Andrew Scheer's Ugly Gay Problem Comes Back To Bite Him

In my last post I looked at the ugly way Andrew Scheer reacted to the swearing in of Justin Trudeau's new cabinet.

And I suggested he was still bitter at the way Trudeau had humiliated him.

But now I think something else was also bothering him.

He was hearing the sound of sharpening knives, as an issue that helped sink his campaign came back to bite him again.



With two senior Con strategists delivering a warning to Scheer; if you remain stuck in the past on the question of LGBTQ rights or you and your party will have no future.  

For the Conservative Party of Canada to be electorally relevant to the majority of Canadians, it should consider breaking from the past and look to a more contemporary conservatism that resonates more broadly across the country. Nowhere is this more clear than on the question of LGBTQ rights, which ought not to be a question at all.

The fundamental problem is the Conservative Party’s lack of clarity on LGBTQ rights. Canadians expect their political leaders to share their values. Full stop. Yet the Conservative Party appears incapable of even offering table-stakes pleasantries to LGBTQ Canadians, while other cultural groups – be they religious, national or ethnic – command that respect without question.

Reminding Scheer and his company of bigots that actions have consequences.

What is most troubling is that Conservatives do not see the LGBTQ community as marginalized people who continue to face discrimination. The claim “we will always stand up for their rights” qualified by statements such as “as protected by law,” fails to recognize many LGBTQ Canadians who view the current scope of Canada’s laws as inadequate protection to inoculate them from inequality, discrimination or worse – violence.

And that mushy words and fake actions aren't enough to solve the problem. 



Tweaking words here or there will not bring less scrutiny to Mr. Scheer’s position on this issue. Relying on “better communication,” as some MPs have mused, will not do much good when what you have to communicate is not saleable. Now is the time for some serious introspection on the part of Conservatives. Being stuck in the past will not help them win in the future.

Until they figure out how to move forward, Canada’s right will have to be satisfied with second place.

It's an extraordinary ltter, and it's being publicly supported by other well known Cons like Rona Ambrose and Michelle Rempel.



But what makes all of this really interesting is that all of those Cons must surely know that Scheer will never change.

He's too much of a religious fanatic, his hatred for gay people is visceral, and borders on the genocidal.



So what they are really saying is resign or be fired.

Which should set up a massive confrontation at the leadership convention in April, where if Scheer is rejected, many of his religious fanatics could leave the party.

And if they prevail and Scheer stays on, most decent Canadians will confine the Cons to the garbage can of history.

So one way or the other, progressives can't lose.

And with the support of LGBTQ Canadians and their friends and allies.

Justin Trudeau and other progressives should keep marching on to victory...