CCHQ launches 'Sorry from Gordon' website

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Comments

[David]

Good stuff. Amusing, but with a point.

I just hope CCHQ aren't about to get a complaint from the Labour-loving Elton John.

[Sally Roberts]

I thought Elton John was a Lib Dem? He certainly supported Brian Paddick's Mayoral Campaign.

[Bexie]

Heh heh

I hope they are going to update it with a link to the gordo thowing money site...

[ToryBlog.com]

Good stuff, mocking him is exactly the way to go.

NOT SURE WHY THE ENTIRE THING IS IN UPPER CASE THOUGH. THE TEXT AT THE BOTTOM SHOULD BE IN SENTENCE CASE AS IT IS VERY DISTRACTING.

[David]

Sally, you're quite right. I seem to recall him being involved with Labour during Blair's 'glory years', but you're right; he certainly supported Paddick.

[NorthernMonkey]

At first I thought this was a site where the Conservative party apologised to the people of Britain for their wreckless destruction of our country during their last period in government.

Unfortunately, it seems to be some pathetic, childish attempt to be funny.

[Ray]

It is funny, NorthernMonkey. Unless you're a trolling simian without a sense of humour.

[David]

I don't know if NorthernMonkey's comment proves he doesn't have a sense of humour or not. On the one hand, he doesn't find the site funny. On the other, he says something so ridiculously untrue it has to be a joke.

[RichardJ]

"At first I thought this was a site where the Conservative party apologised to the people of Britain for their wreckless destruction of our country during their last period in government."

Because a Labour victory in 1983 would have resulted in utopia.

"Unfortunately, it seems to be some pathetic, childish attempt to be funny."

If Labour did the same sort of thing you'd be cheering them on. Take off the partisan blinkers.

[Sally Roberts]

I am disappointed. I thought Northern Monkey had a sense of humour!

Perhaps he's just having a bad day.

[Jack Stone]

This childish, playground sort of politics doesn`t do politics or the Conservative Party any good at all.
Instead of trying to win power from the gutter I think the party would be better off trying for the moral high ground for once. Actually show us that they are a potential government and not a bunch of childish schoolboys.

[Sally Roberts]

So...what did you think of the "Tory Toffs" campaign that was fought so - er - successfully in Crewe & Nantwich then Jack?

[David Sergeant]

Sally, I had you down as a demure respectable middle England lady but your response to Jack Stone is as good as Margaret ever used to give Neil. The Stones of this world seem to live on a planet where everyone else but the Tories can say what they like.

[valmiki]

Must say, I prefer the approach espoused yesterday instead.

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/parliament/2009/03/tory-mps-need-t.html

[Sally Roberts]

Thank you, David Sergeant! I may be many things, but "demure" isn't really one of them!

[ToryBlog.com]

NorthernMonkey,

It is the fact that Brown, despite all the alleged appeals from his colleagues, refuses to accept any blame for the crisis that makes his an object of ridicule.

I assume that CCHQ deliberately gave his Elton John specs 'Labour Rose'-tinted glass.

[Richard Calhoun]

I have to say that this attempt to undermine Brown is pathetic.

Who cares if he says sorry or not, what difference will it make?

We need some policies and honesty from cchq in how they intend to deal with this financial disaster

[ToryBlog.com]

Richard @ 16:40

The Cameroons don't have the policies you crave, but they will be in office next year, and then the bluff will be over, and Buffett's line about nude people being hidden when the tide is in will apply.

Until then, Brown deserves to be humiliated.

Cameron's turn will come soon enough!

[Geordie-Tory]

Amazing, I have wasted at least 10 precious minutes of work time today bombarding all my friends with this rather clever piece.

Eric Pickles and all the other leaflet-loving luddites in the party (still far too many of 'em) should be made to sit in front of a computer screen and type in e-mail addresses until they get the point!

As to Northern Monkey - (almost) too pathetic for words, just shows how humorless and deluded "Labour-Boy!" Leftie trolls really are!!

[Richard Calhoun]

ToryBlog.com | March 05, 2009 at 16:50

I have more faith in Cameron than you appear to!!

Brown does need to be humiliated but this attempt by cchq is childish.

[lolBrown]

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2149/easymoney.jpg

[Richard Calhoun]

lolBrown | March 05, 2009 at 17:16

You should be at cchq!!!

[David Belchamber]

Brown lives on deceiving the electorate and the fact that he still has a sizeable majority. As we cannot unseat before he is forced by his party to call a general election, the best thing to attack him with is a bit of humour - something he so obviously lacks himself.

[Richard Calhoun]

David Belchamber | March 05, 2009 at 17:24

All very well, but we have a once in a hundred years financial disaster on our hands.
I would rather see some serious and brave contributions as to how we should go about remedying this situation and leave the jokes to the comedians

[David Parker]

Much though I hate to say it, this is one of the very few occasions upon which I agree with Jack Stone. This is not because there is no place for humour in a Conservative campaign; in such dire times anything which lightens the gloom and depression must be a good thing, however, in this particular instance, we have (almost) the whole of the media clamouring for an apology from Brown and this particular initiative looks too much like a Conservative attempt simply to climb onto this band waggon, it also evokes memories of the "Demon eyes of Blair" campaign, which was of dubious benefit. I think it would be far better for CCHQ to run a different campaign along the lines of "It's too late to apologise now Brown, the damage is already done".

[Peter Buss]

Mmm - its clever and funny BUT will it resonate with the lectoate who according to this afternoons poll by a very big majority believe polticians and the media should now move on from "should Brown say sorry" and concentrate on more important issues.I really do think that out there in the real world people are vey worried about the situation and I think we have got to be so caeful that we don't give a hint that we are as a Party spending our time dreaming up clever stunts like this. I guess though I'm in a minority of ONE on this.

By the way - hope the Camerons are coming through OK.

[Richard Calhoun]

Peter Buss | March 05, 2009 at 17:41

I agree entirely.

We want answers!!

[YMT]

@Richard Calhoun

Yes exactly Richard! People should stop having a sense of humour, don't you lot know that for every comedy post a person makes on-line another bank dies!

Additionally an on-line poll has shown that as soon as you post on the internet you instantly become an expert in everything from Economics to Medicine and even Relationships problems! Also an email I received had a very comprehensive wall of text that proved that the greater the volume of serious and brave comments on a message board in relation to a problem the greater the chance that that problem will be spontaneously fixed! This is true as I read it on the interweb.

[Mara MacSeoinin]

If you really want to make a point about something for which Brown's not sorry, create an image of 1.3 million Iraqi war dead scattered around our Marines' flag-draped coffins. That'll get the message across.

[Malcolm Dunn]

Doesn't do it for me at all.Sorry the situation we are in is just not funny and jokes even at Brown's expense strike the wrong chord in my opinion.

[Mara MacSeoinin]

I agree entirely, Malcolm: hence my post above.

[Jack stone]

Sally I thought the Tory Toffs campaign was dreadful. I think the public is really looking for something more than this now. I think they want someone to start to offer them more than this punch and judy style politics. They want people to treat one another with respect and concentrate on policies not personality`s.
I think this one trick pony that the party as at the moment of trying to blame Brown personally for everything is just becoming boring.I wonder sometimes if the leadership keep banging on like this because they really have little more to say.

[Steve Tierney]

I'm in a really uncomfortable position because I find i'm in agreement with NorthernMonkey and Jack Stone. It's not a nice place to be for me.

On the plus side:-
This is a good use of web technology, a la Obama, to attempt to create a viral-style email campaign that resounds well against Gordon Brown. More of this kind of thing will be great, but...

On the negative side:-
The actual attempt here is childish, petty and poorly done. It does not cast us in a good light, even if it provokes chuckles from some.

There are two problems with it. The biggest one is that it appears to have been put out throught the machinations of HQ. This is unseemly and lacking in gravity, not the sort of thing that showers them in glory. I've got no problem with humour, but this sort of thing is inappropriate from head office.

My second problem is that its just badly written. Whoever conceived it (the text) needs to find something they are good at to do for the party. It should either be serious, or funny, but it tries to be both and fails dismally. It's 'funny' isn't really particularly amusing, it's 'serious' jars with the style of the piece. Its very amateur in design.

Next time do it right. Don't put it out from HQ but let an independent supporter (like ConHome or others) do it. When this sort of thing is done by activists it can get away with more without making the party proper look bad or have anything to answer for. Also, let's hope somebody with some talent and comic ability does the next one. If it were actually funny it might be less tragic.

[MG]

Not keen on this to be honest.

[Robtherich]

This is interesting: http://redboxblues.wordpress.com/

[Super Blue]

This is good but not very realistic - can you imagine Brown really apologising for anything?

[Sally Roberts]

Don't know why people are being so Po-faced about this! Political lampooning is a very old tradition which goes back centuries - just think of James Gillray and others! Why should this be any different?
Brown is a control-freak who will never admit he has done anything wrong - let alone apologise and for this alone he deserves our mockery!

[The Bishop Swine]

The Elton John style glass's are I suppose a play on "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"Music by Sir Elton Lyrics by Bernie Taupin.

The First lines seems appropriate.

"What have I got to do to make you love me
What have I got to do to make you care"

Call a general election of course. The song continues with:

"What do I do when lightning strikes me"

Which makes me think of Kylie's "I should be so lucky"

The chorus of Mr John's song repeats:

It's sad, so sad
It's a sad, sad situation
And it's getting more and more absurd
It's sad, so sad
Why can't we talk it over
Oh it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word.

Superblue is on the ball with "This is good but not very realistic - can you imagine Brown really apologising for anything?"

I agree, although I think we might owe Elton John an apology for suggesting he and Brown have anything in common. Elton John after all has had a successful career.

[John Bromley-Davenport]

Gordon asks "Apologise for what?"
Answers
1. Raiding pensions.
2. Failed bank regulation.
3. Selling gold at rock bottom prices.
4. His role in the destruction of Lloyds TSB.

That will do for a start.

[Jane]

Godon should apologise for
1 Destroying the best pension schemes in the world;
2 Selling our Gold reserves;
3 Destroying Lloyds TSB;
4 Encouraging people to live beyond their means;
5 Failing to regulate the financial system;
6 Encouraging house prices to rise to totally unsustainable levels.

In fact just about all our financial problems stem from him and his totally arrogant attitude that he knows best.

[Trevor]

"Mr Brown has repeatedly refused to acknowledge any responsibility for the economic downturn, putting the entire blame on America’s financial services industry."
--------------------------------------------
Wow, that'll go down well with Obama ! No wonder he only gave Gord 25 DVDs