Remember the war on cars? Or the gravy train Rob Ford rode to power at city hall?

Now car wars and the gravy train are sweeping Queen’s Park — courtesy of the mayor’s passionate new ally, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

Taking a page from Ford’s playbook, Horwath is rebranding herself as a tax fighter and road warrior rising to the defence of drivers.

Perhaps you can’t imagine Horwath, who heads Ontario’s supposedly progressive New Democrats, standing shoulder to shoulder with coach Ford — who focuses more on football’s gridiron than fixing gridlock.

But you would be wrong. Horwath and Ford are shrewd political soulmates who understand the pursuit of populism — the cynical politics that appeals to people’s pocketbooks and generates popularity.

In fact, Ford could take lessons from the trailblazing Horwath, who is rebranding the NDP as the party of the extreme status quo: Stuck on gridlock.

With the GTA choking on cars and transit standing still, politicians are trying to get ahead. Ford wants to set drivers free, for free — no money down. Horwath, too, wants drivers to get a free ride, but wants to expand our transit network by making rich corporations pay.

She wants business to bankroll the $50 billion investment required to build transit and highways over the next few years, by eliminating the gravy train of corporate tax breaks. Oh, and she wants to extract more money from Ottawa, counting on the federal transit fairy to pay our way.

Just don’t expect “everyday families” — her euphemism for commuters behind the wheel — to pay a penny more in new taxes.

Never mind the politics of ideas, idealism, or collective action for the public good. This is the new politics — transactional politics — in which voters want government to cut taxes, eliminate fat. And hold the gravy.

Tory Leader Tim Hudak has long been a fellow traveller, counting on the gravy train and anti-tax crusade to propel him to power. Now, New Democrats are on board for the ride.

Horwath was at it again Monday morning, giving her best Rob Ford imitation at a power breakfast hosted by Toronto’s board of trade. It was a surreal role reversal — with the business lobby group making constructive proposals to raise money for transit and roadbuilding, while Horwath countered with political roadblocks and corporate gravy train sloganeering.

Closing tax loopholes is a good idea. But not if you use corporate tax dodges to dodge the tough decisions political leaders must make. We need to raise real money — not pocket change — to invest in major transit and highway projects.

The NDP’s pitch is a pale echo of the Tory tax dodge: Like Horwath, Hudak also professes to hate gridlock, but conveniently insists he can’t countenance any new taxes to pay for transportation until all other government waste is eliminated. That, it seems, is his action plan.

For the business community, which can sense gridlock gobbledygook a mile away, both Horwath and Hudak are stalling for time. The board of trade, however, recognizes that traffic jams are a waste of both time and money.

That’s why the board issued a measured report last week calling for a parking tax, regional sales tax, gas tax and tolls for express lanes to help raise the needed funds. Horwath’s answer, over her morning coffee, was a non-starter:

“The prospect of a new sales tax or an additional tax on gasoline hitting the household budget is alarming,” she lectured the crowd. People won’t stand for “a plan that’s imposed on unwilling and resentful citizens,” the NDP leader said with a straight face — after spending much of the morning, and the past week, stoking that resentment.

“I have real concerns about hitting everyday people in the pocketbook yet again, because people are struggling,” she argued. Funny, that’s Ford’s favourite line. Hudak’s, too. Perhaps 30 years from now, when people are no longer struggling and government isn’t wasting money, they’ll all flash us the green light to build the transit network that we’ve neglected for the past 30 years.

Horwath waffled and wilted under questioning. A dedicated revenue stream to finance transit and roadbuilding? “I would say 50/50 on that one.” The NDP’s plan? We need a “broader conversation” as Metrolinx, the provincial transportation agency, prepares its own report. “Sorry if that’s disappointing for this morning,” she told her audience.

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And with that, Horwath left her breakfast on Bay Street for a mid-morning encounter with Kathleen Wynne in the legislature, where she put the new premier on notice: “Everyday families in Ontario cannot actually afford more Liberal taxes that hurt their family budget.”

Coach Ford could not have put it any better.

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