I have a letter to the editor in today's Globe and Mail responding to a column by Lawrence Martin who was praising Prime Minister Harper for embracing Red Toryism:
"Lawrence Martin says Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s move to the left has “validated” Red Toryism (The Resurgence Of The Red Tory Brand – Aug. 13).
Isn’t it a little soon to make such a statement?
After all, Mr. Harper’s Red Tory policies – increased government spending, bailing out failed corporations, racking up monstrous deficits – could lead to serious economic problems down the road.
Politically speaking, his embrace of Red Toryism has essentially made the Conservative Party a carbon copy of the Liberal Party, meaning the Prime Minister is in danger of alienating his small “c” conservative base. It’s hard to win a majority if you don’t keep your base loyal.
History may yet show that both Canada and the Conservative Party would have been better off had Mr. Harper stuck to his free-market principles."
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- Gerry Nicholls
- Gerry Nicholls is a communications consultant and writer who has been called a “political warrior” a “brilliant strategist” and one of the “canniest political observers in Canada.” He has worked as a consultant in both the United States and Canada and was formerly a senior officer in the National Citizens Coalition. A regular columnist with the Ottawa Hill Times, his work has also appeared in the Globe and Mail, the National Post and in the Sun Media chain; and he has appeared on countless TV and radio public affairs programs. He is the author of the book, Loyal to the Core, Harper, Me and the NCC.
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7 comments:
We should all see that Harper is not as interested in party
princible as his is in the power of being prime minister.
A new leader is required.
Right oneperson, time to dump the guy who united the right, kept what was supposed to be the largest majority govt in Cdn history to a minority, and then won 2 successive governments, increasing the mandate each time.
And, never before has a Conservative government weathered a recession storm to be re-elected...PMSH looks poised, again, to make history.
And you say dump the guy?
That is your inner Dipper speaking.
Time for the hard core righties to 'think thoughts' on what the Coalition of Losers would do to our country,
and get behind the only guy that can't stop them.
I think it's a bit of a stretch to claim that the CPC has become a carbon copy of the Liberals. I think we would have to wait until a majority Conservative government before we could make such an assessment.
I think it's also worth considering that the CPC don't have authoritarianism (also known as "social justice") written into their constitution which is enough to convince me that even if their spending during a minority government in an economic "crisis" resembles a Liberal government, there's still enough of a difference to make the alternatives utterly unpalatable.
Unfortunately for the fiscal, social, and judicial health of the country Martin’s analysis, for once, is precise to the point that he accurately portrays a daunting state of affairs.
Harper, as he has plunged to the left, has wounded the country fiscally, socially and judicially, and has guaranteed us that our children’s standard of living will be, to an immense extent, subordinate to our contemporary standard.
Harper’s pathetic, socialistic plummet is the rationale for us legitimate small-c fiscal, social, and judicial conservatives feeling that we are no longer represented in the House of Commons.
Thus many of us are calling for an immediate Conservative Party leadership convention with a mandate to take back our conservative party from the far-left.
--machiavelli
If the PM had not put forward a stimulus package that spent like a drunken sailor, the coalition would have taken over, even if Iggy now says that the coalition would have destroyed Canada, and with the coup plotters in charge we would be looking at Obama type deficits and not the manageable amount that Harper spent.
You people are never happy and it seems to me that you are only using the spending as a ruse because you do not like the man.
If he spends money he betrayed the party, if he did not spend he looses power and we are worse off financially in the end anyways.
If you were really concerned about the spending you would see that we were and are better off with Harper.
I find this Red Tory comment interesting... spending money liek a drunken sailor did not work for Paul Martin Jr prior to the 2006 election, and I find it rather perplexing that the PM has opted for this troubled time in our economy to show his red side (if that is infact what he is doing) in an attempt to win support from fellow Canadians. If anything, being closer to his blue fiscally conservative roots would fair him better with regards to gaining further support from the public. Canadians want out of this ression with a minimal spending hangover as possible, and that is something as a Conservative PM, Harper can offer. Why this route was chosen, I have no idea.
Totally agree with "oneperson". He mostly cares about being a leader. His party principles or program don't play the main role in his actions.
Regards, Lorne
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