Eight Things about the Man Hired to Save Harper
Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2015 8:24 pmEight Things about the Man Hired to Save Harper
[ http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/09/11/Lynton-Crosby-Things/ ]
Meet 'evil genius' Lynton Crosby.
By David Beers, September 11, 2015 , TheTyee.ca
When the going got tough for Stephen Harper's campaign this week, his brain trust faced a fork in the road. Should they soften up a bit, signal that Stephen Harper isn't the ruthless, controlling, divisive character that many increasingly perceive him to be?
Or should they bring in a political "rottweiler" who specializes in fomenting wedge issues, abusive exchanges, and winning, most recently, conservative victories in the United Kingdom and Australia.
They went with option two. The rottweiler's name is Lynton Crosby. Knowing more about Crosby offers a window into not only how the Harper team hopes to salvage this election but what they believe are the keys to gaining and holding government for the past near decade. Here, therefore, are eight things to know about the Australian his fans call "an evil genius" and critics have named "The Lizard of Oz."
1. Lynton Crosby is a tobacco lobbyist.
As reported in the New Statesman and the Guardian, his firm was hired by Marlboro cigarettes maker Philip Morris International in 2012 to fight against plans in the U.K. to sell cigarettes in unbranded cartons. Crosby used his access to top echelons of government to argue against the policy, designed to remove the glamour from smoking and save lives. His company's other clients include the alcohol and fracking industries.
2. Lynton Crosby is officially contemptuous of most public opinion polling.
But maintains that his internal polling techniques yield far more accurate results.
3. Lynton Crosby specializes in sneaking up to win when everyone assumes his party's losing.
Crosby, acknowledged to be "the man who really won the election for the Tories" this spring in the U.K., did so by capitalizing on a moment when his Conservative clients were assumed to be tanking. It's a cautionary tale given how close Canada's race is, and how unreliable polls are, no matter how alluring they are to horse race obsessed media.
According to the Guardian: "Crosby's cleverest trick of all was to make it look as if the Tory campaign wasn't working. From February onwards, as the polls seemed to show Labour and the Conservatives deadlocked, Tory commentators and senior party figures… began complaining in coded language about the campaign that Crosby was masterminding.… [W]hile many of the Conservatives' opponents and many journalists and voters were assuming that the Tory campaign was drifting or stalling, Crosby's well-funded infantry were quietly, busily seizing the marginals. Another of his favourite electioneering phrases is 'below the radar.'"
= = = = SNIP = = = =
Another Guardian profile quotes one of Crosby's opposing strategists: "The hallmarks of the Crosby campaign are negative campaigning, often around race or immigration. It's the type of campaigning that involves really tearing at the fabric of society for shorter term political gains."
He added: "A political party doesn't take that road unless it feels like it's in quite a lot of trouble… In politics, it is entirely possible to excite negative attitudes in the community and turn them into votes, but that can come at a terrible price. It can undermine community harmony and attitudes towards tolerance. He has probably one of the world's best capacities to utilise this sort of campaigning."
[ http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/09/11/Lynton-Crosby-Things/ ]
Meet 'evil genius' Lynton Crosby.
By David Beers, September 11, 2015 , TheTyee.ca
When the going got tough for Stephen Harper's campaign this week, his brain trust faced a fork in the road. Should they soften up a bit, signal that Stephen Harper isn't the ruthless, controlling, divisive character that many increasingly perceive him to be?
Or should they bring in a political "rottweiler" who specializes in fomenting wedge issues, abusive exchanges, and winning, most recently, conservative victories in the United Kingdom and Australia.
They went with option two. The rottweiler's name is Lynton Crosby. Knowing more about Crosby offers a window into not only how the Harper team hopes to salvage this election but what they believe are the keys to gaining and holding government for the past near decade. Here, therefore, are eight things to know about the Australian his fans call "an evil genius" and critics have named "The Lizard of Oz."
1. Lynton Crosby is a tobacco lobbyist.
As reported in the New Statesman and the Guardian, his firm was hired by Marlboro cigarettes maker Philip Morris International in 2012 to fight against plans in the U.K. to sell cigarettes in unbranded cartons. Crosby used his access to top echelons of government to argue against the policy, designed to remove the glamour from smoking and save lives. His company's other clients include the alcohol and fracking industries.
2. Lynton Crosby is officially contemptuous of most public opinion polling.
But maintains that his internal polling techniques yield far more accurate results.
3. Lynton Crosby specializes in sneaking up to win when everyone assumes his party's losing.
Crosby, acknowledged to be "the man who really won the election for the Tories" this spring in the U.K., did so by capitalizing on a moment when his Conservative clients were assumed to be tanking. It's a cautionary tale given how close Canada's race is, and how unreliable polls are, no matter how alluring they are to horse race obsessed media.
According to the Guardian: "Crosby's cleverest trick of all was to make it look as if the Tory campaign wasn't working. From February onwards, as the polls seemed to show Labour and the Conservatives deadlocked, Tory commentators and senior party figures… began complaining in coded language about the campaign that Crosby was masterminding.… [W]hile many of the Conservatives' opponents and many journalists and voters were assuming that the Tory campaign was drifting or stalling, Crosby's well-funded infantry were quietly, busily seizing the marginals. Another of his favourite electioneering phrases is 'below the radar.'"
= = = = SNIP = = = =
Another Guardian profile quotes one of Crosby's opposing strategists: "The hallmarks of the Crosby campaign are negative campaigning, often around race or immigration. It's the type of campaigning that involves really tearing at the fabric of society for shorter term political gains."
He added: "A political party doesn't take that road unless it feels like it's in quite a lot of trouble… In politics, it is entirely possible to excite negative attitudes in the community and turn them into votes, but that can come at a terrible price. It can undermine community harmony and attitudes towards tolerance. He has probably one of the world's best capacities to utilise this sort of campaigning."