— Musings —12.27.2010 08:44 AM
If Timmy Hudak can’t run his own party, how could he ever run Ontario?
What’s it all mean? Well, it means they are Reformatories, for starters. They are two parties within one: Conservatives on one side, rural extremists on the other.
And Timmy Hudak did a secret deal with the latter to win the leadership of the former. Soon enough, he’ll pay a price for that secret deal.
He won’t like the outcome.
A minor tempest in a teapot Warren. The Ottawa valley is a strange small world unto itself. This feud has no resonance in the 905 and 416 areas. It is not as serious as the infighting in the federal Liberal Party or as serious as the attempt by the federal Liberals to poach Ontario Liberal MPP’s to run federally.
The infighting that happens in the Liberal party is a tried and true methodology. It usually lends itself to winning elections. the tory issue is strongarm right wing ideology vs progressive forces. Deadly stuff.
Add the Ontario infighting to the alberta Wild Rose intrusions and this could be fun all around. The Libs could have fun with this
Typical Conservative talking point response – we’re fine, everyone else is screwed. You guys always claim to know everything going on inside the Liberal party – are you bugging their offices or what?
Actually Jan, most of the juicy stuff is leaked by Liberals.
Yes, right, those quote- unquote, nameless Liberals meeting
with would be Pulitzer Price winning journalists in parking
garages. God knows a Deep Throat is appreciated. Amazing no names
have come out by now, isn’t it? Maybe the PPG new rules on not
reporting viscious rumours will produce some sources.
You have to wonder if this is sort of a natural outgrowth of an attempt to blend to groups that may outwardly seem quite similar, but that, at their core, are diametrically different. Maybe the left is correct not to unite and it’s simply a matter of waiting for the united right to combust.
Ahem… If I may coin a saying… you lie down with political dogs, you get political fleas. The meandering of Ontario politics is always amusing and entertaining… from a distance. The real upside is the “Reformatories” are eating their own young.
You can be sure that a memo from the PMO will be going out to all the members of the Ontario caucus . This is not how a federal member should be acting .
If Tim Hudak can’t get everybody on the same page that’s his business , federal MP’s shouldn’t be involved in this kind of thing .
More of this nonsense and for sure we will be looking at either a Liberal majority or worse another Liberal NDP coalition in the province of Ontario .
Just because the provincal Liberals are way down in the polls doesn’t mean the PC Ontario party should take anything for granted . The Liberals , the teachers unions , the Toronto Star and “families for Ontario” are very good at what they do .
I think what is happening in Ottawa Valley is relevant as when you look the current electoral map Northeast Ontario is really one of the only areas where the PC’s have any type of electoral base. To put it in perspective pre 1995 Harris had more seats in more places in the province than Hudak does today. It also shows there is not a lot of talent among current PC MPP’s that you could picture at the cabinet table. Hudak is basically running on the PC brand name and little else other than being “new” and “different”. I suspect Reid will get chastised by the PMO for his remarks but I do think there is a widely held view among Federal Conservatives that Hudak’s B-Team crew is not up to the same standards as Harper’s Federal A-Team.
In political terms, pre 1995 is a long time ago. Demographics have changed greatly since then. However, as I will be 65 tomorrow, I will indulge myself and will point out the really good old days that were dominated by Robarts and Davis.
I guess the point I was trying to make is that Harris had
an easier time winning in 1995. He had a really disliked and
incompetent government(far more disliked than McGuinty’s) to run
against that was bleeding support even among its own core
supporters. Harris also had at least some remenants of the old
Conservative machine from the Robarts-Davis era. Today none of the
above really applies, Davis and Robarts are long forgotten and the
Federal Conservatives are a lot stronger than they were
historically which causes a competition for resources and
candidates. While many voters who have never liked McGuinty still
don’t like him I don’t think his own core supporters are walking
away in the way that NDP voters dumped the Rae government. I also
wonder if Harper really wants a Conservative government at Queen’s
Park. Historically Ontario doesn’t elect provincial and federal
governments of the same party for any length of time and I think
Harper wants to build up a long term Federal Conservative presence
in Ontario so I am not sure how a Hudak govt would fit in those
plans. On another note the fighting that has been going in the
Ontario PC’s over last decade reminds a lot of what the Federal
PC’s used to do back in the days of Stanfeld and Clark. Constant
bickering between caucus members, constant fighting over leadership
etc. The lesson I take away from that era is that as low as
Trudeau’s approval ratings would fall the PC’s could almost never
capitalize.
The Ontario PC of today has nothing in common with Robarts and Davis in the same way that the federal CPC has nothing in common with Joe Clark.
The political landscape today is a direct result of two PC leaders who tried to win by being “Liberal lite” . When Ernie Eves said ” I’m not sure I could have done what Mike Harris did” he made it difficult for people like me to knock on doors .
John Tory made the promise of having a private school tax credit and then ran from it .
At the time Ontario was still a “have” province and money was going from Ontario to Quebec to pay for the most generous private school tax subsidy in Canada .At the time one year , of private high school was $14000 , the province of Quebec paid half with money from Ont. .
Now that we are a have not province I don’t feel so bad .
Harper has a team?
I don’t think the union of Progressive Conservatives and Reformers is sustainable over the long run federally. Perhaps fractures in the provincial associations will precipitate fallout federally. The question is if the Tories will get their act together to form a party before or after first supporting a better Liberal platform.