KINSELLA: Tories should pick the road, not the ditch
Winning. Because, when you strip away all of the finery and the rhetoric, that is always the prime objective in democratic politics. Winning. Winning, so that you get power. And when you have power, you have the ability to get things done. And that’s when you can turn your ideas into reality — when, one hopes, you can better people’s lives, and create a better future for all. That’s what it’s all about: Winning. Simple. To win in Canada, you need to attract the support of a majority. That’s how it is in any democracy. Majority rules. So, these are the things we know about the Canadian majority — things that have been irrefutably, indisputably, inarguably shown to be true in election after election after election. Six things. One: The majority in Canada dislike extremism. When given the choice, Canadian voters will always favor the middle path, between the extremes on the Left and the Right. That may be a bit less exciting, but that’s where you will always find them: in the unexciting middle. Two: The majority of voters in this country don’t like ideology at the expense of common sense. Unlike America, where bumper-sticker politics increasingly dominates, Canadian voters still prefer moderation. And they intensely dislike doctrinaire ideologues and polemicists. Three: The majority of Canadians do not hate government. During the pandemic, they have accepted the notion that no other entity — not the private sector, not organized labor, not wealthy individuals — can acquire vaccines and PPE better than governments, or organize society to survive a deadly global pandemic. God knows the governments are imperfect, but Canadians just don’t object to government in the way that Americans do. The results are shown in our respective COVID body counts. Four: The majority of voters in this country are not fussed about social issues. Not anymore. After same-sex marriages happened, after women won the right to control their own bodies, voters noted that society did not collapse. We did not descend into anarchy. Life went on. Five: The Canadian majority favors tolerance and diversity — for the simple reason that we are now a much more diverse country. We are no longer the white, Anglo-Saxon redoubt that we were mere decades ago. The majority of Canadians prefer political leaders who are like them — diverse, and favoring diversity. Sixth and final point: The majority of Canadian voters will always vote for the common good over dominance by the rich and powerful. They do not venerate billionaires in the way that Americans do. They believe in the wisdom and the durability of everyday people, not mega-rich blowhards who have never had to worry about paying the rent or mortgage. Now, some of you may not like what the majority prefers. That’s fine. In a democracy, nobody wins every argument. But if you’re a sentient being, you know that it’s the truth. You know what the reality is in Canadian politics, too. The majority rules, and the majority favor driving in the middle of the road, not in the ditches. You don’t get far when you’re in the ditch.
