The Green Party is telling voters it’s time for Canadians to end their love affair

with the Conservatives and tell that boyfriend, Stephen, to hit the road.
Following on the heels of their anti-attack ad campaign, relying mainly on YouTu
be, the Greens released the Slam Poetry offerings of twenty-something Winona Lin
n. As with the attack ads, the Slam Poetry musings and railings are designed to
get young voters engaged in the election.
This is an uphill fight since Canadians of all ages seem pretty well indifferent
to the campaign in progress. In fact, polls and streeter interviews indicate ou
r good citizens don’t understand the need for an election at all. “Unnecessary” seems
to be the mantra, encouraged by Tory messaging and resonating with voters, unfor
tunately.
For those who are paying attention to the issues, the Harper government’s contempt
of Parliament for example, Linn’s lyricism is a refreshing alternative to the usu
al political rhetoric.
Linn tells us the government is treating her like a bad lover. “Refusing to listen
to me. Lying to my face, buying expensive toys with my money and then not telli
ng me about them.” These lines are recited while young actors circle her holding t
oy planes (CF-35s perhaps?).
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The Greens hope the YouTube slamming will go viral and get the attention of the
youth vote. We hope it does, too. For example, in the 2008 election only 35 perc
ent of eligible electors, age 20 to 24, turned up to cast a ballot. This represe
nts a dangerous denigration of the pillars that support a democratic society.
With limited resources, compared to the major parties, the Greens are valiantly
using online tools to get their messages the potential youth vote.
It’s an interesting irony that the day after the Greens released their Slam Poetry
vehicle, the announcement comes that their party leader, Elizabeth May, has onc
e again been shut out of the televised leaders debate.
When this happened during the 2008 election campaign, the leaders and the broadc
ast consortium that organizes the debates were howled down by the public and May
was allowed to participate even though the Green’s do not have a seat in the Hous
e of Commons.
Much of the howling was heard online through the blogosphere, Twitter as well as
through public reaction reported in the news media. Public opinion pressure bui
lt to the point where organizers and candidates conceded and May was allowed to
participate.
Expect more virtual and real howling on this subject. The messages will be that
excluding May is a slam against democracy. It remains to be seen whether the Gre
ens, with 6.8 percent of the 2008 popular vote, will once again get a seat at th
e debate after the tweets and blogs get finished with the establishment.