Editorial cartoon by Brian GableThe Globe and Mail
It took people a long time to adjust to the realities of the world after the end of the Cold War. It seems we are going through a similar process when it comes to accepting the Liberal Party's current fate in our politics.
The Liberal Party has been the main political opponent I have known in my lifetime. Many journalists, columnists and academics have made careers out of covering the machinations of the once-big Red Machine. Liberals themselves have always had trouble getting over themselves, yet the public – who were ahead of us in divining Grit fortunes – are still subjected to unceasing stories about potential renewal of this moribund organization. What gives?
It just seems a great many of us can't stop talking about the Liberals and have as much trouble as they do letting go. Change is difficult. That in part must explain the seeming disproportionate amount of material out there about this weekend's coming Liberal Party policy convention. At various Canadian news outlets and aggregators you're likely to find nearly as much about the contest for the Liberal Party presidential race as you are about the U.S. Republican primaries. You could be led to believe they were equally significant. To paraphrase one former Grit president, are we all "dumb as a bag of hammers" to pay this much attention to the Liberals?
The Liberals are a political and news addict's dream. Their fall from grace is Shakespearean and their renewal efforts have no shortage of irony. Never mind their eventual comeback run could be steered by a former NDP premier in his early 60s. The race for party president is about renewal, yet the two leading contenders are a lead member of the famous Rat Pack, Sheila Copps, and a guy who started his career as a Young Liberal in the 1980s, Mike Crawley. No doubt both are capable and want the best for the organization they love. However, if Grits are to heal themselves how is that done by selecting a long-standing member of the Liberal class system that arguably helped put them in third place and near death?
I have said it many times: Never underestimate the Liberals – they are and likely will be in some form a tough competitor. Don't give them a common enemy and purpose for unification. Historical romanticism is a powerful thing. If you're a Liberal it likely means you assume a position of importance with the electorate, with the help of a variety of commentators, but that has no bearing on reality. I am happy for them, as I am sure others are, to continue on that quixotic path. That might not benefit the country but isn't that how the Liberals got in trouble in the first place – by believing they were the country?
We all just keep watching. We still can't seem to help ourselves.