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Councillors Affleck, Louie engage in Twitter war

Raymond Louie takes umbrage with George Affleck calling Horganā€™s government ā€˜socialistsā€™
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NPA Coun. George Affleck and Vision Ā鶹“«Ć½Ó³»­Coun. Raymond Louie were back at it again at Tuesdayā€™s council meeting, torquing up their political battle. Photo Dan Toulgoet

Me most days: I hate Twitter, I love Twitter.

On Tuesday, I loved Twitter.

Not because it provided me with a great story lead or insight into an issue that I often write about such as housing, homelessness or drug addiction.

No, my interest here was purely for my appreciation of comedy, if you can call it that. Or maybe I was just looking for something to write about on the lighter side of civic life.

Must be the sunshine.

First, some background: Some of you may recall that a few of us media types shot back in December that captured Vision Ā鶹“«Ć½Ó³»­Coun. Raymond Louie sparring with NPA Coun. George Affleck over tax hikes.

Verbally sparring that is.

I still chuckle when I watch it because Louie and Affleck kind of remind me of that old Looney Tunes cartoon I used to watch as a kid about Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf.

This is the cartoon where Sam and Ralph would cordially greet each other in the morning, punch a clock and then go to work. Samā€™s job was to protect the sheep while Ralph tried to make them his lunch.

The two would go at each other all day, sometimes using (and diffusing) dynamite, until the shift was over. Then theyā€™d punch the clock, bid each other a pleasant good night and repeat again the next day.

Iā€™ve seen Louie and Affleck do kind of the same, greeting each other as recently as two weeks ago in the council chamber lobby, before going to battle in the chamber.

Sans dynamite, of course.

On Tuesday, the two went at it again in council, with Louie telling Affleck he shouldnā€™t be calling Premier John Horganā€™s government ā€œsocialistsā€ or questioning whether they were ā€œcommunists.ā€

Those comments were related to debate around a motion to support small businesses, which by the way occurred on the same day council was promoting Pink Shirt Day, where some of the councillors wore pink shirts to symbolize a stand against bullying; neither Louie, nor Affleck wore pink.

I tweeted out Louieā€™s concerns about Affleckā€™s description of Horganā€™s government, and hereā€™s the Twitter thread that followed:

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Louie: Name calling on Pink Shirt Dayā€¦guess politicking trumps all.

Affleck: Since when did identifying politicians where they sit on a political spectrum become name calling?

Louie: Here is what RationalWiki says: Red-baiting is a dusty old notorious bullshitting tactic, used almost exclusively by the right-wing. It consists of making a false and/or groundless accusation that some person is a communist or fellow traveller.

Vision Ā鶹“«Ć½Ó³»­Coun. Andrea Reimer chimed in: Itā€™s not a new tactic for [Affleck]. He called Adriane Carr a Marxist a while back in council. Itā€™s kind of funny coming from a guy whose main claim to legislated fame is championing government sponsored ā€œlove locks.ā€

Me: OK need to know, who is Sam Sheepdog, who is Ralph Wolf?

Affleck: Your age is showing Mike. Can we put in Marvel context?

Me: Go for it.

Affleck: Iā€™ll get my kids on it ASAP.

Reimer: Sorry, before my time. Raymond or George may be hip to that scene.

Louie: In the marvel universe, the Banshee is a good fit.

The Banshee? A good fit for whom?

I looked up this Banshee character on Wikipedia.

Hereā€™s the description: ā€œAn Irish mutant, Banshee possesses a ā€˜sonic screamā€™ capable of harming enemiesā€™ auditory systems and causing physical vibrations. He is named after the banshee, a legendary ghost from Irish mythology said to possess a powerful cry.ā€

Only eight months to go before the municipal election. Good night Raymond, good night George.

[email protected]

@Howellings