But even if there were only two parties, one distinctly progressive, I’m not sure we could count on victory. There are two reasons.
One relates to Canada's political culture. While a majority of Canadians may have what we can generously call social-democratic views on social issues, at the same time most (excepting perhaps in Quebec) support a business-oriented approach to running the economy. That’s why for years polls showed that while many Canadians appreciated the role of the NDP in keeping governments honest and pushing for more humane policies, the large majority did not want the NDP itself as government. The NDP couldn’t, so the phrase went, run the corner grocery store. To many, the Bob Rae government of Ontario was proof of the pudding.
Has that perception now changed? Did the NDP soar because of its modest progressive platform? However much the NDP tries to move to the centre on certain issues and tries to prove its smarts on the economy, can it escape its own transcendent raison d’etre: the use of the powers of government to achieve a more just and equal society?
Then there’s the less high-falutin business of down-and-dirty politics. Progressives of all stripes must never underestimate this little caper of Jack’s massage. The smear of Jack Layton by the powerful the Sun Media chain is only the tiniest tip of the iceberg of garbage that would be thrown at any liberal party that had the slightest chance of forming a government. The history of the Rae government is the model to study – a systematic, relentless gang-up of various media, businesses of all sizes, government-relations firms, bond-rating agencies, many professionals, and lots of insubordinate cops, including senior ones. Even respectable sources can be expected to join the fray, as shown by the recent story in this very paper agreeing that Mr. Layton was smeared by the Sun but insisting that, after all, it was a true smear.
The other side plays for keeps. They believe they’re in a war and act accordingly. They smear, lie, malign, distort, divide, terrify, destroy. They play it the American Way, as Michael Ignatieff can testify. It’s like Jon Stewart versus the Tea Party. He’s clever, knowledgeable and adorable and wins debating points. They’re vicious and unscrupulous and win the war.
