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Recovering backpacker, Cornwallite at heart, political enthusiast, catalyst, writer, husband, father, community volunteer, unabashedly proud Canadian. Every hyperlink connects to something related directly or thematically to that which is highlighted.

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Red Book, Blue Book, Changebook: Tim Hudak Cribs Saruman




  - Saruman, Lord of the Rings


The Progressive Conservatives of Ontario have a new video for you to watch - new, that is, in that it's someone else's creative work with some conspiracy theories and snide remarks thrown in.  Oh, and a police siren, because we know sirens make people uncomfortable.

They meant for this to be a sharp, possibly witty criticism, I'm sure.  But they've also given a fresh look into how they think and what they view as the role of political bosses.

Hudak, in everything he has done, has stood against.  His semi-famous white papers are all about disparaging what there is, presenting cuts with new covers and finding every flaw, conspiracy and villain that can be mined from civil society in Ontario.

What he has consistently failed to do is create anything new, to add any value to the proceedings.  In fact, he's falling into tropes that are demonstrated to fail.  Hudak plans to cut regulation, cut taxes and strangle the public service, hoping that somehow the private sector will suddenly decide that, unfettered by social bonds, it's in their best interest to fill the gap.  There's no evidence to support that position - in fact, the facts point the other way.



We know the impact Hudak's policies would have, because the evidence is clear - they don't inspire wealth to flow, they inspire economic hibernation.  Leaders don't stand against - they stand for.

They also create new products, services and ideas.  They add value.

Hudak isn't adding value; with his policies and his attack ads, he's simply twisting and torturing what someone else has laid out before him.

This approach might make for good politics, but it's not leadership. 

UPDATE: Notably, the secret NSA briefing document describes part of the U.S. eavesdropping agency's mandate at the Toronto summit as "providing support to policymakers."

If you can't innovate ideas and you have no vision of where to go next, you can always crib from others.


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