Patrick Brown and the power of the grassroots

On Saturday, Patrick Brown beat Christine Elliot to become the new leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. The contrast in style when it came to their respective leadership campaigns couldn’t have been starker. Christine Elliot, the wife of former federal Conservative Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, was the odds-on favourite to be the next PC Ontario leader. She had most of the existing Conservative MPP’s in her camp. In contrast, the Queens Park press corp initially gave the 36-year old Patrick Brown – a virtually unknown Federal Conservative backbencher, and a former Barrie city councilor – almost no chance. Who is he?

When it was revealed that he signed up 40,000 new party members (frontrunner Elliot had only signed up 26,000), everybody took notice. When Christine Elliot questioned the validity of some of these members, she showed that she was worried.

What was his secret?

Like Mike Harris before him – the last successful Conservative leader in Ontario, he understood the power of the grassroots. As the National Post post-mortem relates:

“Brown showed up when he visited ridings. He didn’t just appear and make a stump speech, but he did the work. As one Tory told me, he was stunned when Brown arrived at his local riding association and not only knew the local issues but had read a party policy paper the former candidate had helped draft. He had questions about local issues and knew how to connect with voters.

That riding went for Brown when the votes rolled in Saturday and he trumped Christine Elliott’s total take.”

“By contrast, the same Tory said Elliott gave a rote speech and didn’t come briefed on local issues.”

This anecdote illustrates Patrick’s virtues, virtues that several friends of mine who were involved in his campaign have already corroborated.  He was also active in Ontario’s ethic communities. During his campaign, he went on a trade mission to India and got an endorsement from the Prime Minister of India!

What is less remembered is that Mike Harris used the same playbook when he created the underpinnings of what was to become the Common Sense Revolution. When he became the PC Party leader (while Bob Rae was Premier), he didn’t stay put in Queen’s Park. He went out on the road to sell his message to the party’s members and to listen to what they thought. He visited every riding in the province. I have been told that these meetings could be very small: seven people in a church basement in Nowheresville, but that experience served him well. He earned the loyalty of his party’s supporters and learned a lot about what was possible to do and what was not. This was experience that former PC leader Tim Hudak could have used.

My favourite part of the Netfix series, House of Cards, was the Peachoid episode, the third episode in season 1. It began with Frank Underwood entering into high-stakes negotiations with the teachers unions on a big nationwide education bill. As the meeting began, Frank’s assistant pulls him aside to tell him about some trouble brewing in his congressional district. His assistant insists that he go back to resolve the problem. When Frank protests, exclaiming that the education bill is vastly more important than some petty local issue, his assistant reminds him who sent him to Washington. Just before the opening credits, Frank is sitting in a limo going to the airport. He says, “I hate this small-ball crap.” When I saw this for the first time, I thought: this is real politics.

All too often, riding-level stuff is ignored by our parliamentary press corp. Sitting around the seat of power, they think it’s all small-ball crap out there. Unlike Frank Underwood, they forget that this is the source of Parliament’s power. The fact that the Queen’s Park press corp views grass-roots conservatives with contempt and bafflement doesn’t help them. They are the least qualified people to explain what is transpiring there. They are geographically and ideologically isolated. As a result, somebody like Patrick Brown or Mike Harris can come up from nowhere and surprise them.

Nice going Patrick. And good luck.

Comments

[chaos111_99]

How the red rag id potraying him.

Ontario PCs pick a pro-lifer to lead their rebirth:

a right-leaning, pro-life, anti-gay-marriage social conservative — the PCs may be in bigger trouble than previously imagined. Never mind the last four election losses, and the virtual disappearance of the PCs from the GTA’s electoral map.

[monkey]

While Patrick Brown is no doubt a great organizer, I cannot help but think the PCs may have shot themselves in the foot. Maybe I'm wrong, but my real worry is that as bad as the Liberals are, we will have the NDP win which is worse. It's not just his social conservatism, he just doesn't strike me as someone who has the experience necessary to be premier. Of the five leaders initially who entered the race, he probably had the thinnest resume of them all in many ways not too much like Justin Trudeau and seemed to win more based on ability to sign up many people rather than being qualified. We still have 3 years and maybe he will surprise us, but everything I've seen so far of him shows he is not ready to be premier in experience. His social conservatism is not the main liability, rather people generally don't vote for someone who is seen as too inexperienced.

[John T]

In respect to monkey's comment - yes, I agree to a point with the inexperience factor, but how do you explain the fact that many Canadians are ready to throw out the experienced Harper and replace him with the very inexperienced and immature Trudeau? Or the fact that Albertans elected Notley and her crew? Now there's green and inexperienced for you. I think it's more a matter of when the electorate is ready for a change. When they are, it seems that experience doesn't matter that much.

I was not a Brown supporter, but am pleasantly surprised so far. I supported and voted for Christine Elliott who but she clearly ran out of gas and really lacks the passion needed to take on and soundly defeat Wynne. Whether or not Brown is that person remains to be seen, but one can only hope...

[monkey]

John T - Justin Trudeau may be polling high in the poll numbers but no guarantee he will win. In fact recent polls suggest Mulcair who whether one agrees or disagrees with his views may be a bigger threat and he certainly doesn't lack experience. As for Alberta, good point although Rachel Notley is probably just as if not slightly more experienced than Brian Jean. The real problem is more her caucus as at the outset of the election the party wasn't expected to be a factor outside Edmonton. My real worry is that Ontarioans may decide to throw the Liberals out, but will do so by electing the NDP which would be a disaster. Still Brown has 3 years to prove himself and we shall see.