The limits of attack politics
Recent days in Canadian politics have been filled with attacks, counterattacks and apologies. Attacking is an essential part of politics, but it also has limits, beyond which attacks backfire on the attacker. Here are some guidelines:
If an attack is completely false, it will backfire. The Conservative “10 per center” criticizing New Democrat Peter Stoffer for supporting the long-gun registry led to an apology because Mr. Stoffer has, in fact, voted the other way. Voters can stomach factoids, ambiguity, half-truths and statements ripped out of context, but they rebel against demonstrably false accusations.
Politicians cannot go after non-politicians. Defence Minister Peter MacKay was widely condemned for his stinging attacks on diplomat Richard Colvin’s credibility, and the government quickly switched to a strategy of letting military personnel and senior civil servants differ with Mr. Colvin. Canadians see politicians as gladiators who dish it out and take it in equal measure, but who should not pound on non-combatants.
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