New column day

Here, on why we can't expect our federal political parties to answer some of our most important questions without some significant public pressure - and how we can build that pressure for ourselves.

For further reading, I'll point back to my earlier posts on what I'd hope to see happen before the writ period, including
- an effort to define the Harper Cons beyond what we'll see from the opposition parties; and
- a strong push to make the opposition leaders and candidates talk about working together toward change.

#DefineHarper

A couple of earlier posts have started a bit of a discussion about the messages which will be most effective in convincing voters - and particularly swing voters - to shift their votes away from the Harper Cons. But I'll take the opportunity to turn the discussion over to a wider audience through Twitter.

In addition to ideas for overall themes, I'd also think it's worth showing how they can be to use. Here's an example as to how one suggested by Sub-Boreal might be applied in practice:

[Message based on the work done by End Immigration Detention.]

Obviously, Sub-Boreal's suggestion is one which can be applied to multiple issues with appropriate modifications. And while single-issue messages are worth discussing as well, it's worth focusing particularly on themes which can serve as an overarching message in nearly any area of political discussion

Again, though, I'll offer a reminder that the goal isn't only to present a message which a particular party could choose to echo. Instead, it's to develop themes which will resonate across party lines to nudge voters away from the Cons, with a particular emphasis on those who may have supported the Cons in the past but be open to voting differently.

The hope is to generate both new ideas, and suggestions as to improve and apply the ones put forward already. And the ultimate goal is to develop some memes which can at least be passed along through social media - and maybe progress to a pre-writ ad campaign - to define Stephen Harper for the Canadian public as the next election approaches.