Veteran groups seek to influence the 2015 vote

[dan7108]

Curious what you folks think of a political candidate wearing medals while campaigning (Tim Laidler).

http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/2015/09/21/terry-fox-family-denies-support-for-tory-promise.html

 

[jollyjacktar]

If they're his, he can wear them whenever and wherever he wants to.  It doesn't particularly move me on his merits one way or another.

 

[ModlrMike]

If they're his, he can wear them whenever and wherever he wants to.  It doesn't particularly move me on his merits one way or another.

Nor me.

 

[George Wallace]

I would say it is "tacky".  :-\

Bad taste.  :-\

 

[Edward Campbell]

Curious what you folks think of a political candidate wearing medals while campaigning (Tim Laidler).

http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/2015/09/21/terry-fox-family-denies-support-for-tory-promise.html

My, very personal, opinion is: it's in bad taste ... but, then, he's running for a seat in our House of Commons where, as far as I know, good taste is not highly valued.

 

[dimsum]

First thought was "just showing off", but if he has mentioned his service in public on record, then I don't see how wearing his medals changes anything.  If someone would be swayed by them, they would have been swayed by him saying "I was in the military doing xyz".

 

[Danjanou]

Curious what you folks think of a political candidate wearing medals while campaigning (Tim Laidler).

http://www.thestar.com/news/federal-election/2015/09/21/terry-fox-family-denies-support-for-tory-promise.html

If memory serves and somewhere in this thread http://army.ca/forums/threads/99042.0.html are the details. Every sitting MP and Senator in 2012 was awarded/received a QDJM in addition to those they were allotted to hand out. So a lot could be wearing bling as they campaign. If it is considered tacky  then as Mr. Campbell many are applying for a position where tacky is often a asset.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Looks like a CD as well as GCS(SWA) curious if he still has the ISAF bar attached or a roto bar.  The middle one might be a Beiber too.

 

[Danjanou]

Looks like a CD as well as GCS(SWA) curious if he still has the ISAF bar attached or a roto bar.  The middle one might be a Beiber too.

his Bio, http://www.timlaidler.ca/media/

he has both the GSC(SWA) and the QDJM

 

[the 48th regulator]

He is in a catch 22.  He will be damned by vets for Not showing pride in his service, and pandering to Party PA officers if he does not wear them.

He wears them, and we admonish him for it, arguments aplenty; why?

Politics is war, and the one that stands is the one with the most votes.  I would rather have him use that technique and get in to parliament, than some local owner of the Cat food superstore. (I made that one up)

Good on him!

 

[George Wallace]

First thought was "just showing off", but if he has mentioned his service in public on record, then I don't see how wearing his medals changes anything.  If someone would be swayed by them, they would have been swayed by him saying "I was in the military doing xyz".

We have had numerous former Service Members elected to Parliament in the past.  Laurie Hawn is one such member, whom I am sure did not need to wear any medals to indicate that he had previous military service.  That someone thinks the wearing of decorations or displaying a Certificate of some sort is necessary to impress on the public that they are somehow qualified above their opponents for a position, seems like a weak argument and grasping at straws.  It seems to me to be a case of being a desperate "Oh!  Look at me, I am special" kind of action. 

Is it something that I would take seriously?  Nope!  I would do a  :-\ and walk on by.

 

[Danjanou]

He is in a catch 22.  He will be damned by vets for Not showing pride in his service, and pandering to Party PA officers if he does not wear them.

He wears them, and we admonish him for it, arguments aplenty; why?

Politics is war, and the one that stands is the one with the most votes.  I would rather have him use that technique and get in to parliament, than some local owner of the Cat food superstore. (I made that one up)

Good on him!

Good points, damned if he does or damned if he doesn't.

 

[Edward Campbell]

An interesting ad from Veterans Against ABC:

Source: https://www.facebook.com/veteransagainstABC?fref=nf

That group has turned away from being just anti-ABC and is now, quite unabashedly, pro-Conservative.

 

[MJP]

An interesting ad from Veterans Against ABC:

Source: https://www.facebook.com/veteransagainstABC?fref=nf

That group has turned away from being just anti-ABC and is now, quite unabashedly, pro-Conservative.

Not based on this but rather the tone of their other messages, I had emailed their organizer on FB that Vets Against ABC was no different than ABC themselves if they put crap posts up.  Can see that fell on deaf ears.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Minister Erin O'Toole's comments on the ABC group are here.

 

[Edward Campbell]

The "veterans" issue has surfaced again with a lawsuit (described as "frivolous" by the defendant) against Julian Fantino for an "assault" committed 42 years ago. The complainant says that his late father was a retired solider “and the way Fantino treated the veterans, well, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” :

 

[The Bread Guy]

The "veterans" issue has surfaced again with a lawsuit (described as "frivolous" by the defendant) against Julian Fantino for an "assault" committed 42 years ago. The complainant says that his late father was a retired solider “and the way Fantino treated the veterans, well, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” :

Really?  Is that the best they can do?  :facepalm:

 

[George Wallace]

The "veterans" issue has surfaced again with a lawsuit (described as "frivolous" by the defendant) against Julian Fantino for an "assault" committed 42 years ago. The complainant says that his late father was a retired solider “and the way Fantino treated the veterans, well, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” :

Talk about grasping at straws. 

 

[Strike]

Minister Erin O'Toole's comments on the ABC group are here.

This is what makes me wonder how much the Unions are really involved with the ABC movement.

“Because ABC is a registered third-party campaign, they are able to receive donations. … Further, unions are part of the fabric of the Canadian way of life and they have been beneficial to the lower tiers of the socioeconomic strata for generations. So is it really such a ‘bad’ thing if the unions were to turn around and provide support.”

Aside from the unions nowadays having very little involvement in the real lower class for the past couple of generations at least, this sounds like something that came right off a media response line document that would have been sent out to spokespersons.

 

[Edward Campbell]

More, in this article, which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the Globe and Mail, about the spat between pro and anti Conservative veterans' groups:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/conservative-military-veterans-aim-to-counter-cowardly-anti-conservative-group/article26662338/

Conservative military veterans aim to counter ‘cowardly’ anti-Conservative group

BILL GRAVELAND
CALGARY — The Canadian Press

Published Monday, Oct. 05, 2015

A group of military veterans is standing up to support Stephen Harper’s Conservatives at the tail end of the federal election campaign.

Retired warrant officer Lee Humphrey says he was upset that another veterans group — “Anyone But Conservatives” — claimed to speak on behalf of military personnel when it announced plans in August to campaign against the Conservative leader.

Humphrey, 52, says he believes most who have served in the Canadian Forces are supportive of the Conservative government and he’s launched “Veterans For The Conservative Party of Canada” as a result. He said it’s important that the “silent majority” have its say.

“I think civilians, non-veterans, hear from these groups that we are all not being treated well and the government’s disrespecting us and they’re concerned with that. I think that there needs to be another voice out there to counter that message,” said Humphrey, who served in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and the Canadian Airborne Regiment before retiring in 2002.

“I thought there should be a voice that represents what I believe is the overwhelming number of people who have served and do support the current government.”

The chairman of the “Anyone But Conservatives” campaign said in the summer that veterans intended to hold rallies and protests across the country.

Tom Beaver, a former member of the Army who served as a peacekeeper in the 1990s, said he expected protests to be repeated at Conservative campaign stops across the country. He also predicted that veterans wearing their uniforms will be stationed near polls on election day in an effort to dissuade voters from supporting Harper.

Humphrey, who said his group’s Facebook page has 3,700 followers, said he is under no illusions that the Conservatives have done a great job. But he feels there have been improvements since Julian Fantino was replaced by Erin O’Toole in Veterans Affairs.

“There have been some high-profile, terrible mistakes, made at the bureaucratic level, but when you look at the government’s overall policy on the things most veterans care about ... this party is the best of the three major options.”

Humphrey is also critical of the ABC group for its critical attack, while not offering any kind of alternative to the Conservatives.

“I think it’s cowardly to hide behind this A as if ‘anyone’ is some mythical organization that’s going to come and save the day,” he said.

“People that care about things stand for something and in this case, while we recognize the current Conservative government has some flaws, they are the best of the three primary, federal options for veterans and serving military.”