Test Driving Talking Points

The Tories realize that if soldiers are killed during a spring election, the consequences for the government could be dire. Voters might turn against the extension of the mission (more so than they already have) and against the one party that advocates an indefinite extension. So, they are test driving a new talking point. I saw it presented this morning in John Ivison's column:

But there are good reasons not to provoke an election over Afghanistan. As the Dutch reviewed their contribution to NATO's force in Uruzgan province last year, there was a sharp increase in violence -- between mid-June and mid-January, the Dutch army suffered all but one of its nine combat deaths.

Earlier this week, the Canadian military was reluctant to reveal how many bullets it has used in Afghanistan because it knows the Taliban reads the Canadian press. An election that centred on this issue would re-energize the Taliban's fanatical zeal, if they figured out that with a rush and push they could help elect a Liberal Party that is campaigning to exchange swords for ploughshares.

Get it? If there is an election, (against the wishes of the government of course despite manufactured confidence motions), any soldiers who die during the course of said election will be on the heads of the opposition. Watch for this meme to become popular amongst the BT's as things progress.

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