Well it's been a week since the federal election. I've remained fairly silent on the whole affair, making no more than the odd "tweet" of despair on my twitter account.
You see, I've been trying to come to grips with the outcome. It simply makes no sense to me. I foresaw the possibility that the Cons could be returned to power in a minority capacity. This presented all kinds of interesting outcomes including a coalition government and the end of Stephen Harper. But with all the scandals, contempt of Parliament and ruthless unethical behaviour, I in no way foresaw a majority Conservative government in the cards.
My first response was that Canada has taken an enormous leap to the right, both socially and politically. In many respects, it may have unwittingly. But I felt that Canadians were saying No to:
-women's reproductive rights,
- immigration
- the gun registry
- gay rights
- the environment
- scientific evidence based facts in determining policy.
And that they were also saying yes to:
- Punishment instead of rehabilitation regarding criminal behaviour.
- investing huge sums of money on Jails that will do nothing to make the streets safer.
-investing even more money on unneeded high tech, state of the art fighter jets (with or with out engines).
- an end to our ideal of a multicultural society.
- an end to our public health care system
- unscrupulous and rampant unethical behaviour on the part of our government.
-an end to our all inclusive social values.
- policy based on religious dogma
All that was a lot to swallow. I couldn't believe that the Canada I know and love would get behind those kinds of ideas. And the above is not the sum total of the Con agenda.
The day after the election, the pundits began making excuses and coming up with theories to explain the commanding majority the Cons now have in the House of Commons. They were basically a rehashing of old theories that explained how the Cons ended up with two previous minority governments. Some seemed to make some sense, others not so much.
Some blamed the vote-splitting on the left and subsequent surge of the NDP. In reality, it didn't matter how the votes were split on the left, the left leaning parties were still in the minority. Still others have blamed an unbalanced electoral system that rewards the party "first past the post" instead of the party with the highest percentage of popular votes. It seems the Cons still were just shy of 40% despite their commanding majority. But this is the same system that has been in place since confederation and has worked to the benefit of parties on either the left or the right of the political spectrum.
The short-comings of the Cons were well documented in the media. I felt that this majority outcome was in many ways, an indictment of the mainstream media. That people just don't trust what they have to say anymore. Or failing that, Canadians have become so cynical as to assume that deceit, unethical and dishonest behaviour is the norm for federal politics so no amount of scandals were anything new or out of the ordinary.
There may be a grain of truth in any or all of the above theories or explanations. But I feel that, after having taken some time for consideration and reflection, that the main reason for the quantum Con victory comes down to nothing more than effective marketing.
The Harper-Cons approached this election campaign more as if it were an advertising blitz then a political event. They approached it from a business perspective, using measurable market research and data as well as techniques learned from previous campaigns. They could have been Pepsi-Cola looking to steal customers from Coke.
Since 2006, Preston Manning, former leader and, with Stephen Harper, co-founder of the Reform Party, has operated a right-wing "think tank" known as the Manning Center. The soul purpose of the Manning center is to allow it's founder and his colleagues to have an effect on Government policy. What better way to achieve that end then by having your colleagues form the Federal Government?
So for the past five years, the Manning Center has been collecting the best ideas and strategies from all the best right-wing thinkers from all over North America. They bill themselves as being able to create opportunities for "political entrepreneurs" and offer a Master's degree in "Political Management". They employ such rabid Cons as Kory Teneycke, the infamous vice president of Sun Media and the man who by his own admission, unabashedly suppresses left-wing educators and political scientists through the use of smear campaigns and threats of job loss.
So despite their statements to the contrary and armed with the data and strategies provided by the Manning Center, the Cons were well prepared and, dare I say eager for this election. They did their research, they knew which ridings they had to target and they knew which consumers they had to ensnare, mainly the mainstream centrist.
The Cons knew that most Canadians listen more to sound-bites than to debates or to platforms, so with their bloated coffers, the Con's political entrepreneurs began putting their messages out there well before the election was even called. They appealed to their target audiences, which did not include students or women. They were well tapped into the social networking scene, but ignored it for all intents and purposes as it was seen as a mainly youth driven media.
As a result, the Cons were able to take the influence of the main stream media out of the equation by creating doubt in their ability to provide unbiased reports about the election. And as a result of this, all the myriad scandals, indiscretions and even the contempt of Parliament issue were effectively minimized. The image was projected that ALL politicians, parties and governments are dishonest and unethical so the Con's underhandedness was no big deal.
They created an atmosphere of "fear", false or otherwise, then effectively projected themselves as the protectors of the mainstream centrists and their pocket books. And in so doing, were able to convince this mega voting-block that nothing but uncertainty awaited them if they allowed the squabbling parties of the left to form the next government. Even though Harper's message about the legitimacy of coalition governments was absolutely false, it was put out there often enough and emphatically enough that hordes of voters bought into it.
And in that lays the Center piece of the Con strategy - strict enforcement of the messages being projected. There was a script. And everyone stuck to that script. And if there was every any danger that they couldn't, such as in candidate debates, they didn't speak. Even rallies were carefully orchestrated so as to eliminate almost all variables. And the press was all but silenced at these events.
So in the end, while the Liberals and New Democrats were seeking to win over hearts and minds, the Cons were effectively winning pocket books and votes. Not because a majority of Canadians necessarily like them, but because they believed them to be the best protectors of their standards of living. That, in essence, was the Con message.
So now it's up to the parties of the left to sort themselves out, to have some sort of joint agreement in place by the next election if not a full merger. And like the right, they need to start employing "political entrepreneurs" and to approach elections like ad campaigns rather than political campaigns. They need a focused message and they need to win back those main stream centrists who once upon a time saw the Liberal Party as the entity best able to look after their best interests.
As I said on the eve of election 41, we are witnessing the birth of a new Canada. And with that, comes a new model for fighting elections and governing the country. It is a decidedly unpleasant affair, but it is hoped, at least from this corner, that our love of civil rights, equality and progressiveness does not become irrevocably lost in the process.
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