Taken for granted

Let's quickly pick up on one of the more notable messages developed by the federal NDP during its caucus retreat in Regina. Jack Layton's quote that the Cons have taken Western voters for granted is itself a theme worth focusing on - but it's especially worth noting how the message is being applied to the Cons' main attempt to pursue rural votes:

At the Ottawa news conference, meanwhile, Mr. Angus said his mind was changed, in part, by the aggressive tactics being employed by Mr. Harper and his team to pressure MPs not to change their votes.

“The Conservatives have taken our votes for granted. ... They have not addressed our rural concerns,” Mr. Angus said. “They’ve attacked the credibility of our front-line police officers. Now in these last desperate days they have taken to their attack billboards and their radio ads in trying to intimidate MPs into voting for them.”

In effect, Angus' message looks to be identifying the position of NDP MPs with that of rural swing voters who may have supported the Cons in recent elections. Having been willing to look at the Cons' position on the merits, both have then been treated rudely for their trouble, even as the Cons continue to demand their votes.

And what's more, rather than merely suggesting that voters consider changing their minds, it actually sets a precedent for doing so - while avoiding too judgmental a line toward those who have cast votes for the Cons in the past based on the promise of better than the Harper government has been willing to offer. Which makes for an ideal starting point for Layton's extended argument about the need to build bridges rather than bombing them.

Of course, the major question is whether the NDP can make the message stick, particularly in the face of the Cons' big-money ad blitz. But it can never hurt for MPs to send the message that they share voters' concerns in dealing with the governing party. And particularly with the message of cooperation winning plenty of plaudits, it may well turn out that Saskatchewan voters who have probably been taken for granted by the Cons more than any across the country will join Angus and others in deciding they've had enough.