As goes Toronto, so goes the U.S. Congress. Who knew that Canada's least-favourite city was so influential? Toronto elects a focused right-wing populist. Next thing you know, the minority of Americans who bother to vote do the same.
What's going on?
It is worth remembering, to begin, that all politics really are local. The world is not being swept by impersonal forces, and history is not ending. But it is clearly not a great time to be an incumbent.
That said, there are some clear messages north and south of the border from recent elections and I think they can be summarized this way: anger and a tax cut will beat lists of complicated new government programs. Which is basically what President Barack Obama ran on during the U.S. midterms.
So if the rest of us want to beat the nostrums on offer from our friends on the political right, both here in Canada and there in the United States, we need to offer something other than lists of complicated new government programs.
That isn't to endorse Michael Ignatieff's apparent conclusion that since big programs don't sell, he'll peddle little teeny ones instead.
It is to say that it is time to fight the bad guys on the real battlefield. It is time to take on their big ideas with better big ideas, point for point.
They say government is too big. We should say poverty, unemployment, and injustice are too big.
They say taxes are too high. We should say there are more important things to tackle right now than reducing taxes for rich people.
They say they'll give everyone some of their money back. We should say paying for tax cuts by running deficits is theft from our children.
They say it's time to sell off and privatize schools, hospitals and public services. We should say there are some important things best done together – like good public education for our kids and good health care no matter how big your wallet is.
They say it’s “time to stop the gravy train.” We should say good idea! Let's stop the gravy train – starting with the insiders, rich tax cheats, speculators, and all the other geniuses who wrecked the world economy and put millions out of work, while pocketing the bailout money.
Progressive people sometimes seem bored by their basic values, and take them for granted as givens. But the bad guys run on simple messages about their very different view of what the “givens” are.
While we've been promising lists of programs, they've had that hockey rink to themselves for too long. It’s time for the home team – the one that speaks for most Canadians – to show up and start playing the real game.
