Dear Stephen,
Given that Tom Flanagan and your other strategists are prone to telling you things like “maybe we should hold a victory march down central Alberta to wrap up the election”, I thought you could use a little free advice. And here it is:
GO NOW!
Don’t wait. Don’t hesitate. None of this wimpy “wait for Jack” nonsense. One of the reasons people have soured on Paul is his “Mr.Dithers” label. Don’t look desperate, but you should stand up November 14th and announce that you cannot support the Liberals in light of the Gomery Report – toss a non-confidence motion out there and force Jack’s hand.
Martin has always had a cut-throat mentality – he forced out a three term PM, cancelled opposition days, enticed MPs across the floor; and no one cared. Chretien and Mulroney always went for the jugular and won five majorities between them. The Liberals forced down Joe Clark over Christmas in 1979 without a leader (admittedly, this probably left them in a better position than the current CPC) and weren’t punished for it. If you want to be the nation’s leader, then lead.
I just need to emphasize that THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. Canadians don’t like you. They don’t want you as Prime Minister. Your only chance is to ride the Adscam wave to a victory and then govern well once in power. Come March, people will have forgotten about this and Goodale will have a budget out with juicy tax cuts.
You have to go now. Yes, you’ll have to release moderate, appealing policies, but you have to make government ethics and waste the theme. The reform package you released on Friday is brilliant. Sheer brilliance. It’s constructive and yet attacks the Liberals on a wide range of ethics issues, beyond Adscam. It’s also something you could get passed if elected, because the NDP and Bloc would support it.
So force an election over Christmas and hammer away at Liberal corruption. Launch vicious attack adds with media clips from various Liberal scandals and let the images talk for themselves. You might not win, but this is your best chance and if you give people four months for forget about Gomery, your political career will be toast.
Sincerely,
Calgary Grit
PS: Burn your cowboy outfit