I've been saying the same thing to the NDP for years. I supported Lorne Nystrom for the leadership because I thought he was saying much the same thing. And now Andrew Edwards has said the same thing in the group election blog (we have to find a better name!) Namely, that the NDP has to think beyond its base when it communicates.
The American people have elected two straight divisive and ideological presidents. One I adored (Clinton), the other I hated (Shrub). But two straight. How did those strongly ideological presidents get elected? By trading off very carefully between the centre and their base. Shrub ran as a 'compassionate conservative', and all his tone and headline policies were leftish - things like education spending. Clinton ran on a 'middle class tax cut' and being a white Southern good-old-boy. This doesn't mean abandoning your beliefs. It just means finding ways to frame your beliefs in a way that will appeal to people who are worried you're an ideologue. Your base, both those guys learned, will get it. Appeal to the middle.There's so much more. It's so sharp. Go. Read.
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