The Second World War slogan “Loose lips sink ships” applies as much to politics as it does to wartime propaganda.
British Columbians have been treated to numerous situations where politicians have been less than statesmanlike in their pronouncements and in today’s wired world, it doesn’t take long for gaffes to become social media memes.
NDP leader John Horgan’s regrettable “I’ll just watch you because I know you like that” during a radio debate seemed to portray Horgan as someone who angered easily, resulting in the BC Liberals’ Keep Calm and Christy On campaign with a version of the WWII slogan an icon being used in the Twitter feed.
Then it was BC Liberal Leader Christy Clark’s turn to be ridiculed when she dismissed a voter during an awkward run-in with a woman who said she would never vote for Clark. Clark patted her hand and, instead of engaging with the voter, simply turned away saying “You don’t have to. That’s what democracy is for.”
It wasn’t long before the social media world whipped up the #IAmLinda hashtag, with voters weighing in on their reasons why they wouldn’t vote for the BC Liberals.
Clark then made a statement about her comment during a campaign stop and her supporters speculated the voter was an NDP plant, a claim that was knocked down by the legislative reporter for CBC and The Province’s Michael Smyth.
Even in the Tri-Cities — hardly a hotbed of controversy — a comment by Port Moody-Coquitlam candidate and incumbent Linda Reimer, who said she supports private health care along with the public health system to “a certain extent,” received much coverage, with opponents mostly using the opportunity to slam the BC Liberals’ health care agenda.
It’s true these unscripted moments give us insight into the characters of individuals running for office but they should be taken with a grain of salt because these snippets don’t tell the whole story about either the person or party policy.
With so much of politics scripted down to the last letter, and access to politicians increasingly restricted, it’s understandable that these moments of unguarded honesty get so much publicity.
