Politics Of Destruction Has Run Its Course [Re Harper & Conservatives]

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Commentary
Politics of destruction has run its course

LAWRENCE MARTIN

July 21, 2008 at 8:14 AM EDT

The governing Conservatives have discovered something of late: Their
modus operandi - politics as war - isn't working as it used to.

In the winter and spring, they had the Liberals running scared from
the prospect of an election. But in the soft days of summer, much has
changed. A veteran pollster was saying last week that, if an election
were held today, the Tories would likely find themselves on the
opposition benches.

Their game plan, which served them reasonably well, was simple. Leave
the ideas to eggheads, visions to dreamers. Use a superior field
commander and bigger tanks to crush the opposition.

The politics of destruction was a slice of Karl Rove, the veteran
Republican strategist, come North. Former White House press secretary
Scott McClellan describes the Rovian techniques in his book What
Happened. In the Bush administration, "deliberation and compromise,
elements central to governing, all but disappeared." Governing was
turned into a permanent campaign. The "mentality of political
manipulation" operated around the clock.

The war mentality of governance wasn't strictly a Republican thing in
the United States, just as it hasn't been a strictly Conservative
happening in Canada. Democrats there, Liberals here, lay the
groundwork with their own lowering of the bar. On each side of the
border, conservative governments came in promising a new way but
found comfort in the old.

War politics worked here to the point where, with Stephen Harper
weaving intricate plots, Stéphane Dion almost faced mutiny. On the
battlefield, the PM had cruise missiles, the Opposition Leader
popguns.

But, in a signal that all has not been proceeding well, the PM has
brought in a new chief of staff, a new communications director, other
new faces. It's a wise move, a scaling down of the war mentality that
could bring about a truce with the media, civil servants and
alienated segments of the public. If the bunker mentality isn't being
abandoned, it's at least being modified.

Changes are necessary for obvious reasons. The Conservatives have
been sliding in the polls. Their recent series of mini-scandals, some
prompted by too much Karl Roving, has clouded their image of
cleanliness and competence. They are seen as being too blue when the
trend line is green, they are dropping in popularity in Quebec, the
economy is suspect, and the war in Afghanistan, which they
enthusiastically embraced, is going badly. To top it all, they have
posted no vision of where they want to take the country.

Moreover, an opposition leader once on the point of crumbling hasn't
crumbled. Mr. Dion's Green Shift plan has changed the political
dynamic, elevating his image from wimp to risk-taker, staking his
party to a strong vision, putting the PM on the defensive.

The Conservatives were relying heavily on Mr. Harper's big lead over
Mr. Dion in personal leadership rankings. But that's less certain
now. They were relying heavily on making big gains in Quebec. That's
not at all certain. They were hoping to be able to boast of sound
economic management. But that's hard to do if the economy is sliding.

The good news for them is that, while their support numbers have been
slipping, Liberal numbers have not been going up. The Tories also
maintain big tactical advantages in terms of money and organization.
On the political spectrum, they have the right side to themselves,
while the Liberals are crowded in with the Greens and the NDP.

But momentum, which was once on the Conservatives' side, has been
drifting away. Their penchant for destructive politics has hurt them
ethically. But more than that, because they have placed so much
emphasis on battlefield tactics, they have little in the policy vault
with which to move forward. In the last parliamentary session, they
had some good initiatives such as immigration reform, the residential
schools apology and a few consumer-friendly measures. But there were
no big-ticket items to showcase in a campaign.

The war mentality of governance can work in the short term. But, in
the long term, something more is needed. With the tides shifting, the
Conservatives need a bold new program, something to show the public
they can do more than crack heads.