TORONTO – Sometimes politicians slip up. They talk about how they “love firing people,” or they let a 15-year-old boy know that the teen is a “jackass.”
This year, not all politicians were on their best behaviour on social media and in front of a microphone.
This year’s political gaffes range from foul-mouthed, profane-ridden tweets to off-the-cuff, unsavoury comments – take a look at a year full of accidents and apologies.
Tony Clement calls 15-year-old a “jackass”
Last January, Treasury Board President Tony Clement, who is a prolific tweeter, apologized for calling a 15-year-old boy a “jackass” on the social media site.
His spat over a spelling mistake occurred after the Parry Sound boy suggested the Tory head to school with him after Clement spelled “tonite.”
In two private message responses, Clement accused the boy of misspelling “don’t know.”
“It’s ‘don’t know’ not ‘dunno. Jack ass (sic),” Clement said in a private message that turned into a screen grab and circulated around the Internet.
Clement apologized for the message and noted that he could have been “more polite.”
Canadian senator confronts reporter, calls her names
Conservative senator Patrick Brazeau deleted his Twitter account following a June spat with two reporters – again on Twitter.
Brazeau was in hot water after he told Canadian Press reporter Jennifer Ditchburn to switch the ‘D’ in her last name to a ‘B’ following a story she wrote about Brazeau’s attendance record in the Senate.
“When u (sic) smile Jen, others suffer. Change the D to a B in your last name and we’re even! Don’t mean it but needs saying,” Brazeau tweeted.
NDP Pat Martin swears off Twitter
In late December, NDP MP Pat Martin made his rounds of apologies following an abusive Twitter outburst.
Some explicit language was thrown around by Martin, who called the Conservatives some very inappropriate names after he wasn’t invited to an announcement for an infrastructure project in his riding.
“I apologize for my regrettable and inappropriate language,” Martin later tweeted, before he closed his account.
“It seems some people shouldn’t tweet so with this, I sign off.”
Harper compares the NDP to Hilter
The usually scripted Harper government faced some criticism from Canadians after the prime minister invoked the name of Adolf Hitler to beat up on the NDP in the House of Commons in April. After taking questions from the Official Opposition during daily question period, Harper accused the NDP of being reluctant to support the decision to declare war on Germany in 1939.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird echoed these comments a day later.
The problem is, the NDP wasn’t established as a party until 1961.
On Twitter, #HarperHistory began to trend with Canadians poking fun at the comments.
Mitt Romney’s illustrious 47 per cent comments
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With the U.S. election showdown in November, Romney had his hands full dealing with damage control on multiple accounts of political missteps. The one most Americans will likely take away comes from a leaked video in which Romney suggests that 47 per cent of Americans do not pay taxes, accusing this group of people of playing “victims” living off government handouts.
This follows a string of unsavoury comments:
“I like being able to fire people who provide services to me,” and “I should tell my story, I’m also unemployed,” he said to a group of struggling, unemployed Floridans.
And then there were his comments on the London Olympics.
“It’s hard to know just how well it will turn out,” Romney told NBC News, suggesting the city wasn’t ready for the 2012 Summer Games.
“There are a few things that were disconcerting.”
Richard Mourdock says babies born from rape are ‘gifts from God’
Women and men alike were irked after Indiana State Treasurer and Republican Richard Mourdock said babies conceived from rape are “a gift from God” in October.
His “something God intended” comments drew ire around the world as he suggested that women should be forced to have this baby born from rape.
“I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And, I think, even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to have happened.”
Vic Toews: You’re either with us or against us
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Vic Toews’ claim to fame this year came after he made a divisive statement in the House of Commons, suggesting that anyone disagreeing with Ottawa’s plan to increase online monitoring powers is siding with child pornographers.
“He can either stand with us or with the child pornographers,” Toews said in response to a Liberal MP who was criticizing the government’s online surveillance bill.
This sparked a flurry of tweets playing with the “You’re either with us, or with the child pornographers” dichotomy.
It also spawned another trending topic: #TellVicEverything in which angry Canadians poked fun at the government’s increased online surveillance plans.
Bev Oda’s $14 orange juice
In April, then-International Development Minister Bev Oda made headlines after it was reported that she refused to stay at a five-star hotel in London, England and opted to rebook at the swanky Savoy Hotel that was more than double the price. A $16 orange juice that was included in her bill also got taxpayers angry. The incident went viral on Twitter.
Rob Ford takes a tumble while playing fake football
Ford has a busy year between being tossed out of office after he was found guilty in a conflict of interest trial to having his face sculpted in butter, and getting caught reading while driving.
But his public fall at a press event on Tuesday is what’s turned into an online sensation.
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