Politicians have been busy online
Premier Brad Wall lobbied hard on Twitter this week for the full version of his This Hour Has 22 Minutes Christmas greeting to be released, after the CBC comedy show aired only part of it.
With the hashtag #scroogedbyCBC, @PremierBradWall’s tweets included: “State owned broadcaster censors my controversial Christmas message;” “Was it the good-natured shot at Central Canada? Was it the jab at @petermansbridge? Why@22_Minutes? Why CBC? Why censor?” and, “Do the right thing @22_Minutes. Ignore @petermansbridge and release the full tape.”
Wall got his wish and online viewers saw a bit in which his jokes about Christmas in Saskatchewan included: “Despite the cold we go carolling. We sing all the classics. Except We Three Kings. We don’t think there are any wise men left in the east.” He finished: “Merry Christmas from Saskatchewan and God bless us everyone. Even you, Mansbridge.”
Back online, the premier joked that the CBC anchor was “not so powerful after all.” Peter Mansbridge quoted that, tweeting Wall’s video along with the remark: “This is hilarious!” NDP leadership candidate Ryan Meili participated in an Ask Me Anything (AMA) chat session on the popular website Reddit last week. He also gave a creative answer to this question, a staple of AMAs: “Given an ultimatum, would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?”
Meili wrote: “It’s about time I got asked this question of immense importance to SK politics. I’d go w horse-sized duck. I hope to win this leadership race, and then work closely with my fellow candidates as a team. The same goes for horse-sized duck. How useful would it be, once beaten and tamed, as an ally in the fight for social justice!!!” Hafeez Chaudhuri, so far the only person to announce plans to run for leadership of the Saskatchewan Liberals, weighed in on the provincial NDP leadership race recently in a statement to media, writing: “With due respect and without prejudice, may I predict tonight that candidate TRENT WOTHERSPOON, will win SaskNDP Leadership race with distinctive votes on March 9th, 2013.”
He added: “Not keeping this fact in view that he is our family friend and we had good terms and mutual respect among each other but weighing the facts politically I affirm Trent is next SaskNDP Leader, therefore I congratulate him in advance at his most gracious success to be a SaskNDP Leader in 2013.”
Chaudhuri’s website now boasts the slogan “11+11+11+11” — while unexplained, the total of that equation matches the 44 votes he received as the only independent candidate in 2011’s provincial election, as well as the number of other Liberal MLAs he stated — in an email with the subject “Keeping no doubts about the outcome! — that he will lead to the legislature.
The page also features his mantra “Year 2015 is Ours,” which he might eventually have to change considering Wall has suggested the next election could be rescheduled to 2016 to avoid conflict with the federal vote.
In another emailed statement, Chaudhuri gave this comment on the federal Liberal leadership race: “I’m sure Justin Trudeau does not need a FLIP-FLOP Assistant or Secretary like MP Marc Garneau, to back up his title.”