Prominent features of today's electoral politics is the use of attack ads. We all know they distort the truth by taking statements and events out of context. But rarely does anybody actually follow up on the quoted statements to see how badly out of context they are.
This National Post article does a great job in showing just how badly this was done by a recent Conservative Party attack ad. The original statement made by Liberal Party President Alfred Apps on CBC's Evan Solomon's Power and Politics follows:
"Michael Ignatieff has been absolutely clear. There will be no additional taxes — iPod taxes, any taxes — on families. And what’s really interesting here, Evan, is the Tories are now having to face up to the fact that their corporate tax cut, at a time when Canadian families are squeezed, is actually giving us a platform. We are funding this by putting corporate taxes where they were, so that Canadian middle class families can actually get some help for pensions, for health care, for home care, for getting their kids to school. When Tories say we’re increasing taxes, damn right we are. We’re putting corporate taxes back up to where they were a year and a half ago. But that’s it. Families are getting the benefit."
And this is the Attack advertisement that resulted from it:
Once again, I wish Canadian politicians would listen to the sage Tim Hortons-esque advice of Rex Murphy.
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