"Just Putting Up Warning Signals"

There's that old pugnacious battle-scarred warrior Ed Broadbent leaping into the fray, doing what he must, and warning the faithful not to be led astray into voting for the one individual who may bring the New Democratic Party into a reformed place in Canadian politics which might just cause a whole lot of people to view it rather more positively than they do right now, as a party mired in its tradition of social justice with a tired socialist veneer.

The simple fact is every political party in Canada is interested in furthering social justice. The difference is the manner in which each of the parties further their ambitions to make the country more equitable while at the same time increasing its overall prosperity. Smiling Jack Layton had his own ideas of making changes in the party he inherited. He began to draw the NDP away from its stagnating inheritance of conflict with business and deep embrace of unions.

The language itself of the NDP harked back to a far earlier era reflective of sympathy with the USSR and its politics of inclusion-absorption and communal socialism. In the end that turned out to be inimical to their own cause because human beings need to be challenged to meet their capabilities, they do not take well to surrendering their individuality nor their interests in life in favour of a collective.

The NDP that Ed Broadbent left behind him was weakened by its absorption of personalities that celebrated equality for some, yet scorned those whom it believed did not share its vision. Political parties should have a broad enough agenda to attract a majority of voters, theirs was too narrowly defined and in the end it became a party that embraced dictatorial leftists while shunning and defaming liberal conservatives.

Thomas Mulcair is inspired through his experience as a Liberal politician in Quebec who served in government, and who later drifted to the NDP, to bring the party to a more centrist position. He expressed sympathies more in keeping with a well-rounded political mind than the narrow perspective of the traditional NDP party member. He may not be described as a consensus-builder, and team player, but he seems to represent the potential for becoming a strong leader.

Under Jack Layton the party did change direction, expanded its horizons, sought new and more inclusive priorities. Astonishingly, helping veterans, agreeing to an increase in military spending, and the hiring of more police, tougher sentences on home invasions and carjacking. On the other hand, in wooing Quebec, the party accepted Quebec-centric policies that were offensive to the rest of Canada.

All of the above will be incrementally refurbished by Thomas Mulcair who, for good or for ill, agrees with that initial direction. But he is a staunch federalist, and he does support minority rights, even while supporting Quebec's right to secede on a one-vote majority, and extending Bill 101-oriented restrictions into federal-optioned industry, to completely confound the picture.

For native wit and intelligence, Thomas Mulcair, like Bob Rae, has also a fair share of presence and confidence, all required personality traits to enable them each to square off civilly against the current prime minister for the purpose, dare we hope, of bringing greater accountability and the end product of prosperity and justice to the Canadian way of life.