It was Andrew Scheer's fatal flaw, the one that more than all the others cost him the election.
His religious fanaticism that made it impossible for many women and LGBT Canadians to trust him.
So not surprisingly those who would replace Scheer are desperate not to make the same mistake.
And one leadership candidate, Pierre Poilievre, is even trying to whitewash his past.
In a recent interview with La Presse, Poilievre is quoted as saying that he wants the Cons to turn the page on abortion rights and gay marriage.
I support gay marriage. Period. I voted against it 15 years ago. But I learned a lot like millions of people all over Canada and the world. I note that gay marriage is a success. The institution of marriage must be open to all citizens regardless of their sexual orientation.
Poilievre is also claiming that if he was prime minister his government would not introduce any anti-abortion bills, and would make sure no private member's bills would be adopted either.
Which sounds all fine and good, but unfortunately for him his vile voting record speaks for itself.
It reveals him to be a stealthy religious fanatic, as bad or worse than Scheer.
And what makes him so dangerous is that he is both an aggressive partisan and a political chameleon.
Susan Riley on Pierre Poilievre - He is defined by his personal ambition, extreme aggression & high partisanship— G.T. Lem (@gtlem) January 19, 2020
Public finds him distasteful. BUT he's a political chameleon - able to change on a dime - so there'll be calculating re-tooling of his image next few months #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/F7LpBz8dgv
A Con chameleon who could hide his real views until him and his Cons are elected, and then bring down a fascist darkness on millions of Canadians.
Just like Scheer would have done.
For the only way Poilievre and any of the other candidates can hope to win the Con leadership race is by throwing red meat at the social conservatives.
This former Harper adviser warns that dumping them would be a big mistake.
It’s far from clear that abandoning social conservatives would be the electoral boon that many anticipate. It could just as easily set the Conservative party further back from winning elections — especially when one considers the disproportionate contribution that social conservatives make in the form of donations, volunteer hours and votes. That as many as one-third of current Conservatives MPs are said to be pro-life may be a good proxy for where Conservative voters stand.
It’s not a policy position that can just be adjusted or discarded. It’s how conservatives are wired. Political strategists can’t change that.
The idea that the Conservative party would be better off without them is misguided. The party won’t expand its electoral base if it starts by cleaving off one of the biggest pieces. And it won’t be able to offer Canadians a clear, conservative alternative if it jettisons traditional values.
So sooner or later all the leadership candidates will have to reach out to the religious fanatics, as Erin O'Toole is doing here.
I agree, we can’t win by making the Party smaller. There’s a home in the CPC for ALL Conservatives. #cdnpoli #cpc https://t.co/SXk5QSfseL— Erin O'Toole (@ErinOTooleMP) January 17, 2020
Which leaves the ugly Cons caught between a rock and a hard place.They're doomed if they try to dump their social conservative supporters, and they're doomed if they don't.
And with a little bit of luck, when those values collide, they will tear the Harper Party apart...
The more things change, the more they stay the same...
The Cons are and always will be the party of religious bigots.
And no decent Canadians should ever vote for them...
20 comments:
Skippy and O'Fool aren't the only ones attempting to hide their nastiness from voters with a Trojan-jackass "rebranding." Let no one forget either that the "moderate" Ambrose did exactly what Scheer waffled on throughout the campaign: opened the Pandora's box on the abortion debate. I have literally no idea what MacKay stands for on anything, but it doesn't matter because he's the one who gave Harper and his army of fanatical crusaders the keys to the kingdom in the first place. He has no ethical backbone whatsoever and would do it again if given the chance. Funny how the Jesus lobby sure does love a Judas, selling out to the devil and now crawling back for his thirty pieces of silver. A deceiving snake who betrayed the Orchard. None of these rotten apples fall far from the poisoned tree!
As the Bible says, the Devil took Jesus to a high mountain where they could see all the kingdoms of the world. The Devil said, "Look, you can rule over all of these, as long as you acknowledge me as your lord and master."
And I believe the Bible then says Jesus responded, "Seriously? Done! Heck I would have paid that just for two Supreme Court picks!"
Hi Jackie....The religious right is now a huge part of the Con caucus. Thanks to Scheer they are now almost 50 % of the caucus, and that doesn't include all the officials who Scheer also hired. If the Cons had won the election we would have very soon have ended up living in the closest thing to a theocracy. Unfortunately many Canadians don't believe it could happen here, so the Cons will get one more chance to conquer our country.
Hi Sixth Estate...The funny part is that although I'm an atheist, mostly because I don't believe in heaven, it offends me to see the scummy Cons masquerading as Christians. I know many good Christians and none of them resemble people like Poilievre and others. Campaign Life has replaced Skippy's green light with a red one. But when push comes to shove I haven't the slightest doubt that they will support him....
Jesus was by any interpenetration in reality a socialist. He could turn a timex into a rolex
Religious bigotry doesn't matter a hoot to the other 50% of their support. The party will take the votes and propaganda on offer from wherever and cash them in for what they're worth. And furthermore, they know that the crackpots have no where else to go. The trick is to say just enough to make sure that they don't give it a bye.
Hi Steve....I agree that the historical Jesus Christ was a revolutionary and clearly sharing all those fishes was the beginning of socialism as we know it. But what kind of socialist would turn a timex into a Rolex? 😇
Hi John....What you say may be true, but the religious fanatics are now the Cons chief organizers and their most dependable contributors. So they can't afford to alienate them, and if they decided to stay home it would mean disaster. As for having no place to go, I have been trying for years to encourage them to vote for the Christian Heritage Party. So far I haven't made much progress, but all it would take to defeat the Cons would be for them to lose 10% of their religious base, so I'm not giving up....👹
Media reached peak stupid last night. Instead of doing in-depth digging on the infestation of socons in the CPC, Harper's malignant influence in the IDU, or even the rank hypocrisy of the NDP and CPC on the China file, they're running with some bullshit about Trudeau buying doughnuts. They need to get off Twitter, or pay more attention to the yeoman's work of everyday tweeps like Simon and so many others, in doing the job that they're supposed to be doing. Who literally gives a fuck where Trudeau buys pastries? This is why nobody trusts M$M anymore. Obama's arugula nothingburger.
Agree that the Reformacons aren't go to give up anytime soon but they may choose to keep their religious fanatics under the radar for a while. A brief review of history suggests that as a result of the marriage made in hell they are trapped in a quagmire of their own making with no hope of becoming politically relevant unless they can transform Canada into a country where they can thrive. At present the majority of Canadians believe Canada is greater than the sum of its parts where cooperation and individual freedom including the ability to move pays off. The reformers don't give a crap about the sum of the parts as long as they can control as many parts as possible. In their vision each province answers to itself and are loosely bound together by an authoritarian federal meme and enforced by manipulation, force or punitive exclusion if necessary. The first part of their vision is relatively easy; just stroke local fears, greed and bigotry and the resulting conflict will become self fulfilling. The second part of the strategy is more difficult; a national meme that loosely binds the self interested provinces/ feudal empires together. Harper tried to use the great white warrior nation still passionately vigilant against the communist bogeyman as the glue, Scheer tried using devout Christian theology with less success. So what's next? Perhaps it is pretend to be born again red Tories until they can form a government, then abuse or download federal powers to trigger the infighting and presto it really won't matter what meme they use in the long run. Pretense to be neutral on social aspects combined with greed and the magical wealth generating powers of an unimpeded capitalist system is likely to be their strategy. Of course it must also include non stop propaganda to destroy Trudeau, the Liberal party and with it the Canadian "Canada greater than sum of parts" belief.
The present political landscape would likely have been much different if Mulroney had not embarked on the Meech Lake constitutional fiasco that resulted in implosion of the Tories down to two seats and the bride of Frankenstein marriage of convenience some 10 years later. But here we are some 40 years later with the new Reformed Cons trying to destroy Canada rather than strengthen it!
RT
So Scumbag Steve's tantrum pays off as Charest is now out. That leaves Skippy and Airshow in a Peter-measuring contest, plus Erin the Tool, some nobodies... and Schrodinger's Ambrose. Harperrhoids all of them, diseased boils on the body politic. A pox on all their houses.
Harper bulldozes Charet, and donuts gate fails major.
Unfortunately, most Canadian Conservative Party supporters would proudly vote for a turnip if it was nominated party leader.
Hi Jackie...I saw that dough not story, and have considered whether to write a post about it, but so far I have resisted. What's interesting though is that although the toxic Trudeau haters were in full frenzy, the response from most Canadians has been very positive. I think they're tired of the dirty games the Cons are always playing, and according to the latest poll I saw Trudeau popularity is soaring. So I'll have a doughnut with that one....
Hi RT....You make a very good point. The Cons are good at tearing down people and parties, but they have no stirring national vision that can help bind the country together. As you point out, Harper tried with his great white warrior nation. But that one flopped miserably, as did Scheer's great white Christian nation. So all the Cons now have now is a great white anti carbon tax vision,mand that one is doomed to be consumed in the fires of global warming. They do of course have one more option, to become the great white western party, and when I look at the number of seats at play, I can only encourage them...
Hi Jackie....Yes, it looks like Great Failed Leader has scared off Jean Charest, and I couldn't be happier. For although I am no fan of Charest he might have got a lot more seats in Quebec than Scheer did, and become a real threat. But with people like Poilievre and Peter Dumbo MacKay left in the race, There is no longer any danger of that. Harper is killing the Cons and I'm enjoying every minute....
Hi Sixth Estate....You're right, Con supporters are capable of electing a turnip, how else could they have chosen Scheer? But unfortunately for them most Canadians have better judgement, they know an American party when they see one, and they will not support it...
Hi Steve....I have this vision of Harper whacking Charest, and then consuming a whole box of doughnuts. And although it's a horror show, I find it strangely reassuring....
It's official! Rona's out!!!! OHHHH DOUGHNUTS!!!! 😋 🍩
https://twitter.com/CBCAlerts/status/1220103127447343105
Décarie does the Kamikaze thing on CTV and now Skippy's out.
What the fuck's going on?
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