The Con Leadership Race and the Day of the Dead

It was just another day in the Con clown leadership race, but before it was over the real face of the Harper Party had been revealed. Again.

And it couldn't be more ugly.

Or for the Cons more like the Day of the Dead.



For when the Con queen Rona Ambrose finally fell off her fake throne, and announced she wasn't running.

Rona Ambrose says she won't run to succeed Andrew Scheer as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. 

She sent a message to Andrew Scheer and his gang of homophobic bigots.

"I know we will choose a strong, compassionate person to lead us — who supports ALL families. I know we'll choose a good leader and I'll be there to support HER…or him!"

But even as she spoke, Ambrose's vision of a kinder, gentler, more Canadian party. was crumbling all around her.

For only hours before, Jean Charest, another potentially more moderate Con candidate, also saw the writing on the wall...



And decided that he wasn't running either. 

Then only hours later the social conservatives marched out and unveiled their candidate. 

The social conservative wing of the Conservative Party looks set to have at least one flag-bearer in the leadership race, as former party staffer Richard Décarie is collecting signatures and has a network forming behind him.

Who thanks to the fact that he once worked for Stephen Harper, can count on the support of the Cons many religious fanatics.

The party’s social conservative wing is a large, energized voting bloc in leadership races and could well be a kingmaker in a close race, given the ranked ballot system.

Even though Décarie is such a grotesque bigot he believes that being gay is a choice. 

Emphasizing his "so-con" values, Décarie says "LGBTQ" is a "Liberal" term and that being gay is a "choice." #cdnpoli #ctvpp

More at https://t.co/uCQmGSHoEL pic.twitter.com/F9Z70Ejsdi

— CTV Power Play (@CTV_PowerPlay) January 22, 2020

And as if that wasn't bad enough, then there's Derek Sloan, who may only be a rookie MP but believes he should be party leader.

And on the question of abortion rights has the enthusiasic support of the anti-abortion fanatics at Campaign Life. 

Campaign Life Coalition, a national anti-abortion lobbying organization, gave Sloan a “green light” after having him fill out a questionnaire about his views on abortion and euthanasia. He answered each question “perfectly,” according to the website, including “no” to one question that read: “Are there any circumstances under which you believe a woman should have access to abortion?”

Which is simply grotesque.

But none of this should be surprising considering the power of the Con's social conservative caucus. Just ask Pierre Poilievre. 

A week ago he was a leadership favourite and getting ready to enter the race. Then he decided to renounce his opposition to gay marriage and abortion rights.Then I exposed his vile voting record.

And today he suddenly announced that he too wouldn't be running.



Poilievre was expected to announce his candidacy on Sunday in his Ottawa-area Carleton riding, but in a Facebook post late Thursday he said he would not be joining the race to replace outgoing leader Andrew Scheer.

Which when you combine all of the above, tells me at least three things:

One, now more than ever the Cons are a party of religious bigots.

Two, as even Don Martin admits, the Con leadership race has been taken over by nobodies. 

The nobodies are pounding on the door while the somebodies bolt for the exit in a Conservative leadership race hemorrhaging political status and credibility. The lineup is getting messier, murkier and less moderate by the day -- and the only smiles are on Liberal faces.

And three, as even Kory Teneycke admits, it's still the Harper Party. 

Even five years after his defeat, the presence of Stephen Harper still defines the Conservative Party of Canada. 

Harper doesn't need to campaign for or against anyone in the party leadership race. Every candidate will be attempting to claim some degree of ownership or continuance of the Harper record, and quietly intimating that they have his private approval. 

There is no path to victory running against Harper's legacy.

But while Teneycke seems to believe that's a good thing, I strongly disagree.

It's not really a surprise. A party of misogynists, homophobes and climate change deniers could only be Harper's Party. But now that the Cons are confirming that, no decent Canadians should ever vote for them again. https://t.co/ni92GtUUIh https://t.co/e3UAH2JYtA

— 🇨🇦 Simon 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🌈🏂 (@montrealsimon) January 23, 2020

And I believe most Canadians feel the same way.



The Harper Party is the most disgusting, most bigoted, and least Canadian party ever.

I've fought it for years, harder than most.

And no decent people in this country should ever vote for it...