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Will the west never learn!

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    Will the west never learn!

    Selling the conservative soul

    Andrew Coyne
    National Post

    Saturday, January 20, 2007


    Do the words CF-18 mean anything to you? No? How about Bristol Aerospace? $1.3-billion maintenance contract? Brian Mulroney?
    Ah. Now you recall: It was the Mulroney government's 1986 decision to award the contract to a Quebec firm, over a clearly superior bid from Bristol Aerospace's Winnipeg plant, that touched off the prairie fire of protest that was to become the Reform party.
    Well, here we are, 20-odd years later, the Reform party has come and gone, and nothing has changed. A Conservative party is back in power, largely on the strength of Western support, and again the party seems to have forgotten what it stands for -- or, Westerners might say, who put it there. Only now there is no prospect of a Reform insurgency.
    Then, the conservative movement in this country was still in its infancy, still full of fresh ideas. If the nominal Conservative party was not responsive to their concerns, they'd soon put that right. Hell, they'd start a whole new party if they had to.
    So they did, and they had some success, but then they got impatient for more, and they started tinkering around with various unsuccessful efforts at rebranding themselves, until at last what remained of the old Reform party was merged with what remained of the old Conservative party to form ... the Conservative party.
    But it was not the same as the old Conservative party, was it? It had a leader, after all, who'd left the Conservatives to help found Reform, and even if it seemed inordinately concerned with reassuring everyone it was a "moderate, mainstream" party, that was mostly for show, wasn't it?
    Underneath beat the hearts of true conservatives, committed to fundamental changes in the way this country is governed -- for example, in the abuse of defence contracts for pork-barrel purposes, or the crude regional power-plays that had been the Liberal stock in trade. And for a time it looked that way.
    When the National Post ran a series in the fall of 2005 on the theme "Is Conservatism Dying?" the question seemed to me absurd, and in my own contribution to the series I said so. "Oh, dry up," I began, pointing out that the Conservatives controlled five of the 10 provinces and were on the cusp of victory federally. "One more heave, and they are over the top," I concluded. In retrospect I was quite wrong. After a year of Conservative rule, it is now clear, conservatism isn?t just dying--it's dead. And it's the Conservatives who killed it.
    It was one thing for their political opponents to denounce conservative ideas. At least they got a hearing, and as often as not the Liberals would steal them. But when Conservatives themselves hasten to renounce them, they have no outlet. And after two decades invested in the Reform experiment, there is nowhere else to go.
    So when the Public Works minister, Senator Michael Fortier from Montreal, intervenes in the procurement process for some desperately needed military cargo planes to demand a greater share of the "industrial benefits" go to Quebec, there is no vehicle for dissatisfaction to express itself -- should it even occur to anyone to protest. The Liberals aren't going to raise a fuss, or not seriously: They'd do the same. And whatever Conservatives remain who still believe in free market principles are either too reluctant to rock the boat or too exhausted by the fight to bother. That, or they have grown too accustomed to capitulation.
    For there isn't much left of conservatism nowadays, is there? Spending? The Finance Minister's fall economic statement projects spending to rise to levels never approached by any Liberal government, and yes, that's after allowing for inflation and population growth. Taxes? The party that once campaigned on a flat tax, then on broad-based tax cuts, now sprays tax credits hither and yon, such as that for children's sports. (Which sports? Teams of experts have been retained to advise whether the kids are sweating enough to qualify.)
    Corporate welfare? Once upon a time, conservatives wanted to abolish subsidies to business. No longer. Agricultural quotas? No danger of reform there. Privatization? Don't make me laugh. Much of this dilution took place in advance of the last election, notably at the party's triumphant founding convention in 2005. But the process has only accelerated post-election, in pursuit of the coveted majority.
    The more the party has chased the middle, however, the faster it has seemed to recede; with each abandonment of its principles, the opposition and the media, those arbiters of the status quo, simply yawn and move the goalposts a little further down the field. So that even so humiliating a climb down as the past week's reinstatement of the very Liberal environmental programs the Tories abolished in their first weeks in office wins them no points whatever.
    Quebec, missile defence, China, health care, regional development: It's very hard to tell what the Conservative position is any more, or how it differs from the Liberals, or what it will be a week from now. And the result? 31% in the last poll. Sell your soul, you'd think you'd at least get paid.

    #2
    ...and just think ivbin we here in alberta home to the last frontier of freedom(conservatives)... spend more money per capita than any other province but why not...if we don't spend it the rest of canada will for us...the downfall of our society will be this thinking it is our god given right for govt to look after us from gradle to grave...i look at what my father payed in taxes thirty years ago compared to now...and wonder ,its not what we make from our production in agriculture but the tax we now pay...so whether your from the east or the west part of canada i think it has to be somewhat frustrating to those that really do want to make a go of it...without all the good doers wanting to tell us what they think is best for us...to me its not a east west thing as much as...i think life is a whole lot more satisfying to those of us that try to fulfill our dreams than those that have things given to them...

    Comment


      #3
      I think it is pretty apparent that Canada, as we know it, doesn't really work? To get elected you have to pander to one region...central Canada!
      How much sense does it make for the federal government to manage our money with one thing in mind...buy that central vote? How many billions of dollars has that cost the Canadian taxpayer?
      If the rules say one thing and a place like Saskatchewan or Newfoundland plays by the rules and actually starts to get ahead...why don't we kick them in the teeth and rip them off...so we can buy some more French votes! Where is the incentive to ever try?
      Saskatchewan and Newfoundland are trying to pull themselves up by the bootstraps...both have the potential to be very prosperous places? Saskatchewan needs to get rid of the NDP to really rock and roll...but that looks like it might happen yet! Alberta needs a strong ally to fight off the feds...hopefully that will be a NEW revitalized Saskatchewan?
      But how does any region become wealthy and self sufficient when you are always paying the bills for the bums in Quebec? Its like having a 40 year old unemployed kid laying on your couch all day, eating your cupboard bare and drinking all your beer!

      Comment


        #4
        I think that you guys need a good old-fashioned "dictator" to run your affairs for you and smarten you up... Much better than this new "democracy" thingy. Or perhaps, we need little or no government where we can all achieve our dreams and succeed with our rugged independent spirit guiding us.

        Get a grip...we need government whether you/we like it or not. If you want to effect change, then either get into politics or vote for the 'best' people to represent you.

        Quit complaining about every government we elect...WE are government in essence.

        Comment


          #5
          ...your right wilagro i need another dictator like trudeau,chretien and mulroney to look after me cause we just are not smart enough to figure out to do something for ourselves...(hoping harper would be different)...i better get busy i need to send my bill into the govt for having my boy play hockey and my girl that figure skates...oh after i am done taking them to the rink maybe i can have a govt person baby sit them...so i can go to the bar and have some smokes and beers cause i sure would hate not to get my money's worth out of health care...

          Comment


            #6
            Good one blackjack...many, (or I should say) most of these "programs" designed to serve people are not requested by the majority of the populace but by special interest groups. Politicians cater to these groups for...guess what? That's it...VOTES.

            Some social programs are definitely needed but this BS of paying for sports activities including figure skating is just that...BS.

            Comment


              #7
              To tell you the truth I've never been all that keen on "democracy"? Give me a republic anyday!
              What is democracy but mob rule? The majority can take away whatever the minority has!
              How about the concept that every individual has rights that are more important than what the majority wants?
              Canada does not recognize the right of the individual to own property. Without property rights...the rest is drivel! The individual has NO rights!
              So here we are in the west. We "own" all these resources? Well...maybe not! The majority(Quebec and Ontario) can take them away when ever they want! But its democracy, right? Remember the NEP?
              How do you protect the minority from the mob rule of the majority? How about a bill of rights that includes property rights? How about a bill of rights that can't be changed by every goofy judge who thinks he knows better than the people? How about a real senate that can end the tyranny of the mob rule democracy?

              Comment


                #8
                When you say mob do you mean the mob or the mass type mob? It seems that you suport the theory that the most ruthless shall rule as in someone like Capone, if you strike first and fastest, but sometimes dont you think you could show a little kindness to your fellow man?
                Democracy is strange in that the minority is only the minority untill it gets its points across or sways enough people to thier way of thinking and then it becomes the majority and on and on it goes never quite ending but always evolving.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Well I always thought I was kind to my fellow man? Haven't had to take anybody down a dark alley and shoot them yet! Still considering Wilagro!!LOL(WARNING...thats supposed to be a joke!)
                  I personally believe people are better off if they have a chance to excercise some personal responsibility? I will never believe you produce a better human being by wiping their nose all their life!
                  We all are born little innocents with gifts and faults. We all die with nothing. What you do inbetween is all that matters...and how you use that time?
                  For many people money means little. For me it means a lot. I don't want to have it all, but I do want to have enough to be secure,independent and comfortable with my situation. I don't think that is a bad thing?
                  We all form our opinions on how we view several things in this world? Our politics, our religion, our relationships with our fellow man? The one true thing about those opinions is this: They are ours...and no one can take them away from us?
                  Horse, you may not believe it but I have helped a lot of people and I never did it for any personal reward.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    LOL...Geez cowman...I haven't had anyone threaten to shoot me for years. I must be doing something right though if that is the reaction I get.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Take a valium, Wilagro...it was supposed to be funny!
                      Hey I have no problem if you see things differently than me? It would be a pretty dead old world if we all saw everything the same?
                      Besides you are one of my favorite "patsies"! You give me a chance to rail against your views and "enlighten" the blind about how the world should really work! LOL

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I heard on the news yesterday but didn't take note of the numbers, but the jest of it was that Albertans work a lot more hours in a year than Quebecers!! All that overtime...going to keep Quebec happy, fat and federal.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Horse you can be forgiven if you don't know the significant difference between "democracy" and "republic". It is never explained very well in our schools or through the mainstream media.

                          Before I say more let me be clear...both can become corrupt!
                          However the gain and property of the individual in a "republic" (rule of law) is protected to a far greater extent than in a "democracy" (rule by the mob) or masses, if you prefer. Who through their strengh in numbers, can take away what is leagaly yours.

                          In a republic they can not.

                          Those who desire a strong central government who's aproach to governing is wealth distribution will always reject any changes toward "republic" type institutions. This is why the Saskatchewan NDP though very vocal about the equalization issue (playing to the crowd) reject out of hand any suggestion of a triple "E" senate which would give the province much more clout in the central government.
                          Go figure!!

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Well I'm not just real sure how much Lorne Calvert is playing to the crowd...he sure doesn't sound all that happy...but I know what you mean!
                            Now Danny Williams...he is NOT a happy camper!...and I don't blame him one little bit! Make no mistake here...Saskatchewan and Newfoundland are being sacrificed to appease Quebec!And it just isn't right or fair. Shame on you Mr. Harper.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Well the sad fact is that he knows these two gentlemen will never threaten seperation...thats why I beleve their protestations are a farce.

                              When will we ever take a stand??

                              Comment

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