This week, we were treated to a surreal commercial of Stephen Harper standing in front of a monitor with the Netflix logo on its screen.“Something you may not know about me is that I love movies and TV shows,” he said. "I’m 100 per cent against a Netflix tax.”
What was that again? And where did it come from? Tom Walkom writes:
What’s puzzling is that he was speaking to a non-issue. Neither the Liberals nor the New Democrats have said they would tax digital services such as Netflix, a U.S. company that delivers movies online to Internet users.
So who is Harper vowing to protect Netflix users from?
The short answer is no one. The longer answer is that this doesn’t matter. In choosing to highlight Netflix, the electioneering Conservatives are trying to create reality, not reflect it.
In this Conservative reality, what Harper’s political opponents actually say isn’t important. All that matters is what voters think they said.
Conservatives have adopted Dr. Goebbels' playbook chapter and verse. Saying makes it so. And repetition turns falsehood into reality. That strategy was on display in this week's debate, when Mr. Harper claimed that the opposition parties would put an end to income splitting for seniors. It's true the Liberals and the Dippers are not happy with income splitting for families with children -- because the policy only benefits 15% of Canadians.
But Mr. Harper happily conflates the two policies. Details don't matter. Just as, in the last election, the details about the cost of those F-35's didn't matter. It was people like Kevin Page, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, who paid attention to them.
Little lies and big lies. Mr. Harper believes they pave the wave to victory. And, in the past, they have.
