Well, there's nothing new in Liberals posing as genuine citizens in Liberal ads. All the "streeters" who appeared in the earlier batch of commercials, the so-called 30 million reasons group of ads, are Liberal activists or party employees of one type or another. In fact, one of the streeters is none other than former MLA Art Cowie, the man who graciously gave up his seat so that Gordon Campbell could become Premier.

The NDP website has a complete rundown.

http://www.ndp.ca/page/2121

More "Average Canadian or Liberal Insider?"
Mon 2 Jan 2006

The Liberals have released TV ads with lovely images of everyday Canadians rattling off reasons why they as average citizens will be voting Liberal.

Taking a closer look at the ads, we invite all Canadians to join us in playing: “Average Canadian or Liberal Insider?”

No. Liberal insider. Art Cowie is a former Liberal MLA in BC.
No. Liberal insider. Matthew Naylor is a Young Liberal activist in BC.
No. Liberal insider. Mike Burton was a 2003 Candidate for the Liberals in Saskatchewan
No. Liberal insider. Scott Andrews is the executive director of a Liberal association in Newfoundland-Labrador.
No. Liberal insider. Paul Lehman is the former VP-Provincial for the Liberals in Ontario.
No. Liberal insider. Andrew Block is the former president of the campus Liberals at the University of Waterloo.
No. Liberal insider. Jacob Mksyartinian is the former riding president in London, Ontario.
No. Liberal insider. Adrienne Cousins is Vice President-Policy Young Liberals of Canada – BC.
No. Liberal insider. Bardish Chagger is a constituency office assistant for Ontario Liberal MP Andrew Telegdi.
No. Liberal insider. Peter Yung is riding association president for the Liberal Party in Burnaby-Douglas, B.C.
No. Liberal insider. Neil Dhalla is a brother of Ruby Dhalla, a Liberal MP.
No. Liberal insider. Lamiley Lutterodt is the former business manager for Regina Liberal candidate Simone Clayton in the 2003 Saskatchewan election.
No. Liberal insider. Joel Peterson is the executive director of Saskatchewan's Liberal party and a key organizer for Finance Minister Ralph Goodale.

MWhat prevents her from being a "genuine citizen" or "average Canadian"?

A political membership card? That seems pretty rich, Especially coming from a political party.

Way to ostrasize everyone in politiics!

This is so dumb

Budd:

You're right, it's much better to have ads full of actors like the Conservatives than real people who are involved in the political process.

It's really important that we contunue to demonize people active in politics to the greatest extent possible so that citizens cease their involvement entirely. Then, and only then, will we will live in a true paradise.

You are all missing the point. Whether actors or party faithfuls, the ads are just tacky in both cases.

Technically they may be average Candian Citizens in both cases, but it is still schmaltzy to pretend you just bumped into someone randomly on the street. Really it isn't so much a news item as it is funny and easy to make fun of.

If either of their claims of being so popular were rooted in any self confidence, they would go out randomly on the steet and probably find random people to talk to. They would eventually find people that aren't vehemently opposed to their party, disenheartened of politics in general, apathetic or a little nuts. All they would need is a lot of tape and a good editor.

Bill, you're absolutely right, it is tacky. But I think it's a bit more than just plain tacky. There's an element, however minor, of deception. Taking a group of core partisans, including paid staff of one type and another, and presenting them to the average voter as if they too were average voters is a bit deceptive.

There's also a hint of the never-ending genetic trait of all Canadian Liberals, arrogance. Other parties' adherents are routinely derided by Liberals as mere party hacks, zealots, patronage recipients. But their own great Liberal Party employees and activists are real, live Canadians, somehow above the mere partisanship that other parties' supporters are supposedly mired in.

It's an adolescent type of conceit that's kind of funny at times, but less amusing when one considers the breadth and expense of their sponsorship scandal, and the degree to which it they have re-ignited the separatist cause that had been lying more or less dormant.

Wonder how the right of center folks would react if someone showed up at a NDP Convention and asked them who the figured would run the government the best. well the "ordinary citizens" there would look to be taking a serious look and of course say NDP, NDP. Or go to a collection of Tim Horton workers, and ask them what they think of the donuts in the place?

Not much different than having folks on the street pretending that they just happend to be walking by and Gosh Golly Gee, I realy like Paul
Martin. Bill said it well. Tacky is the word and a bit dumb as even some of us "ordinary citizens " recognised at least a couple of the ringers

Agreed again, DL, it's dumb. But in fact, the entire Liberal TV ad campaign is pretty silly.

http://www.liberal.ca/multimedia_e.aspx?id=70

Actually, some of these spots are excruciatingly lite. They have a kind of forced, lecturing quality. They're really not designed as a good commercials for viewing by the average TV viewer-voter. It's argumentative political chatter for political junkies.