Tom Flanagan's memoirs reveal Conservative tactics.
by Crawford Killian
…As a full-time professor and part-time dabbler in Reform politics, Flanagan clearly saw Reform as a vehicle for Hayekian [Austrian-British right-wing economist Friedrich Hayek] changes. His involvement with the young Stephen Harper was tentative at first, but before long they were close associates. They co-authored an important essay: Our Benign Dictatorship: Can Canada Avoid a Second Century of Liberal Rule?
Flanagan and Harper learned the ropes of backroom politics as Reform staggered through changes in name, brand and leadership early in the decade. Through it all, Flanagan was clearly taking detailed notes and drawing lessons from the experience.
The key lesson: Fear works. Raising money to support Harper's leadership campaign taught him to follow "the time-honoured advice for raising money by direct mail — make people angry and afraid, and set up an opponent for them to give against." Even when success was assured, Flanagan wanted to ensure a good turnout of Harper's supporters in the Canadian Alliance leadership race: "We wanted them to be alarmed over the possibility that the Alliance might continue its disintegration… We were happy to let the media wallow in their own disinformation because we wanted our supporters to be motivated to vote."
He also learned "There's nothing so dirty that your opponents won't try to use it against you" — and that was when Harper's opponents were other members of the Canadian Alliance…
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