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New Democrat Leader Ryan Meili said he wasn’t going to Thursday’sRally Against the Carbon Tax, which might seem to be a logical choice to some.

With its strong rural, agricultural and oil-sector base, this was not an NDP/Meili crowd.

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But that so badly misses the point.

For the same reason candidates need to knock on doors of homes with opponents’ lawn signs, Meili needed to go to the anti-carbon-tax rally. Besides making the valuable point that he is willing to listen to those he disagrees with, it would have been a marvellous opportunity for Meili to point out what he might share with this audience.

After all, simply telling this crowd that he opposes the federal Liberal government carbon price as unworkable for Saskatchewan would have been better than allowing Premier Scott Moe to say Meili is “pro-Trudeau carbon tax” and anti-pipeline.

But by writing this off as a yellow vest event in all but apparel and staying home because one organizer is too radical, Meili has painted himself into a tiny political corner of Saskatchewan politics, and the wrong corner at that.