I will give a hat-tip to Charles Adler for the terminology here....
The Liberals think they have an opportunity with regards to the Conservatives tax policy. Let me get past the nuances of their respective policies and go the gut reaction on the issue.
There are Motherhood issues (health care, day care, education) and Fatherhood issues (defense, crime & punishment and taxes). You can forgive the inherent sexism for sake of clarity...and brevity. As long as the nation is focused on Motherhood issues the Liberals win. When focused on Fatherhood issues the Conservatives win (just ask "W" about this one).
To the surprise of many (well, to the surprise of the Bloggers Hotstove) crime & punishment has become a very important issue in the campaign. We have tried the soft approach and people are being gunned down shopping on Boxing Day. When voters think of getting tough on crime they think of voting Conservative.
Same thing with tax cuts. The Liberals can try to out tax cut the Conservatives but I don't think voters will buy it. Many voters cannot even place the major parties on the political spectrum but would have a better chance of selecting the Conservatives as the party of tax cuts. When voters think of getting tax cuts they think of voting Conservative.
So please, Liberal strategists, keep bringing up issues where the Conservatives have an inherent advantage.
