Star Wars gives a tip to Liberals

"Attachment to power [is] the downfall of all orders, because most beings [are] incapable of controlling power, and power [ends] up controlling them." -- Dark Lord, The Rise of Darth Vader

Does this sound more than a smidge appropriate to what we've seen in the past few months in Canadian politics to anybody out there? Simply put, the old Liberal order fell apart because nearly everything done by the Martin government was a means to retaining power. The Stronach floor crossing was the most prominent and well-known example, but the spending frenzy in the final days of Parliament, the ill-conceived plan to inextricably link Stephen Harper to the use of the notwithstanding clause to overturn same-sex marriage rights, and the catering to interests within the party on major issues instead of paying attention to national interests were also contributing factors in Martin's decline. The attachment to retaining office, having pursued it for so long, dominated the Martin cabal's political judgment, resulting in the greatest disappointment in Canadian political history.
The aftermath of the election has demonstrated that little has changed. As we see the books get opened up on the past government's excesses and hear the tales of David Dingwall actually being entitled to his entitlements, the picture emerges more clearly of a party that was so accustomed to power and all that went with it. For Tim Murphy to charge $777.71 for lunch with 50 of his buddies and expense it, along with all his travel expenses during the election campaign (being a close adviser, he flew on the government's Challenger) is outrageous. Yes that was the past, but the more the new regime pores over the documents of the old one, we will see more and more such tales.
The future of this party may well be one of a return to glory, yet at this stage, it is grossly presumptuous to assume that such a thing will necessarily transpire because of a "natural" right to govern Canada. At a time when a majority of Canadians have expressed their support for the Conservative agenda, Liberals nevertheless believe that a return to power is imminent. They pledge to use their Senate majority--a majority gained via the usual patronage means rather than any accountable method--to block some of the agenda of a democratically-elected and representative body, potentially forcing a crisis of confidence in the government. At a time when four out of five Canadians don't care who is the next leader of their party, they still seek a return to power. It is the height of arrogance and an utter failure to recognize that the old order is gone--by being in power for so long and losing the memory of not being in power, they sowed the seeds for their own undoing, as all orders do--and an attempt to re-capture it prematurely will only enhance the negativity the Liberals receive from many Canadians.
In the heady days of 2003-04 I never believed that I would find myself, less than 3 years later, walking out of a room of Liberals because I was so angered by their platitudes of the future glory of the Liberal Party of Canada. Renewal is a term often bandied about, yet it seems as though far too many of the old guard merely believe that renewal is nothing more than taking out the old policy and attitude book from the library for a few more years. This conception of renewal is wrong. Renewal of the Liberal Party means taking a new approach to the Canadian polity with a new vision and a new outlook on how to connect with the voting public. It cannot simply be re-packaging the old brand, it must be the development of a new, vibrant Liberal Party that is committed to liberalism and the principles enshrined in "peace, order, and good government" and the concepts of "life, liberty, and the security of the person," not to winning the next election. Until the members of the old guard realize this or, failing that, step aside, the drift will continue and permit the likes of Jack Layton to speak as the credible opposition to a conservative vision of Canada.