Conservative Party's desperate spin and inflamed rhetoric

A lot of you know that I spend most of my days working on US politics in the areas of climate change and energy policy.

In the US political-sphere, claims of communist plots, nazi propaganda and socialism are sadly all too familiar. In Canada we rarely see such inflamed political hubris and thank goodness for that.

Creating fear and hate through the use of overstated PR spin and rhetoric is something that President-elect Barack Obama avoided and many times fought against in the recent US election. Many would say it was Obama's unwillingness to "go there" that won him the presidency.

Unfortunately, Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party are taking over from where Obama refused to go and their most recent press release is filled with the kind of divisive language and fear-mongering that even Americans find unappealing.

Here's some of the more choice quotes:

Jack Layton and the NDP who once again peddled and outdated socialist ideology..."

"The socialist NDP..."

"...they [the BQ] continue to destroy Canada."

"... a massive new carbon tax that would strangle Canada’s economy."

"... an illegitimate regime without any mandate to govern."

And from a recent letter to supporters:

"the Liberals want to seize power with only an endorsement from only the socialists and the separatists."

I know things are heated. But this type of talk only leads to hate.