Shout Louder Mr. Layton, We Can't Hear You

Why the NDP needs to get angry, and other lessons from the U.S. midterms.

In the wake of the Republican congressional victories in the U.S. midterms this week, there is a bit of confusion as to who exactly controls Washington at the moment. In an article re-posted in The Mark, Allan Gotlieb and Colin Robertson clarify that point. “In the U.S. system of checks and balances, the three branches of government are said to be co-equal, but they’re not, by constitutional design of the Founding Fathers. Congress, not the presidency, is primus inter pares.” We think that means ‘first among equals.’ So the Republicans are running the place, which means, according to Gotlieb and Robertson, Canada can expect hostility to free trade, tighter border restrictions, and an overall shift towards isolationism. This is all bad news, and even worse Barack Obama “seems to lack any strategic view of Canada’s value from the standpoint of U.S. national interests.” If we want to continue to benefit from a good relationship with our neighbours to the south we’re going to have to work for it, and Gotlieb and Robertson suggest we “start by reminding Americans that, if they’re to trade their way out of recession, the first step is to build on their deep, integrated supply-chain dynamic with their biggest market.”

Obama’s self-described ‘shellacking’ at the polls should teach Jack Layton a thing or two, writes the Globe and Mail’s Norman Spector, namely “if you don’t give the average person a left-populist vehicle to channel their anger, they’ll vote for the one on the right.” Spector suggests several things that could anger up the NDP’s blood, including the recent more-than-chummy relationship between the Conservatives and Bay Street, allegations that a Conservative MP was involved in an offshore tax scheme, and a health system that lets privileged patients jump the line for MRIs. “If New Democrats aren’t prepared to show anger about these things, they shouldn’t be surprised when Canadians turn around and express their anger about other things when they head into the ballot box in the coming year.” In other words, we’re prepared to elect the leader who yells louder than the other guy.