sex marriage. But this is the first time Eves has flip-flopped in the same sentence. If he did, in fact feel that the release went "over the top," the decent thing to do would be to apologize for it. A real leader, which Ernie thinks he is, but Dalton isn’t, would have sacked or taken responsibility away from the person who intentionally released such drivel to the media. (Note to Dalton: you like calling for public inquiries; demand an inquiry into whether or not the PC campaign is violating Ontario laws by employing children).
Paul Rhodes, a Tory media flak, used Ernie’s standard "blame the media" and accused the media of not having a sense of humour. Well, I like to think that I have a sense of humour and I don’t get it. If anyone can tell me what’s so funny about the description that was apparently lifted from an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I wish they would email me.
In order for something to be funny, there has to be a grain of truth to it. During the 1999 election campaign, NDP leader Howard Hampton compared Dalton McGuinty to Norman Bates, the somewhat eccentric motel manager in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Hampton was just joking about McGuinty, who does bear a striking resemblance to the movie’s star, the late Tony Perkins (Note to Ernie: Howard apologized).
By failing to apologize for the release, and by failing to take action, Ernie Eves has thrown his own leadership into question. How can he run a province if he can’t control what comes out of his own campaign? And then a second release was sent to the media saying that if McGuinty really wants to do some of the things he intends to do if he’s Premier, he’s in need of professional help. After an outcry accusing the Tories of making fun of the mentally ill and disabled, Paul Rhodes came out, issued an apology, and, in a statement that would make the former Iraqi Information Minister proud, said that "professional help" meant help from an accountant. Sure.
These gratuitous and nonsensical attacks upon McGuinty strengthens the views of those who are likely to punish the Conservatives at the polls because of the negative tone of the campaign. The ads that accuse McGuinty of being against children, because he won’t ban teachers’ strikes, can at least get voters to think about the issues.
Ernie Eves is a Purple Tory. He’s part Red Tory (when he was elected leader, and distanced himself from the Common Sense Revolution) and part Blue Tory (when he had to face the electorate). If he were a real conservative, he would know that words have meaning. The word "evil" as in "evil reptilian kitten-eater" means something. Osama bin Laden is evil. Saddam Hussein is evil. Dalton McGuinty is not. Despite whatever shortcomings Dalton has when it comes to leading the province of Ontario, he’s basically a decent guy who thinks that his policies will make Ontario a better place.
By taking no action against the release, Eves allowed the release to remain in the public domain longer than it would have if he had apologized and moved on. Some Liberals now sport t-shirts that read, "I may be an evil reptilian kitten-eater, but I care about education" --a constant reminder of what a classless act the Tory leader is. The best line came from Liberal strategist, Warren Kinsella, who quipped that at least the kitten meat has been inspected.
Dalton McGuinty--he’s still not up to the job.
Ernie Eves--he’s not up to the job either.