December 22, 2004
WE'LL BELIEVE IT WHEN WE SEE IT:
Tories' time: Harper's New Conservatives come long way in short period (LICIA CORBELLA, 12/22/04, Calgary Sun)
"Three years ago, I was in the Sun's offices talking about running for a party, (the Alliance) that was in the midst of a civil war that had two caucuses, that nobody thought could get together let alone go anywhere," recalls [Stephen Harper, the leader of Canada's official opposition], who will be spending Christmas with extended family at the couple's northwest Calgary home before jetting off to Maui for a week in early January with their children, Ben, 8 and Rachel, 5."Today I'm leading a united opposition that includes not just all the factions of that party but now two parties that have come together in a minority parliament where we're in, I think, a good position to win the next election.
"At this time last year, the new caucus had never met and now it's doing really well. It's united and I think the front bench is really taking shape."
Indeed, just 14 months ago, before Peter MacKay, then leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and Harper, leader of the Canadian Alliance, hammered out a deal to merge the two parties in Oct. 2003, pundits and politicos said such a marriage would never work.
Then, when it happened, they said the various factions within each party would devour one another. Then, when the newly formed Conservative Party was happier and more united than the in-fighting Liberals, the pundits said such unity doesn't matter anyway because the Paul Martin juggernaut -- also described as the Paul Martin steamroller -- would flatten all competition and win the largest majority ever "in a cakewalk."
The June election proved such projections wildly false. The once seemingly invincible Liberals won just 135 of Parliament's 308 seats with the Conservatives -- just months old -- pulling in 99. Prometheus Paul turned into Minority Martin and as Harper said maybe one of these days or months we'll get to see "if Mr. Martin actually has any idea why he wants to be Prime Minister."
Posted by Orrin Judd at December 22, 2004 10:29 AM
This article is laughable.
The Conservatives have probably maxxed out their support in Canada. They have no seats in Quebec and virtually none in the Maritimes. The seats that are not in their hands or the Liberals' are in Socialist or Quebec nationalist(Francophone fascist) hands. Given a choice between a Conservative government and a Liberal one, these two groups would unite with the Liberals. In fact, Canada's electoral system, which has no runoffs, perhaps exaggerates Conservative strength now.
Also, let's be realistic. There is nothing that unites Canada other than hostility and hatred of America. Molson didn't run its 'Joe Canada' ads in a vacuum and Don Cherry didn't get fired from Hockey Night in Canada because he was anti-American, but because he was pro-American. It is a phony country, made up of two ethnic and linguistic groups that hate each other and do so with good reason. Both groups are pretty detestable.
A party that resolves to be civil to Americans, not necessarily friendly, cannot gain any traction. If the Francophone region did secede, becoming essentially a remedial France, a France without decent wine or art, but preserving the disorganization and arrogance, the English region would have no rational purpose to remain united. The West would certainly join the US. So, the Canadian political class, who in America would be little more than a coterie of jumped-up aldermen and small-time street hustlers, fosters the climate of anti-Americanism so it can stay employed.
Tens of thousands of Canadians flee to America every year, fleeing that wannabe-SSR of the tundra. The ones who remain want to preserve their socialist kleptocracy and their completely unjustified, self-righteous superiority complex over us.
Bart:
I beg of you, could you find it in your heart to do me and my countrymen one modest favour? Could you just invade and then shut up?
Posted by: Peter B at December 22, 2004 12:02 PMLicia Corbella is actually a bit of an acquaintance of mine...she's served as editor for some of the stuff the Calgary Sun has run of mine. I like her plenty but I think she's a little too confident about the Canadian conservative movement.
Posted by: Steven Martinovich at December 22, 2004 2:09 PMPeter:
I don't think you really want Bart up in the great white north. There are many more people down here, so his views get absorbed more easily. Also, do you really think he would "shut up" after he became Governor General and Prime Minister for Life? I don't think so!
It would have been nice had Lower Canada rebelled w/the "American" part of British North America.
Posted by: Dave W. at December 22, 2004 5:37 PMSteve:
I tend to agree with you and even with Bart ( ugh ) that Harper may have maxed out. The one thing that gives me hope is that there were so many very tight races in the suburbs all across the land--all won by the Liberals, as I recall. Something in sight to shoot for.
The real worry, though, is that the bright young things around Harper will start thinking that disowning consevatism is the way to advance their careers and make their mothers proud.
Dave W
:-), but don't you mean Upper Canada?
Posted by: Peter B at December 22, 2004 6:31 PMYes, I did. Perhaps the Hudson Bay Co. w/it's land holdings as well?
Posted by: Dave W. at December 22, 2004 10:30 PMDave W.
Upper Canada was settled almost entirely by what you learned were Tories and what I learned were United Empire Loyalists.
Posted by: Peter B at December 23, 2004 6:40 AMPeter, thanks for the history lesson.
Posted by: Dave W. at December 23, 2004 10:13 AM