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He we are at the end of Day 11 of the federal election campaign, as the Natural Governing Party seems to have fortuitously reversed their calimitous slide in popular support among Canadians, and all is well once again in the universe.
Ian Welsh, at Tilting at Windmills, suggests that the Liberals should build on their newfound momentum by running on the Liberal record. Yes, you read right. And, it’s a damn fine idea, too.
Here’s an extended, edited, excerpt of Welsh’s column …
You’ve got a good record on the most important issue. The Economy. The U.S. just went through a recession. During the same period the Canadian economy added two million jobs. If that’s happened in living memory I’m not aware of it. You were the Finance Minister who set up the fundamentals that made it happen. Tell people that. Let’s run through this point by point.
- Talk up the good parts of the Liberal record, especially the economy.
- While doing so, talk about the pain of paying down the deficit you inherited from the Conservatives.
- Talk about the 2 million jobs gained due to having the lowest corporate taxes and lowest cost of business in the OECD.
- Mention that again, and inquire why Harper wants even lower corporate taxes?
- Talk about Iraq. Canadians are bloody grateful that Canada isn’t involved in that mess. Harper would have taken Canada in.
- Mention that you stand by the right to abortion. See above for why this won’t hurt you.
- Mention how much you love Bilingualism and how it is a Liberal policy you’d never abandon.
- Talk about foreign affairs and trade policy. You seem to love this stuff — talk about it. You may think people don’t care, but they do (see the point on Iraq above). It’s a federal responsbility and the fact that you’re good at it will come through.
To summarize: Act like you’re a Liberal and proud of it. Highlight the differences between you and Harper. Don’t do that by attacking him personally, do it by talking about things like abortion, bilingualism, deficts and so on in a way that implies that your opposition is against all these things. Run against Mike Harris and Ralph Klein. People will understand what you’re saying.
Let’s hope someone at Liberal party headquarters surfs to Welsh’s blog.
In continuing coverage of the election, Ian King — over at Vancouver Scrum — points VanRamblings towards a thought-provoking article by the Toronto Star’s Tonda MacCharles, who puts Stephen Harper’s recently-announced law-and-order platform through a reality check. The reality, she suggests, is that the Conservatives’ “lock-and-key policy means Canadians would pay a hefty price, both in individual rights recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada, and in sheer dollars and cents.”
On Thursday, the Liberals will announce a $5-billion promise to create 300,000 licensed child-care spaces. A major plank in their election platform, the Liberals plan — called the Foundations Program — will adopt Québéc’s $7-a-day daycare scheme as a model for the rest of the country.
Writing in today’s Calgary Herald, columnist Don Martin says that in spite of early problems for the Liberal campaign, it’s a bit early to engage in a death-watch for Paul Martin and the Liberal Party. In the coming days, he writes, journalists will focus on how Stephen Harper would govern. And that can only help the cause of both the Liberals and the New Democrats.
For insight into Stephen Harper’s policies, as well as important 2004 federal election news events, click on VanRamblings’ full Decision Canada coverage.
