The late Keith Davey explained it that the point of the Truth Squad that got a great deal of media coverage in the 1963 election campaign was not to correct the meanderings of the creative mind of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. The point was to show that there was a serious gap between what he said and the facts. The media ate it up and the point was made. Niagara Falls lawyer Judy LaMarsh only had to show up at three of Mr. Diefenbaker’s stump speeches during the campaign and her career was made.
You have to admit that the creation of the Truth Squad was a far better solution to political hyperbole than the current lawsuit pressed by Premier Kathleen Wynne against Opposition Leader Tim Hudak. While the point has been made by Ms. Wynne, there is little contrition or truth on the subject coming from Mr. Hudak.
In an era of libel chill and spurious litigation, we need more creative solutions such as the Truth Squad. In a recent brush, for example, with a blogger who likes to use libel chill, Babel-on-the-Bay had some fun and gained a bunch of new readers from the threats. After many years of writing political brochures, there is no question that we understand the use of fair comment. The only problem with writing what people thought was an apology was that it was hard to stop laughing.
And that is what Premier Wynne needs. This woman has to stop looking like some dried up old granny ready for her rocker and get a life. She desperately needs to be seen having some fun. She needs to learn the art of the political quip—the short, one-liner that can even make our media savants look amused.
Nothing will drive your political opponents crazier than making good fun of them. How can voters support somebody at whom they have been laughing?
And, as for Timmy Hudak, he has gone too far. He has failed to bring the public with him to his conclusions. There is no corpse. There is no smoking gun. As the police officer told the legislative committee, in a long career in law enforcement, he has never had to give evidence in a trial before anyone has been charged. Timmy is no lawyer. He is not much of an opposition leader either.
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Copyright 2014 © Peter Lowry
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