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Politics : Al Gore vs George Bush: the moderate's perspective -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eashoa' M'sheekha who wrote (4681)	11/4/2000 12:22:29 AM
From: Eashoa' M'sheekha	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10042

NDP leader says tips 'politically motivated'. herald.ns.ca Saturday, July 24, 1999 The Halifax Herald Limited By Brian Underhill / Staff Reporter Charges of coverups and dirty tricks rocked the election campaign Friday in the wake of news that NDP Leader Robert Chisholm concealed a 20-year-old drunk-driving conviction. Mr. Chisholm pointed an accusing finger at the other two party leaders after media outlets were tipped off to his criminal record. "I don't think that there is any question that this is politically motivated. I think to suggest otherwise would be at the highest of naivety, it's a great opportunity to distract people on the issues," he said Friday. "The two old parties (Liberal and Tory) have been shopping this story around for a week with the media and they are shopping it around for this reason, their platforms can't do it, their campaigns can't do it and they are falling fast and hanging on." Some voters agreed. Terry Chisholm, who said he's not related to the NDP leader, said he isn't surprised to see a Nova Scotia election take a decidedly nasty turn, but quickly added he doesn't approve. "I just don't like gutter politics. The Tories do it to the Liberals, the Liberals do it to the Tories and now they're both ganging up on the NDP," he said Friday. The Liberals and PCs denied they played any part in a smear campaign. However, two media outlets were told early in the week by high-ranking Tories that they should check to see if Mr. Chisholm had any convictions. Tory Leader John Hamm said he wasn't aware of this information, but said he would raise the issue with campaign organizers. He said he gave his campaign team strict instructions to talk only about the issues, not the personal lives of candidates. He said he doesn't know what he'll do if he finds someone in his party made the calls. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," he said. "Right now it's hypothetical because I really don't have much information to go on." Mr. Hamm said his campaign has received "a number of anonymous letters about all sorts of things" and he's thrown them all in the trash. "I don't respond to anonymous letters," he said. Liberal Leader Russell MacLellan was also pointing fingers Friday - in the direction of the Conservatives. He told reporters he is "mystified" by recent actions of the Tories. "I mean it is nasty," the premier said in Kentville, without elaborating. "There seems to be within the Tory party that (attitude of) 'Let's win at all costs. Get out there and really do anything we possibly can do or say to win this election.' " Acadia University political science professor Agar Adamson said it's common for supporters of a party to use this kind of tactic, but it's almost always without the leader's knowledge. "Unfortunately, supporters of a political party who are on the fringe of a campaign will do stupid things like this." Mr. Adamson said the public has a right to know about Mr. Chisholm's conviction. "I'm not denying that. I guess it's just that when a leader of a political party says we're taking the high road and some of his supporters take the low road, then you've got some major problems." With Amy Smith, Christine Doucet and David Jackson, staff reporters