tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8120982399236985142.post7991046611634513923..comments2024-02-07T06:48:23.474-05:00Comments on Sudbury Steve May: What Greens Can Learn from Wildrose: Appeal to the Heart, and not the MindSudbury Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03959184192546029807noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8120982399236985142.post-7728489717268304252009-12-25T01:19:00.802-05:002009-12-25T01:19:00.802-05:00@Stuart and @Steve
Steve is bang-on. The most sig...@Stuart and @Steve<br /><br />Steve is bang-on. The most significant difference between Greens and any other party of the right or left is the plan to totally overhaul our tax system as a way to boost social justice, protect and restore the environment, and maximize the benefits of diversity.<br /><br />Our aim should be to remove ALL taxes on human productivity - income tax, sales tax, payroll tax. Instead, public goods should be funded by capture of economic rent, the unearned income which currently widens the wealth gap and deepens poverty. This will provide more than enough funds to provide necessary services, with room for a universal citizen's dividend besides. <br /><br />Putting the full cost on resources and waste will also drive the most efficient use of resources, reduce real waste to zero, and align profit with protection of our natural heritage/capital. <br /><br />The realities of electoral politics mean we must focus, first and foremost, on the Green Tax Cut this will provide most citizens. The follow-on is that those who are wasteful or who monopolize resources to themselves will be fiscally penalized, and those who attempt to capture publicly-created wealth for themselves will be thwarted.<br /><br />The reason that we, unlike other species, are destroying our own habitat is that our human societies have broken the feedback loops which should inform every individual, business, and community. By restoring those loops, we empower and encourage every actor at every level to become sustainable. Only by setting rules that compel individuals, businesses, governments and all others to live sustainably (rewarding them when they do, punishing when they don't) can we marshall all the forces that will be needed.Erich the Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11433590628245316583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8120982399236985142.post-27732046918114460512009-12-18T22:22:07.214-05:002009-12-18T22:22:07.214-05:00@Link - Thank you for the comments. I, personally...@Link - Thank you for the comments. I, personally, appreciate them. I spent 5 years in Alberta before returning to my native Saskatchewan last year and know your reputation well. <br /><br />@All (except Link) - consider Link's statement closely, "<i>If the present PC government is voted out, it will be because we in the Wildrose Alliance are more determined than anyone else</i>". While messaging is a part of politics, the vital part is hard work. It's getting the organization ready and the volunteers prepared. Not in one riding but, for us, 308 ridings(83 for Link!). I follow a couple of WAP'ers on twitter and I see their announcements for forming new constituency associations. They understand that they won't form government by electing only their leader Danielle Smith. For the WAP, there are no safe seats in Alberta so getting Ms. Smith is just as much of a challenge as getting Ms. May elected is. The difference is that the WAP wants to elect a caucus if not a government, the Greens are only focused on one seat.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8120982399236985142.post-68722156362023642442009-12-18T17:06:01.242-05:002009-12-18T17:06:01.242-05:00Sudbury Steve,
You have made an impressive attemp...Sudbury Steve,<br /><br />You have made an impressive attempt to really understand our party, and its growing appeal here in Alberta. And in my opinion you have it about half right.<br /><br />Both your party and ours appeal more to morals than to self-interest -- it's just that in our case, the morals being appealed to are more deeply felt, because we are generally more hopeful about the role of humanity in the natural order of things than you are.<br /><br />Tax cuts, frankly, are of limited appeal, even in the business community. We advocate them not because they are popular so much as that they are necessary.<br /><br />But what speaks loudest of all is that the same values and virtues which made Alberta successful in its first century will ensure its success in the next one: thrift, courage, self-discipline, indepence of judgement, generosity, family and, especially, hope. The striking characteristic of Albertans long before oil was found at Leduc is how forward-looking we are, and always were.<br /><br />We love the spectacular beauty of our province and we love economic growth. Albertans are determined to have both. If the present PC government is voted out, it will be because we in the Wildrose Alliance are more determined than anyone else to ensure this dual imperative succeeds.Link Byfieldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8120982399236985142.post-23691516583291934222009-12-18T16:54:21.447-05:002009-12-18T16:54:21.447-05:00(comment continued...)
Now, in the next election,...(comment continued...)<br /><br />Now, in the next election, I suspect that our candidates will be better prepared, and we’ll have more resources at our disposal, and a better-crafted message. A couple of elections ago, the Conservatives ran a great campaign, emphasizing only 5 key items (four of which I can’t remember, but reducing the GST to 5% sure as shootin’ sticks out in my mind). <br /><br />People already know us as the environmental party. They’re likely already familiar with (or would assume) that we are for more transparency in government. But those messages will fall flat with the electorate, because they do not distinguish us in any way from the other Parties!<br /><br />To wit: the Conservatives have already campaigned on more accountable and transparent government, and they will campaign on that plank again. Whether people believe them or not is another question, but they’ll be able to point to all of their successes and toot their own horn. Ditto for the environment. Actually, on the environment they’ll be able to trumpet their successes loud and clear: over $600 million dollars invested in new technologies to reduce greenhouse gases! Nevermind that it’s the carbon capture and storage fiasco that’s eating up all that money. Voters will hear about the massive investment, and that’s what will stay in their minds.<br /><br />The Liberals and NDP will also campaign on the environment and on transparency in government. And all parties will campaign on not raising taxes, and providing benefit for working families, and offering hope, courage and vision and blah blah blah. Most of the time, though, we’ll be trying to tear each other apart like rabid dogs. <br /><br />If we want to really find resonance with voters, we need a compelling message. Declaring that the End of the World is Nigh isn’t going to persuade a lot of voters to cast a ballot for us. Saying that we’ll do things differently isn’t helpful either, because everyone knows we’re not going to form government. Pointing to the emerging “green economy” and saying we’ll invest in it is, well, also not compelling because no one really knows what that means (is that building wind turbines or fuel efficient Hummers? Maybe it’s growing corn for ethanol...or replacing coal fired generating plants with green technology, like nuclear energy). If we start speaking about sustainable development, curbing carbon emissions, the democratic deficit, peoples eyes will glaze over.<br /><br />What sets us apart from the other Parties which can be easily communicated and which will resonate with voters? There are a few items, but I would argue that the best is emphasising personal income tax cuts. While it’s true that not everyone pays income taxes, most voters do. Personal income tax cuts must be one of 4 or 5 key messages that we deliver, and should be the first and primary message to voters. “Vote for us and we’ll cut your income taxes by 1/3. You’ll have more money in your wallet and you can decide how to spend it.”<br /><br />We have a lot to learn from the other Parties. If we want to experience electoral success, we need to learn. Finding a few key items which resonate with voters, and which stick in their minds, is the first step. Media exposure is the second. Staying on message is an over-riding principle. If we don’t have the resonating message reported in the media, we aren’t going to experience success, no matter what our policies are. Politics is a public relations game right now, and if we want to elect Green MP’s, we will have to play it throughout Canada.Sudbury Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03959184192546029807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8120982399236985142.post-75030068175217391052009-12-18T16:53:23.768-05:002009-12-18T16:53:23.768-05:00Mark, Stuart and Rural: thanks for your comments s...Mark, Stuart and Rural: thanks for your comments so far! I only have a little bit of time, but I thought I’d take a quick moment to clarify a few things.<br /><br /><br />First off, what Mark is saying about messaging is absolutely right. Last election, we had candidates running around the nation saying pretty much whatever they wanted, emphasizing pet issues sometimes to the detriment of staying focussed on Vision Green. Oh, but wait a sec...how can one stay focussed on a 150-page document? Yes, sure, we had a smaller “Platform”, but our the distillation of party policy remained between the covers of that document. The speaking notes provided by the Party to the candidates, the ones which emphasized key messages in soundbites easily digestible by the voting masses through 10-second media clips were, to say the least, non-existent. Our message was all over the place. And the few opportunities we had to speak to a national audience, instead of telling them what the Green Party would do, we largely squandered those opportunities by either bashing Stephen Harper or telling voters not to vote for us!Sudbury Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03959184192546029807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8120982399236985142.post-90777437191061951682009-12-18T13:39:25.923-05:002009-12-18T13:39:25.923-05:00“it’s time to put away the rhetoric about the envi...“it’s time to put away the rhetoric about the environment and the democratic deficit. People already know where we stand on those issues anyway”<br /> <br />Ouch! Unfortunately those things are far more important than making promises that we cant keep and have no chance of being able to implement in the foreseeable future. Unless we keep on pounding on that “democratic deficit” those currently in the seats of power will make it all but impossible for change (other than THEIR idea of change) to happen.<br /><br />The message that the Greens will do Politics differently and more openly that the rest is perhaps the single message that people need and want to hear.<br /><br />Democracy requires dialog, please join us at http://democracyunderfire.blogspot.com/Ruralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11814103548500393628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8120982399236985142.post-88336067089579665982009-12-18T13:31:21.820-05:002009-12-18T13:31:21.820-05:00@Stuart - you posed a question and then answered i...@Stuart - you posed a question and then answered it yourself. The Greens have no messaging strategy and that was what Steve was point out. The WAP have a very clear, very personal message and it works. The Greens, when they have a message, is utopian, vague and clearly doesn't work.<br /><br />Once the Greens figure out to craft a message, then they can start crafting regional messages. The low tax message resonates well in Alberta, rural Canada and most places with high big-C Conservative numbers. There is nobody else talking low taxes and the Harper Team isn't doing well on the financial side. There are serious votes to win with a good financial message.<br /><br />Will that same message work in Toronto? Not likely. But if you want to replace blue MPs with Green ones, then you have to appeal to blue voters.<br /><br />Simple in design, complex in delivery.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8120982399236985142.post-38845656082824727052009-12-18T13:02:16.477-05:002009-12-18T13:02:16.477-05:00Let me get this right: according to your analysis,...Let me get this right: according to your analysis, the main message of the Green Party should be "We'll cut your taxes?" Did I get that right, Steve? Or was this posting a subtle joke?<br /><br />Seems to me that if a voter really wants that, he or she has quite a few more focussed anti-tax parties from which to choose. What would be special about the Greens if it's just a "me-too" party?<br /><br />And come to think of it, what exactly is the specific message of the Green Party that several other and more successful political parties haven't already hijacked? <br /><br />The real problem is that the Green Party has no idea of how to position itself in a unique and authentic way that appeals to even ten percent of the voting population.Stuart Hertzoghttp://greenpolitics.ca/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8120982399236985142.post-65873640650805614112009-12-18T11:34:16.955-05:002009-12-18T11:34:16.955-05:00Good analysis Steve and a good message!Good analysis Steve and a good message!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com