Ben...you for one should know that politics is all about being able to use the resources that are available to your advantage. Having an open forum like this breed the opertunities for those with lofty goals to express themselves. How do propose to control what and who says what. As far as courage....do you really think those current misfits in city hall have the backbone you talk about?

The articles being posted have nothing to do with the subject at hand. This is a campaign, and as such, those behind it should be willing to step forward, and identify themselves. If they are not prepared to do that, we are not prepared to carry their comments.
Meisner

If the postings are part of a campaign, then the people involved should be prepared to pay for their advertising like all other political candidates have to. If they are misusing Opinion250 by running a campaign slyly, then when the election comes around perhaps voters should take their unethical behavior into account.

Would you really want someone like that to make decisions for you at City Hall?

Any comment that does not directly relate to the article or to another comment should be removed - regardless of who posted the comment or what the comment contained.

In my opinion almost every report that Mr. Hill has made from Parliament Hill to this site has been campaign rhetoric.

He is certainly pulling all the levers to make sure his party gets re-elected and hopefully (on his part) with a majority.

"If the postings are part of a campaign, then the people involved should be prepared to pay for their advertising like all other political candidates have to."

His reports are, with a few exceptions, pure campaign talk - We are good, ipso ergo all the others are bad.

Well?

I could not agree more diplomat!!
I find Hill's posts complete campain retoric and nothing less!
What is suprising is that he obviously doesn't think his readers are smart enough to figure that out!

Good point Diplomat. I agree.

I agree completely, Diplomat.

I don't agree. Mr. Hill has every right to stand up for their record and respond to the attack of the opposition. Agree or not. Chester

If your posting to maybe run , be an adult and step up with a name and agenda.
Its easy really.

I was a well known poster on here from the first days of o250 getting started. Before i left town for a bit, and returned to have forgotten my old password.
I felt okay opening a new account, but many may remember me due to my writing style.
And if asked i would tell who i am, but then again i have no agenda, and nothing to hide................

I would think because of voter name recognition benefits it would be of the candidates benefit to comment with their real name so as to build up trust with the electorate. Unless of course they have a negative agenda rather than a positive agenda?

I think if one is posting for the purpose of brainstorming in a group setting then anonymity is important.

Chester: "I don't agree. Mr. Hill has every right to stand up for their record and respond to the attack of the opposition. Agree or not. Chester"

The point is NOT whether Mr. Hill has that right or not. He already has his report from Ottawa delivered to the mailboxes of his constituents regularly and he does stand up and respond there. The question was whether this site should allow free election campaigning or not, anonymous or otherwise.

He does not simply inform/report here about the successes of the government (we all know who that is) and how we benefit from those, but, in my opinion, he diatribes relentlessly against the other parties as if there were an election coming up tomorrow!

In my opinion he is using his reporting column on this site to do election campaigning and as long as he does so it would be fair for the owners of this site to give an opportunity to other parties in this riding to have reports here that respond and rebut the self-serving political statements being made, some of which are very much open to interpretation as to how valid they are.

Reporting from Ottawa does not have to consist of a rehash of question period and the aggressive attitudes exhibited there. I personally would be interested in actual facts about how Mr. Hill's hard work makes a difference to the country as a whole and more specifically to this riding.

Often I do not find anything related to this riding in any of the reports he (or his office) writes.

Pity.

That's my opinion.

Well without supporting Mr Hill ( i will decide that at election time) i would say that it is nice to see that he is READING the opinion 250. Perhaps even including our little discussions. Good for him. At least we have some assurance that we are not just talking to ourselves. As it seems about 90 percent of the comments in these forums are from the same 20 people (at max) it is good to know we have people in govt reading. Doesnt it make you other regulars feel ...well more relevant?

Well to my knowledge (from reading his reports) he has NEVER responded to any comments that were made by anyone in reply to the stuff he wrote.

If he has, I must have missed it and I would modify what I stated above.

I repeat what I commented earlier:

"Often I do not find anything related to this riding in any of the reports he (or his office) writes."

I probably should have said: *Never.*

I believe the original question was in regards to campaigning anonymously. If the editor of the site you are posting/advetising/commenting on requests info on your identity, I think you should comply or have your privileges revoked. Especially, if your comments raise concerns as to your agenda. This site relies on paid advertising doesn't it? So, if you have a message that you feel has a market, then imo, the editor should chase that funding, or where appropriate, ban the comments.