A FORMULA FOR LPC SURVIVAL

Good luck Bob Rae on revamping the LPC in the form that drew in Canadian voters and money donations over the years. My personal affiliation with the party began in the late 1950's living in Sudbury Ontario as a young Liberal under the sponsorship of youth leader Bob Marcotte. Our goal and activity was supporting elected candidate and pharmacist Roger Mitchell.

Those were heady days when Liberalism was synonymous with winning elections across the county. I watched with concern over the years as the LPC crumbled and shrank into an eastern Canada powerhouse and then an Ontario/Quebec party with relatively strong support from the maritime provinces, and a little from the far north and British Columbia. The party finally and most recently crumbled under the weight of old time politics, internal infighting, antiquated internal structure, and a feeling Liberals were a privileged people striving to become more affluent.

Most readers will probably decide from the history of my personal Liberalism that the words are a reflection of a former party member dissatisfied with change. That is in effect farthest from the truth. I, like many of former Liberal supporters, feel the time for change is here, while retaining most of the old party workings is a thing of the past. Liberalism is undoubtedly on the precipice of major change or conversely total collapse.

Former supporters, some that stopped donating to the Liberal party years ago, are mostly confused about where to cast a vote or donate to a party. Many moved begrudgingly to the right supporting the only other traditional alternative. Those former supporters changed allegiance with a great deal of hesitation because the new Conservative coalition does not reflect a traditional agenda and the LPC no longer represents the ideals the party faithful believe should be presented to parliament on behalf of voters. Polls would probably reflect that most people over 55, or at least over 65 years of age, would not stop voting simply because a party supported for years is no longer a viable choice.

Enough about criticizing the party when there are possible solutions that should have been instituted years ago. In the cities the way to promote party unity and recover support is simple. Make contact with people. Spread the word that party officials are always available to talk with, and to, the electorate. Begin with a series of low cost ads, flyers, or even social network sites with messages asking for input. Using volunteers to man telephone lines is a good idea during election campaigns and a great way to get in touch with former present and potential party supporters. That doesn’t mean launching a campaign to collect donations although that aspect will follow. The idea is to contact people asking for input on needs to rejuvenate the party. People usually become supporters when asked for input. It is most often automatic as a supporter to become members and donate.

The suggested method for soliciting city members would probably not work in the vast rural and less populated ridings. Candidates and the riding executive must contact voters in the myriad of small cities, towns, villages and even settlements that usually lead to the balance of power. Volunteers in those regions should launch telephone campaigns to promote finding persons interested in supporting a new LCP that is different than either the Reform Conservatives coalition or the surging New Democrats. Fund raising must come later.

Believing the NDP surge is a temporary phenomenon might be an error. It might be surprising to learn that people are not waiting for old style Liberalism to return. Many are temporarily parked with the Harper Conservatives with others in the NDP camp awaiting the emergence of a party more in the idealistic political center.

The key to organizing regions outside the major cities is recruiting new people. One person or preferably a small group in every town, village or settlement is a must. The people solicited as volunteers must be willing to devote time to receiving and distributing regular riding newsletters outlining party decisions and strongly soliciting input on the items under discussion as well as those that local people are discussing.

Continuing riding control and attempting to make past methods work without major changes in communication strategies will not succeed in most ridings. The need for change in supporter ranks will undoubtedly create problems. However if a system is broken the only way to fix it is to install new parts.

Original supporters willing to accept a new direction without imposing riding seniority are a valued asset. The old riding system and most of the party mechanism failed on May 2, 2011 and must be rebuilt from the bottom up. The new party loyalist must monitor the mood for local and federal needs and opinions people want promoted. That can be accomplished through attending local Tim Horton coffee clubs, senior and youth organization meetings together with local volunteer or service organizations and listen to concerns rather than spouting the party line.

Reorganization and rededication is the LPC’s only salvation for a 2015 return to respectability for voter concerns and needs.