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“These are early days still. But discussions are already occurring, informally and in organized spaces, about building a fightback. Articles discussing the strength and limits of the 1990s Days of Action strike wave against the last hard-right government in Ontario have been circulating…people also clearly see both the need and possibility of building some kind of resistance.”

Visit anti-conservative websites like the union-backed “WorkingFamilies.ca” and “PressProgress.ca”, the media arm of the Broadbent Institute, and you’ll see the same anti-Ford rhetoric featured prominently.

The lesson from all this is the utter foolishness and naiveté of advising Ford to be “reasonable” with these critics, or to “reach out” to them.

When the other side is gearing up for a four-year war against you, you don’t accommodate them.

Nor, for that matter, do you go out of your way to antagonize them.

Instead, you do what you said you would do, which is why you were elected by the people who voted for you.

The revisionist history of Ontario politics now claims it was Harris’ war with the left, and in particular widespread public sector strikes, that soured the public on the Progressive Conservatives, leading to their defeat.

This is simply wrong. Harris’ main confrontations with the unions occurred from 1995 to 1999, when he was re-elected by voters with a second majority government, satisfied he had done what he said he would do with regard to his major promises.

The PCs didn’t lose power until 2003 by which time, Harris having resigned the year before, the Tories had fallen into the old political trap of feathering their nests.

All of which should lead Ford and the PCs to the conclusion that refusing to kowtow to the left, no matter how hysterical the left gets, will not cost them support with their political base.

What will cause it is political corruption and the use of public office for private gain.

In other words, acting like the Liberal government they just replaced.

Forewarned is forearmed.

lgoldstein@postmedia.com

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