This is how the Tea Party and MAGA co-opted the Republicans, and it's the model progressives should use to move the needle in the Democratic party (and they have, with some success).
If progressives want to see change, progressives need to vote. In every election. General or primary.
This is regrettably true, and driving a lot of the red meat for "tough on crime" talk from right-wing politicians.
Our saving grace is that being tough on crime takes effort and money, and the CPC is just as cheap and lazy as the LPC. They'll just talk tougher and do nothing, as compared to the Liberals smiling and waving flags...and doing nothing.
There's a political concept south of the border called IOKIYAR (It's okay if you are a Republican).
The same is at play here: Corruption and nepotism? It's okay if you're a conservative. Wasting public funds? Okay if you're a conservative? Drawing a pension? Being a shameless hypocrite? You get the idea.
In seriousness, Ford is a great example of my point because he talks to how people feel. It doesn't matter that it's bullshit at best or whitewashing of his latest grift at worst, he's at least acknowledging enough voters' concerns and fears, and while tossing a bauble here or there (eg, booze in corner stores, buck a beer) to look like he's doing something for the common person.
His opposition doesn't do this. Stiles gets ignored, and Crombie just seems like a weak Ford impersonator.
The polticial left needs to do better. Yes that would probably mean getting called socialist, but since that'll happen anyway they may as well own it.
Maybe, just maybe, liberal democracies need to do a better job solving problems for constituents and less time fellating billionaires.
That might help.
I mean, when I see a right-wing populist telling me they can fix all my problems, I know they're a lying, opportunistic piece of shit, but I can also see the appeal because at least they're saying that there's problems and that they'll do something, which is more than milquetoast centrists will do.
One of the nice things about Costco is that, because you scan your membership when you buy, they'll know if you bought these and you'll get a personal letter very shortly.
I'm not a fan of Canadian grocery in general, but they're the best by a wiiiiiiide margin.
Canada rolled over and allowed the one sector it had any hope in--resource extraction--to be sold off to foreign investors, first from government control and then from domestic hands. Then it allowed rampant consolidation in the "captive" industries it does have (telecomm, food). Other countries did the same, but Canada rolled over faster and harder than any other western nation.
Now we're at the stage where our primary industry is skimming the cream off of the housing market. After that, what? Strip-mining south Asian immigrants for value? Whoops, we're already doing that, too.
It's a sad tale of governments, Liberal or Conservative, selling everything not nailed down in hopes that the magical market fairy would make it better, and then steadfastly refusing to do anything at all, sacrificing current donors' profits for everyone's future. Everyone saw this as an issue at least as far back as 1995, but no one was willing to admit that the Reagan/Thatcher (and in our case, Mulroney and Chretien) era of neoliberalism would eventually present a bill. So it was more tax cuts, more service cuts, more selling assets, more emphasis on cash hoarding and more disincentives for investing in business.
This is how the Tea Party and MAGA co-opted the Republicans, and it's the model progressives should use to move the needle in the Democratic party (and they have, with some success).
If progressives want to see change, progressives need to vote. In every election. General or primary.