Like the Wicked Witch of the West did when Dorothy threw a pail of water on her, "Captain Canada" and the Liberals are melting away............down, down, down in the polls.......... all that is left is a puddle, a black hat and a charred broom................
It isn't happening over one reason only. The sponsorship scandal and Gomery may have opened the eyes of Canadians and forced them to consider the need for change, but so many other factors played into the demise of the House of Liberals. These factors bore fissures into their very foundation.
Martin began his leadership bid on the defence by starting up before Chretien even stepped down. By using this tactic, he drove a wedge through his own party, publicly splitting alliances, forcing colleagues to choose sides. He also surrounded himself with a crew of individuals that seemed to bow to him, and when that happens tunnel vision occurs. Consequently, when the sponsorship scandal hit the fan, he found himself leader of a Party whose house had cracks in the ceiling and uneven floors. He had no caucus solidarity to shore things up.
He then started turfing loyal Liberals whom he felt weren't loyal to him. All of a sudden, it became apparent that this man who projected himself in a confident, trustworthy manner, who had the ability to lead the country's economic future as Finance Minister, was being seen in a new light. He was hungry for power. He would step over fellow Liberals to grab the brass ring. The party came second to one man's personal vision. Still, at this point, Canadians were willing to give him a step up.
Then came the missteps.........the scandal, the childish public brow beating between two leaders, the ongoing Gomery drama and an election. It was an election that the Liberals entered feeling confident that they would come out on top with a majority. Their plan? Attack the enemy, throw out negative ads, allow them to hang themselves and stumble. No need to provide a visionary plan for the country. No need to offer any inspirational speeches that would begin to bring the country together. The Conservatives played right into it, allowing renegades to mouth off inappropriately, and showing a team of Alliance and PC's that hadn't yet merged forces. And yet, the Liberals were lucky to get out of that election alive. Subtle change was in the air.......distrust left dust marks all over the house of Liberals.
So, now we're four days away from what looks like a Conservative majority; one that would see Tories voted in across the country in every province. The fissures that started erupting before the first election turned into irreparable cracks. How did this happen?
The Liberals felt that they could run exactly the same campaign as they did 18 months ago. They may have changed their slogan, but they neglected to even alter the timelines of their negative ad attack, or their browbeating fearmongering because they were confident that the Conservatives would shoot themselves in the foot again. Wrongo! It's pretty obvious that after the last loss, Harper and crew revamped, and revitalized their gameplan with new faces and new approaches. Surprise! Quick off the mark, on the offensive, we learned of new policies, a more mellowed vision for the country from the same political party that scared us last time around.
You can't win a game just playing defence. You can't win an election without at least trying to take the lead. You can't win an election if your house isn't in order. If you have lost your sense of loyalty to your party, and you begin to feel that your personal goal is more important than the good of the party.........you just can't win. It's time for the Liberals to retreat to their battered house and do some repairs.
It isn't happening over one reason only. The sponsorship scandal and Gomery may have opened the eyes of Canadians and forced them to consider the need for change, but so many other factors played into the demise of the House of Liberals. These factors bore fissures into their very foundation.
Martin began his leadership bid on the defence by starting up before Chretien even stepped down. By using this tactic, he drove a wedge through his own party, publicly splitting alliances, forcing colleagues to choose sides. He also surrounded himself with a crew of individuals that seemed to bow to him, and when that happens tunnel vision occurs. Consequently, when the sponsorship scandal hit the fan, he found himself leader of a Party whose house had cracks in the ceiling and uneven floors. He had no caucus solidarity to shore things up.
He then started turfing loyal Liberals whom he felt weren't loyal to him. All of a sudden, it became apparent that this man who projected himself in a confident, trustworthy manner, who had the ability to lead the country's economic future as Finance Minister, was being seen in a new light. He was hungry for power. He would step over fellow Liberals to grab the brass ring. The party came second to one man's personal vision. Still, at this point, Canadians were willing to give him a step up.
Then came the missteps.........the scandal, the childish public brow beating between two leaders, the ongoing Gomery drama and an election. It was an election that the Liberals entered feeling confident that they would come out on top with a majority. Their plan? Attack the enemy, throw out negative ads, allow them to hang themselves and stumble. No need to provide a visionary plan for the country. No need to offer any inspirational speeches that would begin to bring the country together. The Conservatives played right into it, allowing renegades to mouth off inappropriately, and showing a team of Alliance and PC's that hadn't yet merged forces. And yet, the Liberals were lucky to get out of that election alive. Subtle change was in the air.......distrust left dust marks all over the house of Liberals.
So, now we're four days away from what looks like a Conservative majority; one that would see Tories voted in across the country in every province. The fissures that started erupting before the first election turned into irreparable cracks. How did this happen?
The Liberals felt that they could run exactly the same campaign as they did 18 months ago. They may have changed their slogan, but they neglected to even alter the timelines of their negative ad attack, or their browbeating fearmongering because they were confident that the Conservatives would shoot themselves in the foot again. Wrongo! It's pretty obvious that after the last loss, Harper and crew revamped, and revitalized their gameplan with new faces and new approaches. Surprise! Quick off the mark, on the offensive, we learned of new policies, a more mellowed vision for the country from the same political party that scared us last time around.
You can't win a game just playing defence. You can't win an election without at least trying to take the lead. You can't win an election if your house isn't in order. If you have lost your sense of loyalty to your party, and you begin to feel that your personal goal is more important than the good of the party.........you just can't win. It's time for the Liberals to retreat to their battered house and do some repairs.
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