BY MICHAEL CAHILL - CAMBRIDGE ADVOCATE

What We Have Here Is…
Jan 29th, 2011 | By michaelcahill | Section: Politics
It will come as no surprise to you that I was, (as usual) relaxing in the reading room of my club. I had just set down my glass of Bushmills and was about to open the Cambridge Times when my access to fresh air was suddenly impeded. The cold, bony fingers of the club librarian were slowly closing around my throat as 90 lbs of tweed skirt, and angry womanhood knelt upon my chest. Before I lost consciousness I managed to blurt out, “What we have here is, a failure to communicate.”
Earlier in the day I had merely suggested that the Dewey decimal system was the work of an obsessive compulsive who failed to find a spot on the shelf for a “Facebook.” I stand corrected.
That being said, I can’t help thinking that communicating is something of a lost art. Here is an example. Steven Harper’s Conservative minority junta, no, umm, dictatorship, no, ahh, “government” has expressed an interest in consulting with the opposition leaders on the content of the upcoming budget in March, (stop me if you have heard this one before). Mr. Layton has noted in press reports today that yes, he had a telephone call from the P.M. on Dec. 17 and has heard nothing since. Apparently, Mr.Ignatieff reports having a similar experience.
Perhaps Mr. Harper is a shy and complicated individual. Maybe this explains why not one member of the Conservative caucus will speak publically, answer an e-mail, or tie his shoes without approval from the P.M.O.
My favourite example of timely, and effective messaging is Minister of Finance (and gifted Mickey Rooney impersonator) Jim Flaherty. After taking credit for the fiscal policies of Prime Minister Paul Martin, cutting 2 percent of Government revenue off the GST, and digging a $56 billion dollar deficit hole he is telling us citizens that we should save more and avoid risky debts loads. Kudos to you Jim, kudos.
Before you get the impression that I have some sort of bias against the authoritarian regime of Mr. Harper, (which i hope is obvious by now, and shared by roughly 60 % of Canadians) let’s share the blame equally.
I have many friends on Facebook. Barack Obama, Oprah, Beyonce, and of course, Mandy Richardson. I receive posts, messages, and videos from them at least 2 to 3 times a day. I am also friends with Jack Layton, Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae, and a number of others. What do I hear from them? Nothing.
In the year 2011, the medium is now officially the message. The traditional, geriatric media has failed to communicate to you what is really going on. Your federal politicians have failed to use the media available to them to communicate with you because of apathy. Because of apathy, and of self centered parochialism you won’t take the time to communicate with them.
A federal election is coming, send a message.