If You're Going to Lie, Make it a Really, Really BIG One!

I was just listening to Rob Breakenridge's show on CHQR in Calgary. Being interviewed was Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL). You can listen to it here.

He had the audacity to say that "the Liberals and NDP are the most staunch federalists in Canada." He said it with such conviction that perhaps he didn't even know how much he was lying.

How else to explain such a comment?

Why do I suspect it won't be too much longer before Coalition supporters are telling us that "2 + 2 = 7" and screaming at us when we dare to disagree?!

---

At first I didn't recognize McGowan's name. But then I remembered. He and his union were the ones responsible for the "Albertans For Change" campaign & website, attacking Premier Ed Stelmach and his Conservatives earlier this year. The AFL reportedly spent more than $1 Million on the vicious ad campaign.

Sadly for McGowan et co. it all backfired. Not only did it not help the NDP they were supporting, but it was regarded as pivotal in diminishing their seats from 4 to 2. NDP Leader Brian Mason was furious. So were several labour groups.

LabourWatch details the whole sorted affair. Here's a telling snippet:

Without express permission from almost 200,000 unionized Albertans, union leaders in Alberta are claiming to be representatives of them wanting change in Alberta. Negative political attack ads were launched on TV and radio on January 14, 2008. Of course the ads do not even remotely hint at their union connections. Only a dedicated website discloses union connections but has the audacity to allow visitors to infer that almost 200,000 Albertan voices support one of the worst forms of political activity – negative attack ads.

Fortunately, two Member Associations of LabourWatch decided to stand up for unionized Albertans and call into question this abuse of forced union dues. On January 24, 2008 the Merit Contractors Association and the National Citizens Coalition ran newspaper ads across Alberta. The Campaign: “ Union leaders are putting YOUR money where THEIR mouths are” drew attention to the critical issues arising from this abuse of union dues.

Am I the only one who sees irony here deeper than the Grand Canyon? First Gil McGowan hijacks the Alberta NDP's election strategy and is accused by many in the labour movement of improperly spending/wasting union dues. Yet not a thing happens to his own employment with the AFL. Now we hear him telling us that Stephen Harper must lose his job ... for what reasons we're not quite sure but as part of the explanation we're told to believe that the Conservatives are hurting this country whilst the Liberals & NDP, in bed with Quebec separatists, are "staunch federalists". Okay, sure Gil, sure.

Given Mr. McGowan's track record, Stephane Dion & Jack Layton might want to think twice about having him speak out for them.

---

On a completely unrelated note I found this fascinating article about pathological liars.