guess they're ready

to my sistahs over at fafia -- way to go! woo hoo we did it! felicitations!

it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. we are stunned about what has happened with the fafia campaign. not even in our wildest dreams did we imagine obtaining signatures from all five major party leaders. and now we're a bit glazed over wondering what to do about it, and how little it might mean.

who would have thought that a bitty snowflake of an idea would snowball into what we're handling today. i'm talking about a suggestion (apparently mine) to target candidates with a signable pledge, all in the name of attempting to pierce through the noise with women's issues during the federal election. and so within days of that particular strategy session (days which for fafia necessitated, i might add, begging translators, sweet talking graphistes, and risking paper cuts on tongues), fafia produced and distributed the actual pledge along with the aptly named 'pledge action kit' to foot soldiers across the country. phase two of this election campaign, which started out the gate alongside the annus novus, saw our sisters pushing the pledge to local candidates while we attempted to do the same at the federal level. things plodded along fairly well, and we began to make plans about what to say about the noteworthy signatures we would receive. there were several angles to anticipate, to spin, to savour. until this morning when at the last minute, stephen fucking harper decided to sign. we never expected this.

we all know how much shit candidates are bombarded with during an election and how rare it is to catch their attention. ok, so seriously, woo hoo this REALLY IS a big deal. we REALLY ARE thrilled. yes, we high falutin' strategists and tacticians doing earth-shattering life-saving work recognize this as a significant accomplishment. but it still feels weird - sort of a mix between satisfaction and let-down. when you so seldom reach this kind of political objective, it's almost anti-climactic, a bit confounding. and in the context of this particular election, this feels like barely a blip. chalk another one up as more of a moral victory than a resounding political one.

these are the moments when you have to be careful not to react too quickly or overreact. you see, it would have kinda been preferable if 3 or 4 out of 5 had signed. then you've got something to work with. especially if the absentees are heads of parties that are simple enough to shame. so now, with our 5, we're all like, hmmm, ok, so now what? at the risk of disclosing highly sensitive top secret strategic considerations (as if they aren't obvious), may i just say that questions of spin and traction are made fuzzy today.

a release has been issued today, softballing the information and offering no trace of analysis or emotionality. hardly sure we even want it picked up. as for what comes next, there's some head scratching to do. for now, i have chosen, as would any seasoned campaigner, to deal with the conundrum by cooking a tray of lasagne and watching ellen.