The Day the Liberals got their Hope Back
There was something tangibly different about politics in Canada yesterday.
People were actually talking about it in coffee shops, on the bus, and on the street corners.
The people I kept overhearing were abuzz because a politician did something very different, yesterday morning.
He announced a bold, ambitious, controversial policy to confront a major and urgent national challenge - the climate change crisis - despite being told by all the cynics and most of the pundits that doing so would be impossible, unpopular, or just too risky for his campaign.
He, Stéphane Dion, went and did it any way - challenging conventional wisdom and the polls to demand that not just the Government of Canada, but also the people of Canada, come together to fight climate change seriously and immediately.
This is not politics as usual. The same cynics, the same partisan opponents, and many of the same pundits will still say that Dion's tough "Green Shift" plan will cost him too dearly in political terms to ever allow him the chance to implement it.
Liberals everywhere yesterday began to realize just how wrong those cynics are. The Green Shift announcement was a clear example of the kind of Leader that Stéphane Dion truly is, and a clear demonstration of the kind of Prime Minister that he will become.
The greatest Liberal Prime Ministers are not revered, and did not win their elections, because they played it safe. They played for national dreams and common Canadian aspirations, and they played for the simple idea that Canada holds boundless potential for all of its remarkably diverse citizens when we are inspired enough to work together united and as one. Sometimes, if not most times, achieving those dreams, goals, and aspirations required the courage to take major risks in order to the right thing. The greatest Liberal Prime Ministers and governments have refused to accept that playing it safe is more important than fighting for what we believe in, and refused to back down when critics labeled "good policy" as "bad politics."
Even in recent decades, this pattern has been evident. Implementing he Charter of Rights and Freedoms was far from politically "safe." Eliminating the deficit was far from politically "safe." Signing the Kyoto Accord was far from politically "safe," and certainly instituting same-sex marriage was far from being politically "safe" as well. They all became reality despite the cynics' claims and critics' partisan jeers.
Sure, the Liberals built a tremendous political machine around all of these ideals over the years, a machine that sometimes detracted and distracted from the party's original and most defining principles, but yesterday Stéphane Dion showed he feels we can and must once again be true to them by taking risks for the change we want and need.
Liberals felt proud yesterday from coast to coast and for great reason. We watched a bold announcement from a leader who consulted thousands of us first, and began a process that will surely prove to all Canadians that he has the courage and resolve to be the next great Liberal Prime Minister.
I'm sure many Canadians shared my hope yesterday that the day he accepts that new office will come very soon, and I know that this renewed sense of determination and the hope that Liberals now feel will ensure he gets there.
Keep at 'em, Stéphane!
People were actually talking about it in coffee shops, on the bus, and on the street corners.
The people I kept overhearing were abuzz because a politician did something very different, yesterday morning.
He announced a bold, ambitious, controversial policy to confront a major and urgent national challenge - the climate change crisis - despite being told by all the cynics and most of the pundits that doing so would be impossible, unpopular, or just too risky for his campaign.
He, Stéphane Dion, went and did it any way - challenging conventional wisdom and the polls to demand that not just the Government of Canada, but also the people of Canada, come together to fight climate change seriously and immediately.
This is not politics as usual. The same cynics, the same partisan opponents, and many of the same pundits will still say that Dion's tough "Green Shift" plan will cost him too dearly in political terms to ever allow him the chance to implement it.
Liberals everywhere yesterday began to realize just how wrong those cynics are. The Green Shift announcement was a clear example of the kind of Leader that Stéphane Dion truly is, and a clear demonstration of the kind of Prime Minister that he will become.
The greatest Liberal Prime Ministers are not revered, and did not win their elections, because they played it safe. They played for national dreams and common Canadian aspirations, and they played for the simple idea that Canada holds boundless potential for all of its remarkably diverse citizens when we are inspired enough to work together united and as one. Sometimes, if not most times, achieving those dreams, goals, and aspirations required the courage to take major risks in order to the right thing. The greatest Liberal Prime Ministers and governments have refused to accept that playing it safe is more important than fighting for what we believe in, and refused to back down when critics labeled "good policy" as "bad politics."
Even in recent decades, this pattern has been evident. Implementing he Charter of Rights and Freedoms was far from politically "safe." Eliminating the deficit was far from politically "safe." Signing the Kyoto Accord was far from politically "safe," and certainly instituting same-sex marriage was far from being politically "safe" as well. They all became reality despite the cynics' claims and critics' partisan jeers.
Sure, the Liberals built a tremendous political machine around all of these ideals over the years, a machine that sometimes detracted and distracted from the party's original and most defining principles, but yesterday Stéphane Dion showed he feels we can and must once again be true to them by taking risks for the change we want and need.
Liberals felt proud yesterday from coast to coast and for great reason. We watched a bold announcement from a leader who consulted thousands of us first, and began a process that will surely prove to all Canadians that he has the courage and resolve to be the next great Liberal Prime Minister.
I'm sure many Canadians shared my hope yesterday that the day he accepts that new office will come very soon, and I know that this renewed sense of determination and the hope that Liberals now feel will ensure he gets there.
Keep at 'em, Stéphane!
posted by Braeden Caley at
1:42 AM
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