A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to an Election

There's no question that Prime Minister Stephen Harper was a master political strategist. His handling of Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff proved that, along with his artful management of a once-minority government. An artful manipulator of the media, he deftly sidestepped his opponents' strong points, pointed out their perceived weaknesses, and bought himself a decade of power.

But, this time around, he made some critical mistakes, especially in the last few weeks of the campaign.

Let's examine what I think are the key ones.

Too Long a Campaign
This near-record-setting campaign was just too damned long. I know Harper thought he needed that amount of time to deliver his message effectively; and at first it seemed to be working. But as the long weeks ground on, it only gave people more time to think and to decide that Stephen Harper's Canada is not the Canada we want. Add to that the Mike Duffy trial and other things, it was enough, in the end, to tip the scales in the wrong direction.

"Justin's Just Not Ready"
You know, you have to have a certain respect for Canadian voters. Simply repeating a mantra and hoping it'll stick doesn't work; we Canadians can think for ourselves. Being told repeatedly, day after day, that Justin wasn't ready got dull. It was repeated way too often. It took the sting out of it. And it was petty and mean-minded. I think we resented it, in the end, and, again, the facts came out. And I think it backfired.

People already knew that Justin had nice hair and, come to think of it, a whole lot of other positive attributes that people could never find in Harper. With Harper, it was always the same story, the same dull guy with eyes like a dead haddock and a bad toupe, the parrotting of US foreign and drug policy, the embarrassment on the world stage. People recognized that Justin was, in fact, a nice guy, someone you wouldn't mind having over for dinner--with the advantage that he had political smarts. He took the high road while the Cons waded through the muck, American-style.

One fact: Justin is perhaps more ready than any before him. Don't forget that he was born at 24 Sussex and has years of political experience at this point. Politics is in his blood. Oops.

Extending Maternity Leave to 18 Months
This is a no-brainer. Harper was seen, by his mean-old-Conservative base, i.e. the diehards, to be handing over even more of their hard-won money to people who didn't deserve it. You've got to respect your own constituents, and Harper forgot that.

"The Price is Right" Fiasco
As the campaign wore on, people got tired of the message that only the Conservatives could effectively manage Canada's economy.  Once again, the facts came out: Harper's economic record was poor indeed--one of the worst since the Great Depression. Most years, the Conservatives ran huge deficits. That was conveniently forgotten as the government shouted from the rooftops that Justin would spend us into the poorhouse. Fact is, Justin's promise of a 10-billion-dollar deficit was about par for the course for the Conservatives, except, of course, in election years. Harper's desperate attempt to portray it as something it was not was irritating, annoying, and insulting.

Rob and Doug Ford
In the last days of the campaign, as Harper's advisors made clear the fact that he was about to lose, Stephen got desperate. He courted the Ford brothers--yes, there was ol' crackhead, drunk-driving Robbie preaching to the converted. Problem is, Ford Nation is actually pretty small--and small-minded. Outside of the GTA, it's just not a factor. But Harper cozying up to the Fords was too much for many people outside of that region, who might otherwise have gone ahead and voted Con. The Liberal sweep in Atlantic Canada would seem to confirm this. I have great respect for maritimers (I am one, myself). They know the smell of rotting fish from a mile away; and, in that sense at least, the Fords stink to high heaven.

His Autocratic Nature
Stephen Harper is an autocrat. Throughout his terms in office, that much was very clear. Global warming isn't happening. Scientists don't know what they're talking about. It's my way or the highway. Canada's New Government. The Harper Government. The recession isn't happening (twice). I think, in the end, he pulled the rug out from under his own candidates, by not giving them a voice--because only Uncle Stephen could beat those big, bad Liberals.

Conclusion
The final outcome was almost pre-ordained; Justin Trudeau won a majority, and Harper tried, rather lamely, to turn his concession speech into a victory speech. He couldn't even bring himself to say that he was quitting. A sad exit for the master political strategist.

Disclaimer:
I am not a Conservative Party supporter.

-Bill