If we as social democrats ever want to hold power ourselves, we need to stop looking down on voters, haughtily lecturing them, and focus on clearly elucidating our message in a focussed, hard fought election campaign.

Jack Layton took tough stands under tough conditions in the last two elections. While many of them may have offended doctrinaire ideologues including the editorial staff of this publication, the party is in a much stronger position now then it would have been in the absence of such decisive leadership. Incidentally, it also achieved substantive policy success with the better balanced budget of 2005/06. As for the anti-war resolution, Layton did in fact vocally support the resolution, in accordance with the wishes expressed by NDP delegates at the 2006 policy convention.

Problem is, the concept of immediate, disorderly withdrawal is offensive to mainstream opinion in this country. Again, we live in a democracy. Canada’s armed forces desperately needed more money just to maintain their core operations. There are legitimate reasons to oppose the UN mission in Afghanistan, but too often in journals like CD this is extended into a blanket contempt for the Canadian Forces, their mission, and the personnel who volunteer to serve in them. Recall the 2006 ‘terrorist resolution’ from BC and how well that served the interests of progressive politics?

The warped ideo-logic of this editorial represents the very reason that Canada’s left has never attained government, as leftist parties have in most other Western democracies. Its easy to insult Blair, particularly in light of the Iraq debacle, but he’s shaping policy, whereas Canada’s left is still sniping from the sidelines waiting for the day that people will abandon decades of political tradition and embrace the same old tired 60s radicalism. Note to CD: as long as elitist academic perspectives like these dominate leftist discourse in Canada we are doomed to repeat the mistakes, and suffer the unending irrelevancy of the past.

Lastly, “the best outcome for the next election would be a Liberal minority government, with strong showings from the Bloc”?!?!?!?! A resurgent separatist movement intent on destroying our country and the return of the criminal neo-liberal party to power is the best outcome? How in the hell do you figure I would have thought progressive Canadians should fight tirelessly to win power for their own political movement, by moderating their message so it appeals to a majority of voters.

This doesn’t mean compromising on principle, but merely doing what is necessary to see one’s principles enacted democratically as law. That’s what democratic government is all about, after all.

Thanks for maintaining an otherwise excellent publication, notwithstanding the often nauseatingly outmoded and painfully counterproductive editorials.