Those crazy left-wingers Brad Wall and Ed Stelmach call for EI reform

Interesting to see how the federal Tories spin this: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/premier-of-saskatchewan-joins-push-to-alter-ei/article1161074/

As long as McGuinty was the only Premier vocally calling for EI reform, Harper could at least try and spin it to the Tory base that it was just a Liberal calling for Liberal supported reforms, but now the Gordon Campbell, Brad Wall, and Ed Stelmach, all centre-right (at least fiscally) Premiers, and in the case of Wall and Stelmach, vocal federal Conservative supporters, it becomes significantly harder. The EI reform issue is not an issue that is owned by the left, right, or centre, or is a particularly regional issue, but it is a true national issue, and Harper seems content, as usual, to ignore national issues in favour of setting region against region, and Canadian against Canadian. The Liberals need to keep riding Harper over this, as it re-affirms his divisive mean streak, and gives Ignatieff a economic populist platform to campaign on.

Dividing people a game Tories know well

My entry into the YLC positive politics contest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MevlKbbGzdM
___________________________________________________

I've blogged quite a bit recently about how the provincial PC leadership race has been dominated by wedge issues, focusing on dividing Ontarians than moving the economy forward. Well, the federal Tories have been playing from the same gamebook, as Ignatieff states I think well on the "I don't care" divisive streak Harper has, particularly his latest games with EI and the attack ads:

http://www.montrealgazette.com/News/Ignatieff+hits+back+Tory+attack/1626100/story.html

He said about two million Canadians live and work outside the country at any given time. Millions more are recent immigrants and new citizens.
“Are they any less Canadian than you are?” he asked.

“He takes one Canadian and sets them against another Canadian,” Ignatieff said.
“He takes the people who are in work, and he plays them against people who are out of work. That is the lowest game in politics, and we should stop it.”

Interestingly, and tellingly, the Tories talking points on the EI issue are pretty non-existent, other than standard rhetoric that was copy and pasted from any criticism of Liberal ideas, and the main line keeps being that Iggy is "just visiting". If the Harper Conservatives continue their tradition of economic mismanagement, a lot more Canadians will neet to "visit" the employment offices.

______________________________________________
My Tory attack ad spoof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNZ0aIeBczI&feature=channel_page

A story to tell

My entry for the Positive Politics challenge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MevlKbbGzdM
___________________________________________

So it looks like EI remains a potential election issue: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090517/ei_debate_090517/20090517?hub=TopStories

As a narrative, and an issue for the Liberals to champion, EI I think is a very good option. The proposed changes the Liberals are calling for are a rare breed when it comes to economic related policy; it has both populist appeal, and makes economic sense. While the Tories usually champion policies that have the later, while dispensing the former, talking about EI in a responsible, level-headed fashion is a good way for the Liberal Party to re-affirm it's economic credentials.

Additionally, EI lends itself very well to the idea of a political campaign telling a story. While the Harper Conservatives are callously attacking Michael Ignatieff while infrastructure money sits still, and hundreds of thousands of jobs are lost, the Liberal Party must not be distracted, and must focus on telling the story of those hard-working Canadians. The people who need EI right now are not, as Mr. Harper seemingly thinks, welfare bums and beggars, but hard-working Canadians who are paying the price for Conservative economic mismanagement. We need to respond to the attack ads soon, with a message that, unlike the Conservatives, the Liberal Party is open to all segments of society, and is not in the business of letting decent, working Canadians out to dry. Let's get Canada working.