General

And yet, somehow, they were able to scrape together the necessary cash to unleash Oily the Splot on an unsuspecting world …

I swear, you read this fundraising letter from Doug Finley, and it’s as though the Conservatives are actually afraid of the Insane Dion Permanent Tax on Everything(tm):

It is this line, however, that really makes you wonder if you’ve fallen into a strange alternate universe:

“We can’t afford to be outspent on ads by the Liberals.”

Now, I know when it comes to fundraising, a political party always has to plead poverty — even if that party has the most overstuffed war chest in the country, and enough excess cash to burn on any number of ill-conceived off-writ ad campaigns without worrying about having enough left in the tank for the election. In fact, when it comes to buying ads during a campaign, the challenge for the Conservatives appears to be finding creative ways to spend as much money as possible without going over the legal limit – not always successfully, as indicated by the ongoing battle with Elections Canada over the in and out scheme. Not to mention that they’re the first to gloat over the financial struggles of the Liberals, from lingering leadership debts to lacklustre Laurier Club renewals.

And yet, here we have Doug Finley – the Laird of Darkness himself – predicting that the sheeplike voters of Canada are at risk of falling for the Liberals’ “multi-million dollar advertising initiative” unless right-thinking Conservative Party members dig deep into their pockets, and fork over a few hundred bucks to respond — provided they haven’t already given the maximum allowed under the Federal Accountability Act, that is. It’s just kind of — breathtaking. Then again, I guess all fundraisers pretty much have to check their guile at the door.

Full text of the letter after the jump:

Still more Liberal tricks….

En Français | In English

Dear Mr. [REMOVED]
Last week we launched a campaign to warn Canadians about the Dion Tax Trick – a permanent new tax that will destroy jobs and drive up the cost of gas, electricity and everything else.
The campaign features radio spots, an interactive website –
Will You Be Tricked? – and grassroots voter contact in target ridings across Canada. So far, the response has been fantastic, with tens of thousands of people visiting the website alone.
What has been the Liberal response?
They are using our campaign to raise money for their own multi-million dollar advertising initiative. They believe an ad campaign — supported by accolades from Liberal editorialists and Liberal special interest groups – will turn public opinion in their favour.
We can’t afford to be outspent on ads by the Liberals.
We know the Liberal Party will be hiring some of the best Liberal ad agencies in the country to produce the same type of Liberal ads that aired in the 2004 and 2006 elections. And we know the Liberals will be running their ads in key target ridings that Stéphane Dion needs to win.
Will you help us fight back?
Will you help us take our campaign to the next level?
Will you
make a contribution today to fund the next round of Conservative response spots?
Will you help by donating
$200 or $100 on-line right now ? The success of our campaign is in your hands.
Sincerely,
Doug Finley
National Campaign Director
P.S. -The timing on this campaign is urgent, and the need is great.
Please send the most generous contribution you can today by following this link to our secure on-line donations page. Many thanks.
P.P.S – If you would like your name removed from our fundraising email list, please
follow this link.

NOTE: In the original email, lines appearing in bold originally linked directly to the Conservative Fund online donation form, but I had to remove the code since it identified the recipient, and we’re all about privacy here at ITQ.

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