Stories by Gerry Nicholls
Political advocacy via hashtag is only tweeting to the choir
True political advocacy should try to persuade the general public as to the rightness of a cause, not just whip up moral outrage among one’s base.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer are sometimes afraid of things they shouldn’t fear, which is leading them to make hasty, ill-advised decisions.
Liberals will likely whip up fear about what U.S. President Donald Trump is doing in America. In short, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer will become Trumpenstein.
Pondering the idea that Stephen Harper is furtively scheming to take on Trudeau in an electoral re-match, is about as fun as it gets.
Keep in mind the ‘ballot question’ a NAFTA election would inevitably create lots of new possible political outcomes that are anything but easy or simple to predict.
Let’s quit Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, cold turkey-style. It sounds crazy, but if we all kicked our social media addiction, at least for a few months, I believe it would do wonders for our nation’s collective psyche.
If I had to choose a leader who won the first six months of the year, I’d have to say, Andrew Scheer, if only by default. So will the fortunes of our political leaders shift? Ask me that in a few months.
The ability of political parties to pragmatically compromise from time to time, helps to make democracy work. And surely even idealists and ideologues and activists can see that as a good thing.Author
Mind you, a politician having enemies is not necessarily a bad thing; Trudeau’s tiff with Trump, for instance, will certainly work to his political advantage. Making enemies in ways that can harm your economy is risky.
Justin Trudeau has to take a tough trade stance against Donald Trump. And that’s exactly what he’s doing; Trudeau, the free trader, has announced protectionist countecounter-measures against America.The reality of politics today is that whatever you’ve stated on blogs or on Facebook or on Twitter in the past can and will be used against you in the present.
Even though he’s heading up Canada’s main opposition party, and even though he’s potentially our next prime minister, Andrew Scheer seems to be getting less media coverage than his predecessor, Stephen Harper.
If the skills of persuasion are falling by the wayside, that’s bad for democracy. So maybe it’d a good idea if somebody persuaded our politicians to be better persuaders.
Conservatives can stop being bystanders and start being proactive, which is how, by the way, a political party can gain real momentum.
Bashing Ottawa is almost a political necessity in Alberta, especially if Albertans think the federal government is hindering oil exports.
Pundits and journalists in this country should acknowledge how wrong they were to constantly castigate Harper during his term in office for his use of 'negative' tactics. And castigate him they did.
Kathleen Wynne and Justin Trudeau need to take the populist threat seriously, because it’s real.
The problem with Trudeauology, is that its inherent philosophic shallowness makes it ill-equipped to combat an ideologically determined foe, like John Horgan, writes Gerry Nicholls.
There’s way too much partisan punditry on Canada’s public affairs TV programs and too many on air pundits basically regurgitate unadorned party talking points. And I'm a TV pundit.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s one-time strategy of getting everyone one to like him, has gradually morphed into a strategy of getting the right people to hate him.
What new NDP leader Jagmeet Singh should have done was address this controversy in a way that’s both positive and apologetic.
As part of its efforts to squash 'foreign voices,' the federal government might also squash Canadian voices. Home-grown Canadian organizations, with Canadian goals and Canadian agendas, may be also be silenced. And that would be wrong.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has got to play a smarter game, meaning he must rely less on his raw personal charm and more on a professional communication strategy. And to do that he needs better staff support.
Andrew Scheer is hoping he can take 'fiscally-conservative' Liberals, who might be disillusioned with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s left-wing economic policies, and convert them to be fiscally-conservative Conservatives.
When it comes to fiscal policies, Justin 'The Budget Will Balance Itself' Trudeau needs all the credibility he can get.
The lesson here for politicians is, it’s okay to be smart, as long as it’s the right kind of smart.
Canadian voters wanted change. So what explains this strong desire for change? The answer, I think, is that as a society we’re growing disillusioned with government. And what’s causing this disillusionment is we expect government to fix everything.
It’s simple: if the leftists in Trudeau’s camp become too disillusioned, they could migrate to the NDP or to the Greens, or most likely, they could stay home on election day.
Jagmeet Singh’s 'proposal' photo-op gimmick, generated more positive coverage for him than anything else he’s done since becoming NDP leader. Hence, don’t be surprised if the NDP continues to promote Singh as a celebrity and don’t be surprised if we see more Justin Trudeau town hall meetings.
The Conservatives hope that when voters are fed up with Liberal arrogance, or with Liberal mismanagement or with Liberal scandals, they will turn by default to the Conservatives, an unexciting, yet non-threatening alternative, with a reputation for fiscal competence and for promoting law and order.
Nowadays you’re basically compelled to micro-target your message. That means, for example, you have figure out what demographic you’re trying to reach and then you must figure out which media is the best way to reach that demographic.Politics This Morning
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