It looks like the anti-government sentiment that swept through the states is occurring in Ontario (http://netnewsledger.com/?p=4153, http://pollingreport.ca/index.php?catID=3) with the Liberals losing support to the Conservatives.
The conservatives, both provincially and federally do two things incredibly well: Build there narrative and engage 'average' people in the process. Progressive politicians appear to be behind the 8 ball in both these areas, and it's costing them elections. Right now the Conservative party is branded as the party who will protect your tax dollar from the evil liberals/ndps, even though their track record doesn't particularly back this up! What's worse is I have no idea what the Liberals, NDP and even the Green's stand for. Left, Centre-Left and Progressive leaders need to start being able to describe what they stand for, what their vision is and how they will stand up for 'us' in a way that connects with us and lets us feel that they will protect our jobs, human rights, and find areas that we can inspire or be global leaders.
The power of a compelling narrative is unparalleled in politics and leadership. Finding succinct ways to describe a leader's journey, who they are and the values they operate from is the best way to connect with people, giving voters some part of themselves that they can connect with in a politician. Examples of great narratives include Obama being a community organizer, Sarah Palin being a protective mama bear, George Bush being a guy you would have a beer with, Rob Ford protecting your money, etc. I don't know what the narrative is for Premiere McGuinty, May, Layton, Iggy and even Mike Schreiner.
I think building a narrative may be happening in Alberta, with the team that helped elect Mayor Nenshi and the group that is starting to build the Alberta Party. I wish their methods and process was being duplicated in more places.
Are Barack Obama's first two years a failure?
I hear this question asked a lot, and read about it even more. The midterm elections can be taken to be a referendum on his leadership, and even he admits having let people down in this area. For me, the answer depends on what it is people were expecting from him.
If you were expecting, that at this point in his term, he would have fixed the American and World Economy, changed the culture of Washington DC, repealed don't ask don't tell, closed Guantanomo, repealed the Bush tax cuts on all but the wealthiest 2% of Americans, continued the momentum of the 'Obama' movement created in the 2008 campaign, ended the war in Iraq and set an expiry date in Afghanistan then you are likely disappointed. I have a lot of friends in both the States and Canada that feel this way.
I'm always a little surprised by this, by my view Barack said he would work to achieve all of the things he listed above...but he consistently demonstrated that he was a pragmatist, and occasionally demonstrated a realistic angle. When he started running for office, until very late in his entire campaign (maybe a year and a half into it), very few people were predicting how bad the world economy was becoming. This issue dominated his transition and forced his legislative agenda into what was a wildly unpopular stimulus and auto industry bailout. His style in shaping this agenda was perhaps his biggest failure, in that it didn't prevent the Republican party from unifying as a cohesive 'no' vote on almost every issue that elected representatives have brought forward.
Beyond that though, my hunch is that ten years from now we'll look back on the American government achievements from 2008 to 2010 with amazement. This group of leaders shaped a new direction for health care in the USA that will raise the standard of living across the board, and may help stop the dissolution of the middle class. The stimulus package, auto bailout and regulatory reform bills likely prevented an unprecedented disaster, and the American economy has been showing slow signs of recovery for months now (just not at the rate the public would like).
So for me, I got what I wanted from him. I wish that there was a way to maintain and use the engagement that was created in the 2008 campaign, and I hope that the friends I have working to achieve that continue to find new and innovative methods of working towards that goal.
My desire is that we can find leaders in Canada who will be willing to take huge political risks to accomplish 'big' things like they have done in the states.
For integrity sake, I should note that I was inspired to put words to this line of thought by this Slate.com article. I think it's a little overly glowing, but it was the first thing I read that put me in a place to remember what they have accomplished in the USA.
If you were expecting, that at this point in his term, he would have fixed the American and World Economy, changed the culture of Washington DC, repealed don't ask don't tell, closed Guantanomo, repealed the Bush tax cuts on all but the wealthiest 2% of Americans, continued the momentum of the 'Obama' movement created in the 2008 campaign, ended the war in Iraq and set an expiry date in Afghanistan then you are likely disappointed. I have a lot of friends in both the States and Canada that feel this way.
I'm always a little surprised by this, by my view Barack said he would work to achieve all of the things he listed above...but he consistently demonstrated that he was a pragmatist, and occasionally demonstrated a realistic angle. When he started running for office, until very late in his entire campaign (maybe a year and a half into it), very few people were predicting how bad the world economy was becoming. This issue dominated his transition and forced his legislative agenda into what was a wildly unpopular stimulus and auto industry bailout. His style in shaping this agenda was perhaps his biggest failure, in that it didn't prevent the Republican party from unifying as a cohesive 'no' vote on almost every issue that elected representatives have brought forward.
Beyond that though, my hunch is that ten years from now we'll look back on the American government achievements from 2008 to 2010 with amazement. This group of leaders shaped a new direction for health care in the USA that will raise the standard of living across the board, and may help stop the dissolution of the middle class. The stimulus package, auto bailout and regulatory reform bills likely prevented an unprecedented disaster, and the American economy has been showing slow signs of recovery for months now (just not at the rate the public would like).
So for me, I got what I wanted from him. I wish that there was a way to maintain and use the engagement that was created in the 2008 campaign, and I hope that the friends I have working to achieve that continue to find new and innovative methods of working towards that goal.
My desire is that we can find leaders in Canada who will be willing to take huge political risks to accomplish 'big' things like they have done in the states.
For integrity sake, I should note that I was inspired to put words to this line of thought by this Slate.com article. I think it's a little overly glowing, but it was the first thing I read that put me in a place to remember what they have accomplished in the USA.
Looking for a New Organization
As some people have started to figure out, I’ve become disconnected with the Green Party, and am ready to try something new, whether it be a political organization or not. I am a big fan of Mike Schreiner, current leader of the GPO, so will spend some time supporting them. Having spent a fair bit of time mulling over why I left the Greens, I’ve come up with this list of what I am looking for -> so if you know of an organization that this list describes, please let me know!
I should say that I have forged some great relationships during my five years in the Green Party of Canada, and am very grateful for that. I am working hard to not talk about the GPC in a negative or bitter way, and am open to the idea that at some point I may feel a connection of some kind with it again.
The organization I’m looking for:
· Inspires Hope
o Does something altruistic or noble. Inspires a group of people to move in the same direction towards a barely achievable goal.
o Operates from a leadership based in optimism and transparency, not fear and nepotism.
· Believes in action, not talk, as the primary method to engage people
o Looks like an organization that finds a community problem or issue, solves it and then finds the next problem.
· Achieves results, commits to learning
o Shares success stories from the organizations past, and creates internal change based on it’s failures.
· Has strong volunteer organization fundamentals
o Including an understanding that people volunteer either because of relationships or to build relationships. This is a higher need for prospective volunteers than policies or projects in an organization.
o Also including pathways to involvement, with some form of training or support from senior members of the organization.
This week in sports :)
This may be irrelevant to most of the readers I seem to be getting at the moment, but this was a great week in sports!
This week:
-The University of Guelph hosted the CIS Field Hockey National championships. The Gryphons did not quite live up to their expectations (finishing third), but it was an entertaining week and it was awesome to see the stands full for almost every game. Phenomenal work was done by Jill Taylor, Maureen Balsillie, Dave Easter Andrew Goddard, Frank Cain and the entire Athletics staff in hosting the tournamanent.
-The Canucks had a highly entertaining game against the Red Wings last night, and have won six in a row. I try not to get excited about early seasons results for my team, but with the Sedin twins not scoring in bunches it's an incredibly good thing that players like Maholtra and Torres are lighting the lamp.
-With a player sporting the best facial hair in baseball, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series for the first time in their history.
-Brett Favre threw for the most yards in a single game in his career, and appears to have not taken a picture of his p*nis and sent it to anybody this week. (reference here)
-I bought two tickets to a Buffalo Sabres game in a week, and am looking forward to experiencing a hockey game in the States.
Reboot Alberta also met again this weekend, and I continue to admire the efforts of the group being made out there. This is a group of progressives who are looking to shape the direction of the province of Alberta, with members from across the political and professional spectrum. Some of their members have taken on projects that have absolutely made a difference (municipal elections, including the #Nenshi campaign), while some are taking a longer view and hoping that the Alberta Party will avoid the regressive nature of Alberta politics.
Best line I heard from Reboot:
Q: Ed Stelmach and Danielle Smith fall out of a rowboat; who survives?
A: Alberta
(note: Ed Stelmach is the Premiere of Alberta, and Danielle is the leader of the new-ish Wild Rose Party - both strong C conservatives)
That's all for now! If anybody out there has an interesting community leadership program in the area they think I should know about (to get involved or promote); email me!
This week:
-The University of Guelph hosted the CIS Field Hockey National championships. The Gryphons did not quite live up to their expectations (finishing third), but it was an entertaining week and it was awesome to see the stands full for almost every game. Phenomenal work was done by Jill Taylor, Maureen Balsillie, Dave Easter Andrew Goddard, Frank Cain and the entire Athletics staff in hosting the tournamanent.
-The Canucks had a highly entertaining game against the Red Wings last night, and have won six in a row. I try not to get excited about early seasons results for my team, but with the Sedin twins not scoring in bunches it's an incredibly good thing that players like Maholtra and Torres are lighting the lamp.
-With a player sporting the best facial hair in baseball, the San Francisco Giants won the World Series for the first time in their history.
-Brett Favre threw for the most yards in a single game in his career, and appears to have not taken a picture of his p*nis and sent it to anybody this week. (reference here)
-I bought two tickets to a Buffalo Sabres game in a week, and am looking forward to experiencing a hockey game in the States.
Reboot Alberta also met again this weekend, and I continue to admire the efforts of the group being made out there. This is a group of progressives who are looking to shape the direction of the province of Alberta, with members from across the political and professional spectrum. Some of their members have taken on projects that have absolutely made a difference (municipal elections, including the #Nenshi campaign), while some are taking a longer view and hoping that the Alberta Party will avoid the regressive nature of Alberta politics.
Best line I heard from Reboot:
Q: Ed Stelmach and Danielle Smith fall out of a rowboat; who survives?
A: Alberta
(note: Ed Stelmach is the Premiere of Alberta, and Danielle is the leader of the new-ish Wild Rose Party - both strong C conservatives)
That's all for now! If anybody out there has an interesting community leadership program in the area they think I should know about (to get involved or promote); email me!
Requiem for my hope
It's the morning after the mid-term elections in the US, so I thought I would give a few gut shot reactions:
The average Canadian is likely exposed to American leadership more than Canadian leadership. What happens in the states affects how our perpetual next generation of leaders thinks. This election demonstrated that saying 'government bad' is a clear path to get elected. There was no story built in this election about neighbors getting together to say they believe in hope, optimism and that they can make a constructive difference. The scariest graphic I saw last night was a CNN analysis of social media, where all but two states demonstrated they were voting against something vs. for something.
We need to find leaders who give us reasons to be for something.
- The wave of Republican wins was expected, but I had hoped that the people who engaged with politics and community leadership in 2008 would stay invested in protecting the disenfranchised, the poor and an optimistic view of the US future. I know OFA (the former Obama campaign) knocked on a lot of doors and made a lot of phone calls, but I find myself wondering how much 2008 engagement they have retained.
- Could have been worse: Democrats maintaining a majority in the Senate will likely help to maintain some of the progress the US has made. At the same time, and I have to check this, I'm not sure there's an African American in the senate anymore.
- Watching Republican victory speeches and candidate remarks after they won last night was completely disheartening. They claimed, among other things: A mandate to repeal health care reform, a desire to return spending to 2008 levels, that taxing the wealthiest 2% of Americans at 1996 levels will cause another depression, that Welfare should be rolled back, etc.
- More than anything else, I don't see the leadership that inspired me in 2007-2008. I didn't get the sense that democrats/progressives were effectively messaging that they prevented a depression, protected the sick, elderly and poor, and are on their way to making major strides in protecting the environment and dealing with the immigration problems.
- It seems like the best the democrats can hope for now is to find common issue with tea party congresspeople (maybe election finance reform? parts of immigration?) and take action on those. I don't see the way forward for the progressive agenda.
The average Canadian is likely exposed to American leadership more than Canadian leadership. What happens in the states affects how our perpetual next generation of leaders thinks. This election demonstrated that saying 'government bad' is a clear path to get elected. There was no story built in this election about neighbors getting together to say they believe in hope, optimism and that they can make a constructive difference. The scariest graphic I saw last night was a CNN analysis of social media, where all but two states demonstrated they were voting against something vs. for something.
We need to find leaders who give us reasons to be for something.
Sanity Restored!
When I told people I was heading down to DC for the weekend, I was asked what the Rally was for? Was it a campaign thing? Was there a reason for it?
The answer I gave is that I'm a big Stewart fan, and that it was a great excuse to meet up with some friends I made on the Obama campaign that live in DC. This is true, but it also underlies that I didn't really know why I was going to the rally, or what it was for. It became apparent that I wasn't alone in this, that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert also seemed to lack a coherent message throughout a very entertaining few hours. The last ten minutes not only brought clarity to the question, but reminded me why I love leadership and community building.
Jon closed the rally by stating that he was aware that most of us didn't know why we were there, and that he didn't have a firm grasp on it himself. He stated that he didn't have control over how the Rally was reported in the press, but that being on the National Mall on that day served to remind him (and me) that the divides we allow to be created are artificial. There may be conservatives, there may be democrats and liberals and tea partiers and separatists but at the end of the day the vast majority of us find a way to work together. Demonizing people that we disagree with; making all muslims terrorists, all tea partierswitches crazy or all conservatives redneck farmers is hurting us. It drives engagement down, it lowers participation in community, and makes us afraid versus inspiring hope. We need more people like Jon, Stephen and Barack circa 2004 to remind us of this, we're largely all on the same page.
Mostly, watching Ozzy Osbourne and Cat Stevens on the same stage was awesome :).
*update* Here is Jon Stewart's closing speech at the Rally:
The answer I gave is that I'm a big Stewart fan, and that it was a great excuse to meet up with some friends I made on the Obama campaign that live in DC. This is true, but it also underlies that I didn't really know why I was going to the rally, or what it was for. It became apparent that I wasn't alone in this, that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert also seemed to lack a coherent message throughout a very entertaining few hours. The last ten minutes not only brought clarity to the question, but reminded me why I love leadership and community building.
Jon closed the rally by stating that he was aware that most of us didn't know why we were there, and that he didn't have a firm grasp on it himself. He stated that he didn't have control over how the Rally was reported in the press, but that being on the National Mall on that day served to remind him (and me) that the divides we allow to be created are artificial. There may be conservatives, there may be democrats and liberals and tea partiers and separatists but at the end of the day the vast majority of us find a way to work together. Demonizing people that we disagree with; making all muslims terrorists, all tea partiers
Mostly, watching Ozzy Osbourne and Cat Stevens on the same stage was awesome :).
*update* Here is Jon Stewart's closing speech at the Rally:
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