The spam that usually greets me with my morning coffee was enriched by a message from folks calling themselves Republicans for Ignatieff. The National Enquirer style, screaming ALL CAPS subject line REPUBLICANS FOR IGNATIEFF PRAISES MICHAEL IGNATIEFF FOR DEFENDING GEORGE W. BUSH IN RECENTLY-DISCOVERED AUDIO CLIP had me chuckling even before I opened the email.
The site creators deserve top marks for zeroing in on issues that would make a lot of Canadians nervous about supporting the Liberals in the next federal election, specifically Iggy’s (unconvincingly recanted) support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, acceptance of targeted assassinations, pre-emptive wars and torture, his (Iggy-as- outsider-meme) admiration of things American and his enthusiasm for Alberta oil sands development.
Breathlessly, the site proclaims:
Now more than ever America needs a Canadian Prime Minister we can count on. A Canadian Prime Minister who knows us. A Canadian Prime Minister who loves us. Michael Ignatieff is the best choice for Canadian Prime Minister.
The site creator’s attempt to contrast Ignatieff’s unabashedly pro-American posture with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s flimsy record of independence from U.S. foreign policy is unconvincing:
Although the current Canadian Prime Minister is a conservative, he has challenged the United States on the Arctic, he is charting Canada’s own course in the Americas, and he has failed to demonstrate a deep emotional connection to America like Michael Ignatieff.
But, the satire is quite rich.
My questions are:
1. Who is behind this site?
2. Who are they targetting?
A “whois” search gives the anonymous site creators a post box in Cocoa, Florida. Therefore, it could be anybody. I doubt the Republicans have anything to do with it, simply because I doubt they care whether we elect a Tory hawk or a Liberal hawk.
Are the New Dems behind it? It is in their interests to remind soft social democrats of what they would be getting if they permitted their disgust with Harper to drive them into the Liberal tent. Still, I doubt the New Dem spinsters are behind this: it’s too funny.
What about the Tories? Could this be their attempt to shore up the NDP vote and thereby weaken the Liberals at the polls?
Or is it just the work of goofy guys and gals with too much time on their hands?
I dunno. But I thank whoever is behind this for raising the spam bar.
Paul S. Graham 
Spam. US-style negative attacks. Anonymous websites. It screams out that it’s a Conservative ploy.
But after listening to that mp3 of Ignatieff, maybe you are on to something? It sure made me wonder about Ignatieff. Putting George W. Bush in the same sentence as Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt is enough to make any Progressive Canadian’s skin crawl.
For those of us not ham-strung by the progressive lens, the Repubs for Iggy website/spam is thought-provoking and hilariously outrageous. Or is that outrageously hilarious? Thanks for this P.S.Graham.
As to Mary’s comment: Alert the mainstream! Progressive skins crawl! Meanwhile, buried on the back page, the tiny headline reads ‘Pierre E. Trudeau just rolled over’. Ask yourself: If Ig was a black man, would the progressive corronation have already begun? Now my skin is crawling. Make that my brown skin.
Google quotes FDR thus: “A reactionary is a somnambulist walking backwards”.