Friday, November 22, 2019

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...



20 comments:

  1. But wait a minute, how quickly they forget. It's not just Andy. Didn't Ambrose say something to the effect that Trudeau was a girly man? It was right here on your own blog, Simon!

    https://montrealsimon.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-day-rona-ambrose-called-justin.html

    https://montrealsimon.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-cons-claim-rona-ambrose-didnt-call.html

    I'm still holding Rempelthinskin to account for making fun of Trudeau's bilingual stammer on the floor of the HoC. This article about Joe Biden has been making the rounds and offers some additional perspective. What she did was cruel, not just to Trudeau but to everyone with a speech dysfluency. I count myself in that category. It's bothered me all my life.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/01/joe-biden-stutter-profile/602401/

    Moreover, how many times have Cons and their troglodyte supporters mocked his slight lisp, not merely as a speech impediment but a stereotype of "effeminacy"? It all ties together, so when will she call that out? Ambrose and Rempel have no moral standing. They need to sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up. This entire party is irredeemable, bigoted trash.

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    1. Anonymous12:38 AM

      Very good points, Jackie. It amazes me how political expediency seems to bring out the "best" in some people. However, where were Rona and Rempel in the lead-up to the election when Scheer was trying to cool off in a breeze while the shit was hitting the fan? We heard nothing. Why? Well, what if he had won? Timing is everything and their timing reeks of self servitude while Squeamish Andy the homophobe continues to avoid his personal ick factor of embracing the LGBTQ community.
      Regardless of their motives, it will no doubt help the LGBTQ community to have some Con support while Andy squirms his way around the subject every time it's brought up.
      JD

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    2. Hi Jackie....Goodness you've got a good memory. I had forgotten that Ron Ambrose once called Justin Trudeau a girly man. Either that or I'm losing my mind, which after that nightmarish election campaign is entirely possible. 😳 Seriously though, I don't think there is anything anyone can do to save the Cons. What I am hoping for is a bloody leadership review that ends up splitting the Cons into its original components, and knocks them out of contention for a long long time...

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  2. Anonymous2:12 PM

    The religious fanatics won't be leaving the Cons. Where are they going to go? Christian Heritage? Pulease. That won't get them the power to force others to obey their religion.

    No, the fanatics will simply find another religious champion in the Con party. Kenney, Trost or some other nut we haven't heard of yet.

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    1. Duggie gonna run! Today he asked Justin to teach him FRENCH! 😘

      "Bon Jovi, les Folks! Tabernak, souvenirs and le Kweebek stuff! Je swee Doug Ford, your pro-chained Prime Rib Minister! AndrΓ© Scheer no je say pas march in Gay Paree. Boulay-boo koo-shay avec mwah, say swah?"

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    2. Anonymous5:52 PM

      Nah, it won't be Dougie. He's about as religious as Trump. Besides, the Xian extremists aren't happy with the way Dougie tossed Tanya GA to the curb and then pulled a u-turn on dialing sex-ed back to the days of Ward and June Cleaver.

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    3. Hi anon@2:12 PM...They don't have to leave the Cons they just have to stay at home during the next election. Although I am hoping for a breakthrough for the Christian Heritage Party. But the main point is that if Scheer's religious fanatics do keep their leader in place, all the Cons might as well stay at home, for their party won't stand a chance....

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  3. For what it's worth I hope Scheer wins approval at the convention. If the Conservative Party wants to write themselves permanently out of contention, good for them. Then the rest of us can go back to having a grown-up conversation instead of foolishly trying to appease Albertans.

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    1. If this poll is any indication, he just might. Among Conservatives themselves -- the ones who would be doing the actual voting at the convention -- he only comes in second to Herr Harpler himself.

      https://abacusdata.ca/andrew-scheer-or-who/

      Keep in mind, the last time the Cons held a convention everyone thought Trudeau would be running against Mr. Wonderful next time around. So the gossip about Spud might be just a dud.

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    2. Hi Sixth Estate....I am forced to agree with you. I would dearly like to see the foul Scheer bite the dust. But you're right, if the Cons do choose the theocrats they will be condemned to irrelevancy, and not even their Godzilla will save them...

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  4. Anonymous9:16 PM

    The Reformacons are essentially a separatist party that only want a short term stint in federal power so that they can download authority over their subjects to the province. Each province( or MOAS affiliation) would have their own shiny charter of human rights and like most banana republics it would be interpreted at the local level by a freshly minted collection of Con judges. Essentially the Quebec model on steroids with the feudal thugs all doing their own thing under a toothless federal umbrella where the most important thing on the agenda would be deciding where to hold the next meeting. Scheer failed to soft shoe his way into position to start implementing the plan so Kenney decided to jump the shark and push it from the provincial end much to the absolute wonderment of most. What, where did this Quebec model come from when what we want are pipelines and jobs not some nebulous repatriation of tax collection, pensions and law enforcement. The Reformacons concluded a long time ago its far better to own the subjects in a subset of Canada rather than modify their core values to attract a diverse population. Fortunately its starting to look like their Trojan Horse fell apart on the wrong side of the draw bridge.

    RT

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    1. Hi RT....I agree the Cons are always trying to undermine the federal government figuring certain provinces can incubate their reactionary ideas better. And that idea goes back a long time to the days when the Cons in the U.S were going on about " state's rights " so they could keep promoting bigotry against Africsn Americans. The Quebec model is a natural extension of their history as a French-speaking nation, the separatist Western yahoos have no such excuse. And as the oily ones wither on the vine, and the young leave them to find jobs elsewhere, places like Alberta will not be going anywhere...

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  5. Anonymous2:58 AM

    When I saw the headline I thought you were going to have some juicy bits about enemas from Scheer's meeting with Kenney.

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    1. Come on. I'm not gay but even I know it would be unethical for anyone to publicly out Kenney until he is ready to do so himself.

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    2. Hi anon....There are limits beyond which this blog will not go. And trying to describe an intimate meeting between those two ghastly religious fanatics is beyond me. But they are both my mortal enemas, and they are both douche bags so you can let your imagination wander... 🐷

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  6. Anonymous9:41 AM

    Only thing is that the LPC and their hardcore, troglodyte supporters and trolls are anything but progressive. You and your band of bullies are living proof of it.

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    1. Yeah whats up with this Montreal Simon guy anyways. Doesn't he see the hypocrisy of claiming to be a powerless victim when he has a massive global platform like Blogspot at his disposal? How come all these people who are women or gay or native or come over here for milk and honey don't just go away quietly somewhere and stop making life trivially less comfortable for privileged white men.

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    2. Hi Sixth Estate....I just don't know what to do with those poor desperate Cons. I would leave out milk and honey or hamster pellets for them, but I can't have them scrambling down my chimney at all times of the day or night, or worse burrowing up from below. I realize their humiliating defeat has left them in a state of shock, but we're winners not losers,miso how are we supposed to help them? This is clearly a job for the SPCA....☠

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  7. Hi anonycon....How many times have I told you not to get drunk before lunch. I realize you are very bitter, and I'm impressed that you have added troglodyte to your list of insults. But according to the dictionary, a troglodyte is someone who is " backward, old fashioned, or has outmoded beliefs" which quite frankly sounds more like you than me...😎

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  8. Anonymous6:48 PM

    Troglodyte is the word of the day at the internet research agency today.

    ReplyDelete