On Sunday John posted a blog putting forward that the GPO might leaning too far to the "blue-green" side and suggested we move a bit back towards "tree-hugging".   I think his point is important, we need do distinguish ourselves from our competition.  In an effort to ensure that we are taken seriously and not simply written off as the granola-munching fringe we have perhaps made ourselves look very much like PCs.

However I think we can distinguish ourselves from the them without becoming more "deep-green".

Might as well start with the HST.  The GPO, PCs and ONDP are against it.  Where we differ is why.  The ONDP have taken the stance that this is an unfair-tax grab. Coffee, gas and donuts (their examples not mine.) will be more expensive therefore it is bad.  However they do recognize that something needs to be done to increase government revenue but instead of "another unfair tax" they recommend protectionist trade policies.  Well, alright, I guess.

The PCs (while still maintaining that the HST is a unfair-tax grab) look past the HST to a more general position:  Taxes are bad and the Liberals suck.  You can clearly see it's a nuanced stance.  They just complain that Dalton McGuinty hasn't lowered taxes, hasn't cut spending and hasn't hired more nurses.  Forgetting for a second the challenge of hiring while cutting, they don't actually propose anything unless you assume that since they are attacking McGuinty for it they must want to do the opposite.  Not that they want you thinking about what they're doing just repeat the mantra: Taxes are bad and the Liberals suck.

We're against the HST as well but we arrived at our position not by price of a Boston Cream or how much/little the Liberals suck but because the HST doesn't jive with our other policy objectives.  The HST uploads the decision making about sales taxes out of Ontario and it hurts local service industries.  The HST is a good thing for large companies, but the GPO position is that bigger is not necessarily better.  We are against the HST because while it would help Best Buy it would hurt Apple Seed Snow and thousands of other Ontario businesses like it.  See we are protecting Ontario interests (like the ONDP want to do, just we're not being so heavy handed about it), we think that taxes can be bad and that business is important (like the PCs without the ideological mantra of: Taxes are bad and the Liberals suck) and since we have taken a thoughtful approach many Liberals who don't agree with the HST may find themselves agreeing with us. 

Right now what truly distinguishes us from the other opposition parties is thoughtful opposition.  The ONDP has gone into defensive mode sacrificing gains to hold on to a dwindling base.  The PCs have decided that their road back to power involves getting Ontario excited for Mike Harris Part Deux.  The GPO can do very well in 2011 (even without the funding for religious schools issue) by crafting our message around the theme that we are the only thoughtful alternative to the Liberals. We are centrist without being middle of the road.

In other words dippers to the left of us, tories to the right, here we are stuck in the middle with the grits.  It would serve us well to ensure that most Ontarians know that by October 2011.