Today Has Been Another Good Day

We had our third ‘debate’ today, actually, it wasn’t really a debate, since we had no opportunity to face and address each other. But, we did have the opportunity to stand before an audience of college students and their professors to state our case for winning this election.

At 8:10 sharp, I began part of my day doing a 45-minute live radio talk-show on CKU Ottawa with Tic the morning host, where every issue was discussed from A-Z. Nothing was off limits.

At around 8:15, a Montreal CTV news crew arrived to record the live radio show, and do an interview with me, and then take a few shots of me playing with my horses, especially the pony.

The ‘debate’ started at 11:45, which meant I had to change out of my farm jeans, and into debating “battle fatigues”, which include black pants, black shirt, black jacket and the appropriate tie.

By this time, the CTV crew was en route to the ‘debate’ that was held at Saint Lawrence College in Cornwall.

I was chosen by lottery to speak first, which I did as usual without notes. And as usual, the others read from their scripts. It is indeed painful to hear them speak on the rare occasion when they have to go off script.

On their behalf, it was the same old – same old delivery. On my behalf, it was spontaneous and from the heart. I don’t say that in an egocentric way. It was just the way it was.

In the three ‘debates’ I have so far attended, each candidate was sent the questions at least a week or more in advance. And in each ‘debate’, each individual candidate read his and her response from a prepared script, unchanged from the very first ‘debate’ held on September 24, 2008.

I didn’t know any of the questions; therefore, I had no way of preparing my response. It wasn’t that I couldn’t have read the questions, since they were sent to me too. It was simply that I have more respect for myself, and for the people I am speaking to, to deliver a canned presentation.

I figure it this way: If I’m not able to stand before an audience and speak off the cuff, from my heart and soul, I don’t deserve to be there, much less be their Member of Parliament.

In the rock and roll world of elected government service, in my mind, every Member of Parliament better be a street fighter who can answer the call when the call is made without waiting a week to prepare.

Our campaign to Win Back Canada also had a great day from all the media in the Riding, which have given us honest and accurate coverage.

In the very good news category, we are just $6,000 short of covering all of our campaign costs. Guy Lauzon, the Conservative incumbent who won by a HUGE margin in 2006, has just sent out a drastic call to people who are on his mail support list for money.

He actually infers in his letter that his financial needs are desperate.

Isn’t it funny how a sitting MP from the governing Party can’t raise enough money to fight a decent campaign?

Before the writ was dropped, Lauzon was sending a tax-paid flier to every Riding household via Canada Post (40,000 homes) every week, extolling his, and his Party’s own virtues. But, now that he has to pay for these fliers out of his own campaign budget, there is a dearth of fliers.

On the other hand, we’re running a Rolls-Royce campaign doing EVERYTHING we planned to do and much more!

This says an awful lot about his message and our message. His supporters and our supporters.

I have no doubt that he will get in at least one flier before voting day, but by the time he gets in just one, we will have had THREE, all of which have a clear and resonating message to WIN BACK CANADA!

I received an email from one of our Montreal supporters at 7:10 tonight (October 1, 2008) that said:

“Howard, you did a great job on CTV’s news tonight. You really got some good positive coverage. Joe.”

If you want to know how much we have spent up to this point, it will be about $50,000 when all the dust settles. Considering how inexpensive our media costs are in contrast to what the same media would cost in a major city, $50,000 is a veritable fortune.

AND YOU DID IT – ALL OF IT!

I know that most of you have already written checks or donated through PayPal, and I really don’t want to keep asking, but – with an additional $6,000 we will seal the deal financially, making this aspect of our campaign an even more remarkable accomplishment for an INDEPENDENT candidacy than it already is.

I am more proud of earning your trust and support as is reflected in the amount of financial support you’ve provided than I could ever convey.

If our campaign stays on course (which it will), and the opposition continues to campaign as they are, it is indeed possible that all of us will be heading for Parliament Hill, and not as tourists.

It is ONLY because of the incredible help you’ve provided, that I can and will continue to push as hard as possible to the very end. The future of this country is very much worth it.

TOGETHER: WE CAN AND WE WILL WIN BACK CANADA!

Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov