The issue is either Conservatives believe in freedom of conscience or they don’t.
The Stupid Party
Asked and answered: Is The CPC Leadership A Ruse?
Cuckservative, Inc
MacKay replaces tweet about rail blockades after critics suggest he supports vigilantism
I Want A New Country
Mark Gerretsen represents the Ontario riding of Kingston and the Islands. It’s a long way from Fort McMurray but that isn’t stopping the Liberal MP from not only opposing the project but spending money, perhaps your money, to shut it down.
Gerretsen has posted on Facebook about a petition put forward by the Queen’s University Liberals, and sponsored in the House by Gerretsen, to reject the proposal.
“We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to reject the proposal to build the Teck Resources Frontier Oilsands Mine in Alberta as it is not in the best interest of Canadians,” the petition reads.
Isn’t this the equivalent of an Alberta MP asking the federal government to shut down Ontario’s manufacturing sector? Or calling for a stop to all the tax breaks to Toronto’s film productions? That wouldn’t go over too well in Ontario and this won’t go over well in Alberta.
I’ve been in a paint booth all day, so instead of trying to play catch up on today’s Trudeau debacle and his open shunning of Western Canada, this is an open thread for those topics, plus anything else that makes you want to yell at Scott Moe to stop wasting our time and interests on this neverending shit show.
It’s not going to get better. A Conservative government in Ottawa won’t make it better. Move on. Get the ball rolling on a decoupling strategy now, lest the SaskParty find itself competing with a third option in the next provincial election.
Related.
I have worked as both a police officer & in civilian oversight of policing. Police don’t stand down when crimes are being committed unless they’re instructed to. @JustinTrudeau is selective with police independence, just like he was selective about independence of Prosecutions.
— Jamie Mask (@jmask) February 19, 2020
Pleasing Your Enemies Does Not Turn Them Into Friends
Now this is how you harness media bias and naked bigotry to your advantage.
And there isn’t an establishment Conservative in this country with the gonads to do it.
Related. Someone got a memo.
The Stupid Party
"Canada is strong because Canadians make it strong" is right up there with "diversity is our strength."
Do better with your sloganeering, Conservatives. I don't think you're blowing anybody's hair back with that one.
— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) January 26, 2020
And just when you thought it couldn’t get stupider.
I am proud of Canada because Canadians make me proud. pic.twitter.com/HSTCUbOGn2
— Peter MacKay (@PeterMacKay) January 25, 2020
Indeed
I might be wrong, and this might be a tendentious JJ conclusion, but I really get the impression one of the dominant dynamics of the Conservative leadership race will be the yawning void between where the media and CPC consultant/staffer types are, and where the party base is.
— J.J. McCullough (@JJ_McCullough) January 16, 2020
The Stupid Party
It’s as though they’ve learned nothing.
.@realDonaldTrump https://t.co/otDdeFxk16
— Keean Bexte 🇨🇦🇭🇰 (@TheRealKeean) December 30, 2019
Scheer Stupidity
Though to be truthful, I care even less what the Conservatives do than I did during the Kim Campbell days minutes.
#BREAKING Conservative Party convention postponed to November 2020 #cdnpolihttps://t.co/Xk2RAhPjg9 pic.twitter.com/obZRj4EvIm
— Natasha Fatah (@NatashaFatah) December 21, 2019
Once They’ve Purged The Pro-Lifers And Yellowvests And Climate Deniers And Wexiters And Transphobes
Everything will be big tent hunky dory again: Maybe the biggest question anyone considering entering this race should be asking is if they can handle how this party treats its own.
Scheer Gone
I was out of radio range when the news broke. Open thread.
That’s Debatable
“Coulda been worse”, say Conservatives…
More palace intrigue from Mercedes Stephenson.
Coulda Had Max
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has stripped MP Michael Cooper of his spot on the House of Commons justice committee as punishment for Cooper’s angry confrontation with a Muslim witness in hearings dedicated to online hate.
Earlier this week, Cooper told Faisal Khan Suri he should be “ashamed” after he drew a link between “conservative commentators” and the online history of mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonnette.
Cooper also quoted from the manifesto of the man accused of the mass killings in Christchurch, New Zealand in an attempt to discredit Suri’s testimony.
h/t Ontario John
From the comments: Ironic that a committee that has in its mandate issues surrounding the protection of free speech, is deplatforming a conservative because he asked on what justification a witness before the committee could associate conservatives with the mass murder.
Scheer’s immigration speech followed the same strategy he employed in rolling back his earlier promise to balance the federal budget within two years, by pushing the timeline out to five years.
“Conservatives Need These Policy Pivots”
Alternative title: Pleasing your enemies does not turn them into friends.
Grab a coffee. Especially if your name is Andrew Scheer.
When Martha Hall Findlay
Former Liberal, former Liberal leadership candidate, is more conservative than the CPC Leader.
Sure am glad we didn’t take a chance on the Bernier guy, that’s for sure.
For the Curious
The CPC has provided an excellent breakdown of each round sorted right down to the riding for the Leadership election.
Flanagan has the right of it.
Of all the day after articles written, I think this one is closest to the bone.
CPC Leadership – Open thread – Live Blog
Okay. That cardboard cut-out of JP Veitch (Rona’s partner) was hilarious.
Rona is kicking Liberal ass, or “balls”….
Thank you, Rona Ambrose, you did a great job. Cheers!
First round results (last to first): Deepak, Saxton, Peterson, O’Leary (?), Alexander, Blaney, Raitt, Leitch, Lemieux, Chong, Trost, O’Toole, Scheer, Bernier
Two surprises to me: Trost in fourth and Bernier less than 30%. So, tell me again how this style of convention is bad for TV? The depth of the field is actually benefiting the networks.
The next results will be an amalgamation of rounds two through seven.
Second announced results: (off the ballot) Saxton, Peterson, O’Leary, Alexander, Blaney, Raitt, (still on the ballot) Leitch, Lemieux, Chong, Trost, O’Toole, Scheer, Bernier
Round 8-10: (off the ballot) Lemieux, Leitch, Chong, (on the ballot) Trost, O’Toole, Scheer, Bernier.
Round 11: (off the ballot) Trost, (on the ballot) O’Toole, Scheer, Bernier (36%)
Round 12: (off the ballot) O’Toole (on the ballot) Scheer (38.36%), Bernier (40.38%)
Final Ballot: The Conservative Party leader is Andrew Scheer (51%)
Blog Notes: I’ve been liberal in my libations. There won’t be any more posts from me today. Cheers!
Maxime’s Supply Management Problem
He is absolutely correct here. It is up to the party.
If he wins today, as I hope, it will be his and our job to convince the party that supply management of dairy and poultry products is a bad thing.
I empathize with supply management supporters though, the up-front costs of buying the quota are huge, indeed they are the retirement plan for the farmers.
For Bernier to succeed he must have a plan to reimburse those who have and are paying for the quotas. These aren’t ‘rich farmers’ as the less educated detractors claim, they are Joe and Jane Frontporch doing the best they can. Only then will he be able to convince the non-fiscal wings of the CPC that supply management is more hurtful to consumers than beneficial to a small handful of farmers.
Fortunately for Bernier (and us) he has never shied away from arguing his point with logic and facts.
One thing, for sure.
If the party wanted to prove to Canadians that first past the post is a superior electoral system to proportional representation, they’ve succeeded.
I don’t know what the party would do otherwise but there are two things that I do know. Absolutely no delegated conventions and I want my vote (which is really the same thing).