The Onion Ring besting the PM is still getting attention.
95,544 fans as of the writing of this post.
Hee-hee. I love it.
Of course, someone has started a counter group: Can this Doorknob get more fans than Michael Ignatieff. I might join the one other fan. Just to show I’m truly non-partisan.
Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario
Craziness abounds… the Onion Ring fan club has grown to beyond 44K!
Like I said before, this is a great example of how quickly a message – however a bit silly – can move along the social media stream.
I will be interested to see how the mainstream media and politicians respond to this. My guess is that it will be more or less ignored. But really, Iggy or Harpy really SHOULD show up at a photo op with a box of onion rings!
More than 44 thousand voters (or would-be voters) would get a kick outta that!
Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario
Earlier this morning, I posted a scribble about the Facebook movement to sign up more “fans” for an onion ring than Stephen Harper can claim - and it looks like the goal may be met by the end of the day. – 20,246 – the last time I refreshed the page.
And it is getting some attention in the mainstream media – albeit on a blog…
From thestar.blogs.com
Harper vs. the onion ring
An odd new campaign began in the last 24 hours on Facebook. The challenge: to pit an onion ring against Prime Minister Stephen Harper and see who gets more fans. As I write this, the onion ring is a good deal behind the Prime Minister — around 14,000 fans, compared to the nearly 30,000 fans of Harper.
And what is the end game of this contest? I have no idea. Perhaps the gold ring has something to do with the Olympics. Or not.
One comment on the site criticises this as “silliness reduces the seriousness of Facebook and can hurt their democracy campaign a tad.”
Huh? Of course it is silly! But I really don’t think it is hurting anyone! If Harper was smart, at his first photo op he should bring along a box of onion rings…
Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario
There’s a fun little thing going on over at Facebook. Someone got the bright idea to see if an onion ring could garner more “fans” than Stevo. As of this morning, The Ring has 11,121 fans while the PM has over 29,000. And this “fan club” started just yesterday – as far as I can tell.
This is, of course, all in good fun and one shouldn’t try to read too much into this unprecedented groundswell of Onionosity in Canada. But this does should how viral the new media really can be and should be a cautionary note to public figures who do not recognize its power.
For the record, I predict that The Great and Wondrous Onion will have double the number of fans by the weekend.
It’s also a good laugh to scroll through some of the comments being posted on the site. Here’s a sampling:
Even though both make people cry, onions do it without intent!!!
Do you think A & W would give us corporate sponsorship? I’ve always liked their onion rings… mmmmm
This onion ring would NEVER take a 2-month holiday in the middle of my meal!
I think anything can get more fans than Stephen Harper. Harper does what he wants, leaving a horrible taste in our mouths. The onion ring is battered than fried and leaves a wonderful taste in our mouths.
One day, I wanted to buy a coffee, but I was 14 cents short, and this onion ring gave me a quarter … and even said ‘keep the change’ … that’s why I’m a fan!
This onion ring has suspended the production of all other onion rings until after the Olympics
Oh, and in the time it took for me to write this, His Whole-liness’s fan base has grown to 11,460.
ALL HAIL THE RING!
Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario
…Doris Day is the new TB Prez. Didn’t see THAT comin’!
Mark my words. If the ReformCons are still in power a year from now, Public Servants everywhere will spit at the mention of his name. Not that the Harperites – or most Canadians outside of the National Capital Region- give a flying crap about the PS.
My gut tells me though that this is not a pre-election Cabinet. Moving Rona to PWGSC is a big move up for her, but I would think that the brainless trust in the PMO would want her in a more visible spot if we were in pre-election mode… gotta court the soccer Moms, right?
I also don’t feel that Vic Toews (admittedly, one of the less incompetent of the Harperites) is the right pre-writ “fit” with NRCan. Though they can’t do much worse than Ms. Raitt.
So. To summarise. Same gang. Different titles.
Yawn. Wake me up when we have an election…
Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario
What gall! What an affront to our system of government! And considering how much work is going to be wasted, what a waste of money!
The House of Commons and the Senate will come back in March, after the Vancouver Olympics, for a Speech from the Throne and a budget. The move will have the effect of stalling all bills currently in Parliament, including crime bills that the government had said were being delayed by the opposition.
Well, so much for the ReformCons using “soft on crime” ads against the Libs in the next election!
A post-Olympic return would also shut down government committees, which would stop MPs from pursuing the Afghan detainee controversy until Parliament returned.
… which, of course, is the REAL reason behind this.
I am almost physically SICK to my stomach over this! How can anyone, ANYONE consider voting for these dictators????
Stevo, during his visit with his mentor, Kim Jong Il
Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario
As someone in the information collection industry, I tend to look to look at polling numbers with a bit of a critical eye. Sample sizes and distributions, question wording and order and the presence of absence of any group (e.g., political) affiliation always plays on my mind when I see the “latest numbers”.
That being said, I have the utmost respect and admiration for how Nik Nanos goes about his business. He is informed, employs scientific, robust methodologies and has no apparent vested interest in the results that he produces.
This is why I don’t really give any great cred to most of the other polling firms. Most but not all (Environics and Decima are also respectable) have an agenda biasing their research that is more often than not funded by a political master or someone beholding to a political master. Not so with Nik.
I have the latest Nik on the Numbers emailed to me as soon as they are available and are often the highlight on my data-filled day.
Yes, I am that lame.
From collection ending Nov. 10:
Looking at which of the party leaders Canadians believe would make the best Prime Minister, Stephen Harper now leads by a significant, 17 point, margin over over Michael Ignatieff. This represents the widest gap since Ignatieff was elected leader of the Liberal Party.
Factoring the advantage in the ballot box and on the best PM front, the Conservatives currently have the upper hand. The dilemma they face is that their numbers are strong but it is difficult to take advantage of it politically because of the Harper communications mantra that “this isn’t a good time for an election”.
Likewise, with a defeat in parliament at the hands of the opposition parties not imminent, it is hard for the Tories to plead the instability or unworkability of parliament.
Dead on.
Harper is in an enviable situation. The economy is on the upswing. His MPs haven’t done anything way too moronic lately. He is looking less like a robot and more like a cyborg.
And there is really no serious opposition. The recent by election results have confirmed this.
The Grits are in big trouble as Iggy has yet to define himself in any meaningful way. I’m sorry Warren et al, but he just hasn’t done it for Canadians yet. This lack of an identifiable Opposition leader has given the ReformCons ample opportunities to slip in their agenda relatively unopposed because they know that if the Opposition were to bring the Government down on a confidence motion at the moment, a Harper majority – and possibly a large one – would be the result. Then the Harperites could go back to pleasing their base of the support (western social conservatives) by passing legislation that will have little appeal outside of the West or rural, backwoods ridings. But it won’t matter at that point since he will have been given a firm mandate for 4 years and damn the bleeding hearts to hell if the abortion, capital punishment, anti-drug issues are back front-and-centre and environmental initiatives and social programs are shelved.
I have warned the Grits before that if they did not get down to the business of having Iggy grab an issue – any issue – and running with it, then the Cons would continue to frame the debate to their advantage. And they have. This could have been mitigated if Iggy had:
So what is Harpy to do? In my mind, he is correct from a strategic perspective to not force an election right now. Canucks are too preoccupied by the Piggy Flu, the onset of cold weather and how much the Leafs are sucking this season.
His chance will come in the spring when the economy has picked up a bit more steam, the flowers are blooming and Canadians from coast to coast emerge from their annual winter funk. Around the beginning of April, I reckon, Stevo will introduce poison pill legislation that none of the 3 Opposition parties can stomach.
And unless the Cons stumble badly over the winter, we’ll be looking a predominantly blue HoC by June.
Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario
Yeah, so I have scribbled a lot of bad things about our current PM. I happen to think that he is a cynical, plotting bully who throws a hissy fit if things don’t go his way.
But an international bully? I didn’t think it was possible.
Yet, according to the Niono news source, our own Prime Minster has been a key part of a greater effort by the G-8 to goad Lichtenstein and Andorra into going to war with one another!
This, of course, is completely reprehensible! Why aren’t they covering this on The National?
The G8’s proposal, which seeks to pit the small, landlocked principalities against each other in military combat, was reportedly drafted after the leaders of the eight nations had grown bored with their recent negotiations over international energy tariffs.
“After much careful deliberation, we have come to the consensus that the nations of Liechtenstein and Andorra need to just man up and fight, ” said U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown during an afternoon recess. “All of the bigger countries want them to, and everyone agrees at this point that it would be quite lame if they didn’t. Therefore, I would advise Liechtenstein and Andorra to grow some balls already and get on with it.”
“This is going to be so hilarious,” said President Barack Obama, who plans to take time away from health care negotiations to oversee the distribution of heavily armored mobilized units to the citizens of Liechtenstein and Andorra. “Once they get into it, they’re going to go nuts. They’re just going to totally go off on each other.”
“I cannot wait,” he added.
In a final effort to ensure that the proposed confrontation between Liechtenstein and Andorra commenced tomorrow afternoon “without a hitch,” Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper held a press conference intended to persuade the two countries.
“Fucking just fight already!” Harper said. “Fight! Fiiiight! Fiiiiiiight!”
Um.
OK. I got most of that from The Onion… just bored with posting serious end of the world stuff like the flu, killer robots and wars…
Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario
Interesting to see all of the bluster that, just a little while back, was being puffed out of NDP mouths everywhere has now faded to mere indifference. The rhetoric has gone from “we’re gonna drive the CPC back into the caves from which they emerged!”
to:
“meh”.
Jack, a few months ago (June 22): (1)
‘Anybody who’s holding their breath and thinking that’s going to change should think twice,’ NDP Leader says
NDP Leader Jack Layton says his party will not prop up the Conservative government if the Liberals move a motion of no-confidence in the fall.
“Our party has opposed the direction of Stephen Harper 79 times in confidence motions so anybody who’s holding their breath and thinking that’s going to change should think twice,” Mr. Layton told a press conference on Monday morning.
“I think that everybody involved would want to see us co-operate in the House of Commons and get some results for people — especially those that are struggling right now: the unemployed and people being left behind,” Mr. Layton said as he inched away from reporters at an archway opening in Toronto.
“So that’s going to remain our preoccupation.”
Personally, I don’t mind if Jack props up Stevie for a while since I am not convinced that this is the best time to defeat the ReformCons (plus it will give many a good belly-laugh). Yes, Iggy had not choice but to throw down the proverbial gauntlet, but realistically the best the Grits can hope for, IMO, is a slim Grit minority. They still need more time to re-build the Grit brans and more specifically, the leader’s brand.
But hey, I don’t get paid for these opinions, so I can say what I like, eh?
So why has the NDP cooled their jets? Likely resources – or a lack thereof. The Dippers would dearly like a few more months to build up their war chest and get their issues into the faces of Canadians. The Grits and the Harperites have grabbed the “helping out the downtrodden and unemployed” banner in recent weeks and Layton and his team will have to work hard to get it back.
And that will take some time.
1. Original article was in the G&M but is now archived and only accessible on a fee-for-service basis.
Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario
Some bald guy from the nation's capital.
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