No conservative party

Walter

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 28, 2007
34,844
93
48
The Reform Party was a response to the PC's turning into another Liberal party. Looks like the Conservatives are repeating history. Time for a real conservative party.
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
17,466
138
63
Location, Location
That's a nice idea, but if you pay any attention to election results, you'll see that most Canadians don't want, and won't support, a right wing party. They want a slightly-right-of-centre party, ie, what the old PC party was.
 

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
21,887
847
113
69
Saint John, N.B.
Look, I was with Reform from very early on, and here in the great down-east, I was a very odd duck :).

The problem is two-fold........

First of all a right wing party splits the Conservative vote, thus enabling the Liberals to rule as if blessed by a higher power, majority after majority, without even having to break 40% of the popular vote.

Secondly, what you are asking for is a principled party, one of honesty, ideology, forthrightfulness.....in other words, one absolutely guaranteed never to form government. If you have principles you do not follow the fad, you are not afraid to speak clearly, or to do unpopular things.......and you therefore alienate those who think differently, are not "on the bandwagon", and you never form government. Especially in a nation with as diverse a population as Canada.

Why do you think the Liberals are so successful?

They have never met a principle, and wouldn't know one if they did.

Unfortunately, and you don't know how much I regret this, the CPC is as good as we are going to get.

I learned my lesson.
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
44,850
192
63
Nakusp, BC
Look, I was with Reform from very early on, and here in the great down-east, I was a very odd duck
.

Colpy,

You was!??
 

Tyr

Council Member
Nov 27, 2008
2,152
14
38
Sitting at my laptop
Look, I was with Reform from very early on, and here in the great down-east, I was a very odd duck :).

The problem is two-fold........

First of all a right wing party splits the Conservative vote, thus enabling the Liberals to rule as if blessed by a higher power, majority after majority, without even having to break 40% of the popular vote.

Secondly, what you are asking for is a principled party, one of honesty, ideology, forthrightfulness.....in other words, one absolutely guaranteed never to form government. If you have principles you do not follow the fad, you are not afraid to speak clearly, or to do unpopular things.......and you therefore alienate those who think differently, are not "on the bandwagon", and you never form government. Especially in a nation with as diverse a population as Canada.

Why do you think the Liberals are so successful?

They have never met a principle, and wouldn't know one if they did.

Unfortunately, and you don't know how much I regret this, the CPC is as good as we are going to get.

I learned my lesson.


Secondly, what you are asking for is a principled party, one of honesty, ideology, forthrightfulness

Canada currently does not have a party (other than the Bloc) that actually does what they promise to do.

Nobody wants a return to the far right wing fringe policies of the Reform, nor do they want the "decision of the day" policy of the current conswervities.

The party that wins is the one that appeals to their base, plus the 10% that are on the other side of centre. Hence the preponderance of Liberal gov'ts in Canada. they are the closest to "centre"
 

Walter

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 28, 2007
34,844
93
48
Nobody wants a return to the far right wing fringe policies of the Reform,
I, and millions of like-minded Canadians do. Check how many voted Reform if you don't believe me.
 

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
21,887
847
113
69
Saint John, N.B.
And, I might ask, to exactly which "far-right fringe policies of the Reform" do you refer?

I simply don't remember any policies that would fit that description.......and I was a party member.

Perhaps you could enlighten me........
 

Unforgiven

Force majeure
May 28, 2007
6,770
137
63
Geeze, I know we hacked on Harper and the neocons pretty hard but after Dubya pulled it out, I didn't expect he would just bend over in front of Iggy and get all Liberal on us. :lol:8O:lol:
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
30,245
99
48
Alberta
Canada currently does not have a party (other than the Bloc) that actually does what they promise to do.

Even that's debatable as the Bloc has never been in the position where they have had to put up or shut up. I think when push comes to shove and the choice is between sucking on Canada's teat and making your own way, the teat is just too satisfying.

Nobody wants a return to the far right wing fringe policies of the Reform,

Return???? I must of been napping when the Reform came to power.
 

Tyr

Council Member
Nov 27, 2008
2,152
14
38
Sitting at my laptop
I, and millions of like-minded Canadians do. Check how many voted Reform if you don't believe me.

Since they haven't run a candidate in the last 4 Federal elections, What do you base your stsement "millions of like-minded Canadians do." on? Was there a "super secret" ballot that nobody knew happened?

They "did" get 2.5 million votes nearly 12 yrs ago whwn Chretian steamrolled over them, but so what? It was nearly 12 yrs ago

 

Tyr

Council Member
Nov 27, 2008
2,152
14
38
Sitting at my laptop
And, I might ask, to exactly which "far-right fringe policies of the Reform" do you refer?

I simply don't remember any policies that would fit that description.......and I was a party member.

Perhaps you could enlighten me........


Abortion
The Reform Party took a strong pro-life stance on the issue of abortion rights, calling for abortion to be made illegal.

Gay and lesbian rights
The Reform Party strongly opposed extending rights to gays and lesbians such as the right to marriage. Many Reformers saw homosexuality as a moral wrong. Reform leader Preston Manning himself once publicly stated that "homosexuality is destructive to the individual, and in the long run, society".


The Reform Party declared its opposition to existing government-funded and sponsored bilingualism and multiculturalism Reformers claimed that efforts to create a bilingual country had not worked and that language policy should be a provincial issue.
 

Colpy

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 5, 2005
21,887
847
113
69
Saint John, N.B.
Abortion
The Reform Party took a strong pro-life stance on the issue of abortion rights, calling for abortion to be made illegal.

Gay and lesbian rights
The Reform Party strongly opposed extending rights to gays and lesbians such as the right to marriage. Many Reformers saw homosexuality as a moral wrong. Reform leader Preston Manning himself once publicly stated that "homosexuality is destructive to the individual, and in the long run, society".


The Reform Party declared its opposition to existing government-funded and sponsored bilingualism and multiculturalism Reformers claimed that efforts to create a bilingual country had not worked and that language policy should be a provincial issue.

In the first instance, abortion, you are only partially correct. The Reform Party called for an abortion law restricting abortion after a certain time in the pregnancy.........this is the norm in the world. In fact, you would have trouble finding many nations without any abortion law, like Canada. That stance is, therefore, hardly "right-wing fringe" as in conforms to the norm in western societies.....and matches the opinion of at least 40% of Canadians. Au Contraire, the extremeist position is no law at all.....

As for homosexuality, once again you would find Canadians close to evenly divided on the issue of gay marriage.....and Tommy Douglas believed homosexuality was a mental disease. Hardly a "right-wing fringe" position

As for government-funded multi-culturalism, well, that may fairly be called a right wing position......not a fringe right wing position as, once again, a very substantial portion of Canadians would agree that gov't sponsored multiculturalism is idiotic, wasteful, counter-productive, and detrimental to the welfare of our country. Full stop.

You seem to think that anything you happen to disagree with, any idea that doesn't fit in with the Holy Bible of Accepted Lefty Truths is a "right-wing fringe" idea.

How intellectually arrogant of you!

And how incorrect you are....

You SO went to Carleton. :)
 

Niflmir

A modern nomad
Dec 18, 2006
3,460
58
48
Leiden, the Netherlands
Our lack of legislation on abortion is frightening. Unless one trusts that all doctors will somehow do the right thing. Aborting a day before 9 months seems dreadfully wrong, but you soon end up with the paradox of the heap. At the opposite side of the spectrum, I kill more cells when I spit my toothpaste out than exist in the blastula stage. Its certainly not cut and dry. What was the time frame the reformers were calling for?

As for the reform party in general, they were before I was able to vote, all I remember was them constantly being represented as aligned to the fundmentalist views. Which isn't enough to make a platform on, and polarizes people in the worst possible way. I don't know if they deserved that mantle, but it didn't do them any favors possessing it, apparently.
 

earth_as_one

Time Out
Jan 5, 2006
7,933
53
48
Harper isn't a conservative in the Canadian sense. He's a neocon, in the mold of George Bush and John Howard. It about time real Canadian Conservatives reclaimed their party and booted the idiot out.

I miss the good old days when being conservative was about greed, making poor people poorer, wealthy people wealthier and tossing the mentally ill people out on the streets like Harris did during the common sense. Now its about death and destruction.
 

Avro

Time Out
Feb 12, 2007
7,815
65
48
54
Oshawa
It was actually Rae who did this.

....and not a peep from the Libs and cons.

That move received all party support and hasn't been reversed since by the cons or Libs.

The mentally ill roaming the streets in the cold is the fault of all of them.