Canadian Steele

Finally - a relatively quiet news week for Canadians. No major scandal, no defections or potato-patch interviews, no ridiculously close confidence votes, just normal news for once. It was nice to catch my breath. However, there were two stories that have gained the political spotlight and promise to be the next most provoking items. These are the nominations of Christian activists to some Tory ridings, and Tories vowing to rekindle the attack on the Liberal government once again.

The implications of these two stories coupled with the conservative’s inability to solidify support has some serious consequences for their movement. This is a movement that, while making some solid ground in the last year, has shuddered to a halt recently. Entirely negatively tactics, questionable leadership, and the Liberal’s superior machinations have all combined to put the brakes on the conservative climb. This is really too bad, because what Canada needs most is a more applicable opposition. We need a legitimate choice, and right now, the conservatives have not been providing that.

Many different forces factor in this. For instance, the conservative’s vow that they will continue along the same arc and press the attack on Adscam. This seems like the greatest of follies on the Tories part. We have already seen the Liberals, while mired in scandal, use some questionable tactics to gain the confidence of the house, and bounce back in the polls. They were on a platter and the conservative’s failure clearly demonstrates a major misdirection with their approach. To conservative strategists: that wave has crested. To continue to rely on Adscam and attack politics will get you no where. Sure, it will probably factor in the next election, but you need a new focus.

Earlier I posted the idea that Harper is not trusted by the public. This may only be a partial view of the trend we are starting to see. According to this poll reported on by the Globe and Mail it was not the leader that stopped people from voting conservative, it was the idea of the conservative hidden agenda. To further cement the idea of a hidden agenda in the publics mind christian activists have been able to secure conservative nominations in a few ridings across the country. While most wish to criticize the Globe and Mail and the public for their treatment of the Christian nominees, the rest would like to pass this off as a non-issue. The fact of the matter is, this is important, especially to conservatives. The entire idea behind the Tory convention in March was an image facelift, one of moderation. Over the past couple of months, moderation can hardly be equated with their political strategy. Now, when the public fears a hidden agenda, and special-interest groups are able to grab hold of at least a modicum of power within your party, start worrying. When you are completely stuck with a negative image (whether it is true or not), and your solution is not to present fresh ideas but to continue divisive mud-slinging after the Canadian public has already shown its exasperation with these actions, really start worrying. Thus, I was a bit premature in placing the onus entirely on Harper; however, my conclusions were met. The conservatives leave the public feeling uneasy. This is the issue that puts a ceiling on the conservative movement. This must be addressed for the Tories to make and keep solid ground.

Now, however, there really are very few options left. Some would say continue on, but good luck getting votes across the country.Warren Kinsella’s advice for Harper to “kick out the wackos” is extremely short-sighted. While this will save you from special-interest status, it might gain conservatives an “anti-democracy” status. As I have stated before, the activist will always have a stronger voice; they are that much more zealous and will get that much more done. Moderation needs to be the agenda for the conservatives to rise, but this seems unlikely. In short, the gains the conservatives once had have been put in remission, and it looks like this is a trend that may continue for some time.