Friday, August 24, 2018

Maxime Bernier and the Humbling of Andrew Scheer



Moments after Maxime Bernier called his party "morally corrupt" and went storming off to form his own, Andrew Scheer tried to carry on, as if nothing had happened,

But he just couldn't. A strange look in his eyes gave him away. He couldn't lie his way out of this one.

He knew that Mad Max had almost certainly ended his hopes of becoming Prime Minister, and God's Servant in Canada.

And as if that didn't hurt enough, he also knew the worst was still to come.



He knew Bernier was now free to attack him and his party every day of the week.

And that it's going to be a horror show.

Especially since some in the media, like Scott Gilmore, are saying that Mad Max just might pull it off. 

Starting a new party is necessarily destructive in the short term and will do nothing but hurt the Tories as they go into another election. And, the likelihood of the venture succeeding is low—not quite a fool’s errand, but somewhere near the quixotic end of the probability scale. And, it’s easy to roll your eyes at political rabble-rousers in this country because they are so rarely sincere, self-aware or successful.

But, I will be paying close attention to what Mad Max does now. Not because I share his values—although I agree with every word he says when he attacks our state-protected dairy cartel—but because he may very well succeed.


And then there's what Stephen Maher wrote about those who have been looking for another kind of Con party.

And how Bernier humiliated Scheer and left him looking like a weak leader.



You have to hand it to Maxime Bernier. 

I am skeptical as to how many seats his new party will ever win outside of his own ancestral fiedom in the Beauce, but when he took a blowtorch to the Conservative Party on Thursday, he did so with intellectually consistent arguments, presented vigorously, and there are reasons to think he will find a constituency for his message.


Along with the reminder that the times they are a changing.

Populists around the world are pushing once-forbidden issues into the mainstream, disrupting seemingly stable party systems with new movements. There is no reason to think that Mad Max can’t do the same thing here.

So while Bernier may not be the brightest bulb in the universe...



Nothing can be ruled out.

And as Martin Patriquin points out, this is the bottom line.

Bernier’s new political outfit may be a hit. It might tank. Either way, every vote for Bernier will be one less for the Conservative Party.


It’s the Unite-The-Right in reverse, where the Crazy Vote win means a Conservative loss once again. 


The one I've been waiting to hear for so long.

The Cons are divided, Scheer is going have to take his party even further to the right to take on Bernier, so we'll be able to smoke them both.

And the only thing better than that is this:

The sight of the ghastly Harperite Rachel Curran surrendering to Justin Trudeau.

I mean some things are priceless eh?

Who knew Maxime Bernier would make it so easy to destroy the Cons?

And let the party begin immediately...



22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bah! This old Con is done with politics. Life is too short for this crap. I'm going out for a walk and enjoy life and what little time I have left.

rumleyfips said...

There are whisperings that Potato Pete has been waiting for Scheer-nonsense to fail. Will this encourage him or send him back to the potato patch? And can he find a dog to make the photo op palatable ?

Jackie Blue said...

Canada's system is different from ours, but I'm superstitious (or just cautious) enough not to count any chickens, eggs, loonies, Canada geese, cuckoo birds, or "gestated turkeys" until the last vote is tallied in October of 2019. If all things go according to plan, Justin will be reelected just a few days after what would have been his father's 100th birthday. That's sweet serendipity indeed. 💯

All I can say is that despite all the vile, vulgar mudslinging against him, his whole family (even his kids) and members of his cabinet and party, I'm proud that Justin Trudeau has always stayed the course on positive messaging ("sunny ways"), because it's simply not in his nature to get down in the gutter. That's what the lowlife Cons — which would include Trump and his disgusting band of Internet trolls, Nixon dirty tricksters like Roger Stone, and white-supremacist cokeheads like Larry Kudlow — are predisposed to do. He's a breath of fresh air amid a political landscape of toxic fumes and verbal (or virtual) diarrhea.

When they go low, we get high. 🌱 🌿 Or to paraphrase that old Scottish song, "I'll take the high road, and you take the low road, but I'll get to Ottawa before ye."

Anonymous said...

Scheer was counting on the racist vote and will now have to split the shitpile with Bernier. I can hear the duelling dog whistles already. Scheer can also kiss his Quebec seats goodbye as well.
All in all, the Cons and GOP have just had the worst week in their collective histories and every bit of it is justly deserved.
It is a great day for us, a great day for the world.
JD

Anonymous said...

Simon, Jackie is correct about the American system being different than Canada's; however, every time I hear the bletherings of Rachel Curran I'm reminded of Ann Coulter. RG

Anonymous said...

I don't know why Scheer reminds me so much of Pee-Wee Herman.

Anonymous said...

I’ve been reading some of the comments on Con sites and it’s striking how many of them are blaming Scheer for what happened. I don’t know what it all means, but what I do know is that this is going to get ugly. The more Scheer and company try to demonize Bernier the more popular he will become. With the election just over a year away, the Cons will never recover.

Jackie Blue said...

Harper: "DAMMIT ANDREW! YOU LET THAT MOTORCYCLE MORON WRECK THE PARTY I CREATED! HOW COULD YOU BE SO INCOMPETENT?"

Scheer: "I meant to do that."

Steve said...

Maybe Justin should go to the Martimes next week to repair the disaster that was the con convention.

Jackie Blue said...

Now that's genius jestering. :)

Anonymous said...

I may have to frame that tweet from Rachel Curran. I enjoy looking at it so much I'm using up too much battery power. Maybe I'll just print out a copy, stick it on the fridge, and call it the Con's death certificate. ;>)

Steve said...

Post Media is the hydrogen ballon of the cons. John Ivison is the pilot and Andrew Scheer is the destination. Should they not have to be considered a campaign donation?

Anonymous said...

President Macron of France formed a new party in April 2016 and won election in May 2017. Bernier has a whole month or so longer

Marmalade said...

Hmmmmmmmm! Nova Scotia is having a PC Leadership Convention in October.....will be interesting to see who comes out on top!

lagatta à montréal said...

I'm not very fond of Macron, but nobody can deny that he has a brain.

Simon said...

Hi anon@11:58 AM...I hope you have a lot of life left. But the political scene in this country has become so toxic, I frequently feel like you do. And everyone should spend more time smelling the roses, because whatever party you support life is too short....

Simon said...

Hi rumleyfips....I haven’t the slightest doubt that Dumbo is hoping that Scheer will fail, so he can try to take back the party he sold to Harper and his ReformCons so long ago. I guess what he does next depends on how successful Bernier is in getting some kind of party off the ground. As for the poor dog he “borrowed” to try to guilt out Belinda, he’s probably gone off to doggie heaven with quite a tale to tell his friends...

Simon said...

Hi Jackie...well now you’re talking !! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 As you know Justin has some Scottish blood, which I like to think is one of the reasons he is still standing, I do admire Justin for managing to stay on the high road despite the foul ways the Cons have gone after him. That patience must come from his French Canadian blood, because I sure don’t have any. 🤺

Simon said...

Hi JD....yes, those duelling dog whistles are really going to be something. Scheer won’t give up those base bigots without a fight, and of course the more right he goes the less moderates he will attract, and he can’t win without them. We have had to put up with so much vile stuff in Canada and the U.S. I dream of the day this nightmare is over..l

Simon said...

Hi anon@ 2:17 PM...Curran has the same effect on me as Coulter does. I feel my face turning red, and have an almost irresistible desire to throw something at the TV. To see her throw in the towel, and so soon, is a rare treat I intend to savour as long as I can....👨‍🍳

Simon said...

Hi anon...yes I can see the resemblance. Now if we could arrange to have Scheer busted in an adult theatre that would be a real bonus...

Simon said...

Hi anon @3:41 PM....I have also been struck by how many Cons are blaming Scheer rather than Bernier. If this trend continues, and Bernier is able to build on it, the Cons will be in trouble. The way I see it, the Cons whipped up hate, and ending up getting burned by it....