mitting (or encouraging) his supporters to defame Day as arndangerous “extremist.” (His campaign manager actually comparedrnDay to ]im Jones of Jonestown infam)-,) On the secondrnballot, Day humiliated Manning, winning 64 percent to 36 percent.rnManning was shocked by the result. So were the media,rnwhich had come to love Manning as the “conservative” whornplays by his enemies’ rules and loses graciously. Manning’s newrnelite friends lamented that an ungrateful part)’ had dumpedrnhim for cosmetic reasons: It had replaced a 57-year-old evangelicalrnProtestant from Alberta with a 50-year-old evangelicalrnProtestant from Alberta solely because Day is younger, betterrnlooking, and does not speak in a grating parsonical whine. Theyrnnever understood that Manning was fimdamentally at oddsrnwith the aspirations of most Reform supporters.rnStockwell Day frightens the governing Liberals. He plays tornwin. hi response to charges of “extremism,” he declares, “Thernera of political correctness is over.” Jason Kenney, his American-rneducated campaign manager, told me that, under Day, thernCanadian Alliance will imitate Ronald Reagan’s strategy inrn1980 and 1984: Day will seek to persuade Middle Canadianrnvoters that the Liberals are their enemies, not their friends. Dayrnis well suited to play the role of Reagan. He is cool, confident,rnand optimistic, although he has indulged occasionally in foolishrnand sometimes repellent demagoguery. It will be difficultrnfor the Liberals to make him a bogeyman, although they are doingrntheir worst. Dav has already been accused of neo-Nazi sympathiesrnand of being responsible for the recent stabbing of arnVancouver abortionist.rnKenney is the former head of the Canadian Taxpayers Association,rnand tax relief will probably be the major issue in thernnext election campaign, which is expected to be called this yearrnor next. The Alliance is committed to a single federal incometaxrnrate of 17 percent. Canada’s current rates are 17 percent uprnto $29,590, 26 percent up to $59,180, and 29 percent abovernthat, hi comparison, Americans pay only 15 percent on incomernup to $63,486 (in Canadian dollars), and the 28 percent raterndoesn’t kick in until $153,443 (in Canadian dollars). Americansrnmay also deduct mortgage-interest payments; Canadiansrncannot, hi addition, Canadians pay a seven-percent consumerrntax on all goods and services.rnSteve Forbes peddled the flat-tax idea in two primary campaigns,rnwith little success. Until recently, I would have predictedrnthat the Liberals could attack the Alliance plan to devastatingrneffect. Now, I am not so sure. Prime Minister Chretien has repeatedlyrncastigated those who want to keep more of their earningsrnas “greedy,” inviting them to leave the countr’. Tens ofrnthousands of skilled professionals leave every year, and morernwould if the’ coidd. It is part of the New Canada myth that exorbitantrnta.xation is the price we pay for living in “the best countr’rnin the world”; yet, as even a shocked New York Times has reported,rnCanada’s social-safety net is unraveling. Canadiansrnwho do not want to die on our notorious Medicare waiting listsrnare heading south for treatment in droves. Now that Canadiansrnearning as little as $30,000 pay an effective marginal tax rate ofrn50 percent, the U.N.’s endorsement does not quite warm thernheart the way it used to.rnHistorians will judge Brian Mulroney as the man who singlehandedlyrnrazed a great national institution. Canadians,rnhowever, have reason to be grateful, for the unintended consequencernof Midroney’s hubris is that we now have, in the CanadianrnAlliance, a viable alternative to Liberal (and liberal) hegemony.rn”The college education I never had.”rnThat’s how more than one reader has described Chronicles: A Magazinernof American Culture. Chronicles makes an ideal graduation gift, both forrnthe student about to enter college and the one embarking on his career.rnAnd right now, when you give a gift subscription to someone else at ourrnspecial introductory rate of only $19, you can renew your own subscriptionrnfor only $28 ($11 off of our normal rate). So do the student in yourrnlife a favor-and save some money as well.rnPlease enter the following gift subscription. lrnSend Chronicles as my gift to: Your information:rnNamernAddress AddrrnCity/State/Zip City/State/Ziprn• I have entered a gift subscription for $19.rnPlease renew my subscription at the low rate of $28.rn(I have enclosed a check for $47.)rnTo order by credit card, please callrn1-800-877-5459rnPlease make check payable to Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture,rnRO. Box 800, Mount Morris, IL 61054rnNOVEMBER 2000/23rnrnrn