That was Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on the night he learned he’d soon be dropping the “minority.”
asserted
he → learn → minority
Once he recovered the use of full sentences, he explained why Democrats had won: they kept candidates on message with a simple formula built around three Cs — costs, chaos and corruption.
asserted
they → recover → Cs
It worked, but those costs, chaos and corruption were Donald Trump’s.
asserted
costs → work → ?
That is the point: attacks on an incumbent’s record win only while the incumbent still carries the blame.
asserted
incumbent → carry → blame
Democrats ran on a “culture of corruption” in 2006, took Congress, then the White House, and lost the House in 2010 once the costs were theirs.
Schumer knows it, which is why he closed his victory speech warning that Democrats must now deliver.
asserted
Democrats → run → speech
Trump can’t run in 2028, and a message aimed at him will soon be a speech without an audience.
asserted
message → run → audience
Which brings me to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
asserted
Which → bring → Carney
He, too, was elected on three words : Trudeau, Trump and technocrat.
asserted
He → elect → words
For three years, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s team diminished Prime Minister Justin Trudeau so thoroughly that they got what they wished for when he quit.
asserted
he → diminish → what
Poilievre looked most like a prime minister when standing next to Trudeau, but when Carney arrived, the comparison reset.
asserted
comparison → look → Trudeau
The tariffs and the annexation talk turned the election into a question of who Canadians wanted across the table from him.
asserted
Canadians → turn → him
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, aka Captain Canada, had already pulled on a “Canada is not for sale” cap and played the bad cop.
asserted
Canada → pull → cop
The good cop came with the third T: a technocrat.
asserted
cop → come → T
After a decade of Trudeau’s socks and selfies, and three years of Poilievre’s repetitive slogans, Carney offered the welcome contrast of a man who had actually run things.
asserted
who → offer → things
He also seemed impossible to rattle.
asserted
He → seem → ?
But a brand built against an opponent lasts only as long as the opponent stays strong.
asserted
opponent → build → opponent
It begins to fade when the opponent quits or is wounded by a Democratic tsunami.
asserted
opponent → begin → tsunami
A new Abacus Data survey, conducted around the midterms, shows how much Carney leans on Trump.
asserted
Carney → conduct → Trump
Fifty-seven per cent of Canadians approve of his government, but only 29 per cent approve of its handling of the cost of living, down nine points since September.
asserted
cent → approve → September
On housing, it’s 31 per cent.
asserted
it → ’ → housing
And the best predictor of approval is how Canadians rate the government on the United States.
asserted
Canadians → rate → States
Affordability, their biggest worry, doesn’t move the needle on its own.
asserted
Affordability → move → own
Polls show the Trump effect on Carney’s approval.
asserted
Polls → show → approval
It peaked after Davos, slid through a quiet spring and summer, then jumped back when he walked away from trade talks in August.
asserted
he → peak → August
That raises a question about the third T.
asserted
That → raise → T.
A technocrat is what you hire for a crisis because he understands interest rates, trade and how to talk to world leaders.
asserted
he → hire → leaders
But voters will eventually need that competence to provide relief on grocery prices and rent.
asserted
voters → need → prices
In 2018, Bill Gates guessed that a $1 box of Rice-A-Roni cost five dollars.
asserted
box → guess → dollars
He wasn’t asking for votes.
asserted
He → ask → votes
During his 1992 presidential campaign Bill Clinton was, and he won by telling voters, “I feel your pain.”
asserted
I → win → pain
A technocrat’s version is “I understand your pain.”
asserted
I → understand → pain
Canadians hired a man who gets macroeconomics.
asserted
who → hire → macroeconomics
They may soon want one who gets the micro kind too.
uncertain
who → want → kind
With Trump wounded, there will likely be fewer showdowns and fewer chances for Carney to raise his elbows.
asserted
Carney → wound → elbows
Meanwhile, the grocery bill and the rent aren’t going anywhere.
asserted
bill → go → ?
Poilievre is counting on it.
asserted
Poilievre → count → it
Carney has a program too.
asserted
Carney → have → program
Becoming “masters of our destiny” is a serious attempt to make the economy less dependent on the United States.
asserted
economy → become → States
But pipelines, ports and new trading partners take years, and none of it will lower this month’s grocery bill or next month’s rent.
asserted
none → take → bill
Letters get you elected, but numbers keep you there.
asserted
numbers → get → you
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
