tBlog - Liberal Party: the Party Canada Forgot

The Liberals are not going to build a grass roots movement unless they are willing to step on some toes and offend different groups, especially social conservatives, from time to time. They are not going to attract anyone by trying to be all things to all people. Canadians feel no loyalty to the party and quite frankly the Liberals bore most of them silly. This is a party without imagination, conviction or courage. Unwilling to consider talking points yet alone policy not yet sanctioned by focus groups or pollsters, it has become the de facto party of the status quo. Yesterday's mores and yesterday's values are today’s Liberal policy.

The Liberals must seek out controversy rather than run from it. They must do more than just broach issues (e.g., poverty); they must propose readily understandable policies that cut to heart of various hot button issues and they can not wait for an election to do so. They must trot out these policies as soon as possible. They can not afford to slave away in obscurity while the Conservatives dominant the headlines. They can not afford to be merely reactive. They must seize the initiative.

The following are just the kind of policies that will put the Party back on the map.

1) Propose mandating 4 weeks vacation a year

2) Propose including dental care as part of health air

3) Propose Legalizing euthanasia

4) Propose Legalizing marijuana

Part of what made for Trudeau mania was Trudeau's decision to liberalize, if only somewhat, Canada's divorce, gambling and abortion laws, and to decriminalize homosexuality. "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation." Are these reforms what he is best remembered for? Of course not. However, they were proof that he was in tune with the times, history on horse back as Hegal would say. They helped form part of his advant guard image. The population wanted change and everything about Trudeau spoke to his willingness to provide just that.

Where this relates back to today is that the Liberals need to get people interested in the party again and population has the facility and desire to discuss these issues. The SSM issue should tell the Liberals something. The party needs to demonstrate to the Canadian people that it is willing to move past polling for policy and is willing to offer up substantive change and there is no better proof of that than showing a willingness to tackle the hot button issues, social Conservatives be damned.

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