I have always believed that Jason Kenney's religious fanaticism, his inner demons, and his burning ambition, would eventually threaten the survival of this country.
And sure enough, first he stoked the fires of western alienation to unite the Cons and get himself elected premier.
Now he's using the threat of separation to try to blackmail Justin Trudeau, and force him to surrender to him and Big Oil.
For now, in his mind at least, he's Kenney of Albertonia.
It's been almost thirty years since Preston Manning and his Reform Party cowboys galloped into Ottawa and started trampling on our country and its values.
They had "The West Wants In" tattooed on their...er...saddles, as they stampeded into our parliament.
Parson Manning thundered that they had come to elevate our politics, take big money out them, and make them more God-like. Hallelujah!!!
And, yes, so much for that one...
For years, during the dark days of the Harper regime, the Manning Centre Conference was an event where the Cons went to brag about how they were changing Canada beyond recognition.
And building a New Conservative Movement that would rule this country for a generation.
But not any longer.
Now that the Cons have hit rock bottom, so has the Manning Conference.
For years Preston Manning has been able to maintain a thin veneer of respectability.
By posing as the slightly dotty elder statesman of the Reform rednecks of Alberta.
But ever since his Harperite cult was defeated in the last election, that image has started to fray along the edges.
Three weeks ago he accused Justin Trudeau of fuelling Western alienation.
And now he's gone one outrageous step further.
Well it's that time of the year again. When Preston Manning, the parson of The Church of the Reformers, summons his Con flock to gather in his presence at the Manning Centre Conference.
But this year the stench of defeat hangs over the event. It's more like a wake than a party.
And the only clear messages that can be heard over the sound of the wailing and gnashing of teeth, is the one the police are sending out.
As a warning to delegates not to go hog wild.
And the crazed call of the parson to destroy Justin Trudeau.
As you probably know the Preston Manning is holding a big Con Conclave in Ottawa, and it's not just the hookers who are quivering with excitement. So are the pundits and poobahs.
Because it's the BIG EVENT !!!
Given the potential for spirited and substantial political debate, is it any wonder that ManningFest has become one of the hottest political tickets in town?
Which in itself tells you how low we have fallen eh?
And that's BEFORE you check the guest list and discover that Mark Steyn is one of the main speakers...
OMG. Praise the Lord and pass the garlic. I see the Dark Parson of the Manning Centre is blaming the media for the Senate scandal.
A great deal of media attention has been paid these past few months to the ethics, or alleged lack thereof, of senators Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy. Much less attention has been paid to the likelihood that the ethics of both are at least partially rooted in their training and experience as prominent members of the media.
And I see some in the media are firing back, albeit reluctantly.
Though I am not crazy about the media circling the wagons against criticism (we can be remarkably thin-skinned), I believe Mr. Manning deserves a reply, particularly because I have long respected and admired him.
By gently pointing out that one should not judge others, lest your own Cons be judged.
They flew into Ottawa this weekend like a swarm of bats from some dark netherworld.
Hundreds of Cons, religious fanatics, sinister would be Republican operatives, climate change deniers, right-wing kooks like Ron Paul.
All there to try to figure out how to make Canada conservative FOREVER.
All there at the invitation of the Con Godfather himself Preston "Parson" Manning, who did beseech his batty flock to mind their tongues.
Lordy. I see that Preston Manning, the Big Daddy of the ReformCon movement, thinks that the robocall scandal is deplorable.
The patriarch of the modern-day conservative movement in Canada is calling for better ethical training for campaign workers in the wake of the robocall scandal.
Which would be a lot more believable if he wasn't an apologist for the Harper gang, and this kind of stuff hadn't been going on at his hallowed Con temple.
