, 10.04.2019 09:48 AM

My latest: why isn’t Andrew Scheer way ahead?

So, Andrew.

You don’t mind if I call you Andrew, do you? It’s better than what I sometimes used to call you, which was Blandy Andy.

I stopped calling you that because you figured out a way to make the bland thing work, like Brampton Bill Davis did. You embraced your inner ordinariness.

You starting hanging out in hockey rinks and you commenced rubbing Timbits all over your torso – which, unlike Prime Minister Blackface, you have never exposed to a grateful nation. You became the Canadian Everyman, and you made it work for you.

The pocketbook stuff, too. That was good, too. You and Hamish concluded, rightly, that voters regard everyone in politics as an unindicted co-conspirators, so you stopped hollering all the time that Justin is a crook. You just kept talking about how hard it is for regular folks to get by, and left the scandalmongering to the media. That was smart.

And the polls bore fruit, sort of. Ipsos says you’re ahead, and you have been for the entirety of the campaign. Nanos says you’re tied with Trudeau for best choice for Prime Minister, which is way better than you’ve been in the past.

But. But, Andrew, seriously?

Why haven’t 110 per cent of respondents declared you their favoured choice for Prime Minister? Why isn’t your party a kabillion points ahead of the Liberals? Why, Andrew, why?

Because that’s the question everyone is asking themselves, Andrew. Hell, that’s the question members of the Liberal caucus are asking themselves – many of whom had purchased political funeral insurance, and now they’re wondering if they can convert it to another kind of policy at the insurance brokerage where you used to fetch coffee and answer the phone.

By any reasonable standard, Andrew, Justin Trudeau leads the most corrupt – the most casually evil – government in Canadian history. It is shiftless; it is reckless; it is soulless. It is a mess.

And they could still win, Andrew. They could still beat you. How can this be?

A scan of Trudeau’s press clippings reads like a grand jury indictment.

• In LavScam, he obstructed justice when he tried, repeatedly, to stop the criminal corruption trial of a Québec-based donor to his party.
• He violated conflict of interest laws when he accepted freebies during a junket to the Aga Khan’s private island.
• He lied about electoral reform, and balancing the budget, and improving relations with the provinces and the world.
• He made us an international laughingstock with his Griswolds Vacation India trip, and enraged the world’s largest democracy – our ally and Commonwealth partner.
• And, most recently, he admitted he repeatedly mocked black people by wearing blackface and jumping around like an ape – and he admitted that there’s more of it out there in the ether, but he doesn’t know how much, because he was wasted a lot of the time.

After all that, Andrew – after all that scandal, more of which this newspaper has been investigating for weeks, stay tuned to this bat-channel, everyone – why aren’t you way ahead? Why aren’t you creaming Chewbacca Socks?

Why, to cite just two examples from the past 24 hours, did you attract fewer people at a Brampton rally than Justin Trudeau’s Portuguese Water Dog, Kenzie, gets during a stroll through the park?

Why can’t you put an end to the interminable questions about your CV, and simply joke that you’re so boring, you’re the only guy in Canada who brags about being an insurance broker?

None of it makes sense, Andrew. None of it. You should be playing Fortnite with Hamish about now, getting ready to move into wherever we put Prime Ministers these days.

Instead, you’re fighting to get a decent lead. Instead, your caucus are whispering about the next leader.

It’s crazy, Andrew. But one thing isn’t crazy at all:

You’ve got three weeks left to win this thing.

And if you don’t, you’ll forever be remembered as the guy who couldn’t beat Prime Minister Blackface.

63 Comments

  1. Pedant says:

    Rona Ambrose please come back!

  2. Lorne says:

    I agree it is a pretty uninspired campaign … from all leaders. Scheer needs more than tax breaks to get most people’s vote. Give people a reason to vote for you Andrew.

    I can’t believe how the MSM just allows Trudeau to not answer important questions day after day. They need to press further when the answer to every question is silence or “choose forward”.

  3. Max says:

    Could it be Scheer is keeping his powder dry, anticipating the Libs will go full-on nuclear negative and then he’ll release it. It being the 4th video…. of Justin…. acting…. applying “make-up”… in a very bad way. Very bad. There may be another shoe to drop… make that an anvil. Dropping on the LPC war room.

    • Nancy M says:

      I’m thinking this.

      Scheer could go nuclear and unleash devastatingly brutal ads on Trudeau. I don’t understand why this isn’t done.

      How can any woman vote for Trudeau after what he did to JWR? Every woman in the world can relate to glad hands boss who bullies you to engage in unethical activities. And if you complain, the response is ‘just fucking get it done’.

  4. J.H. says:

    Minor point, many in the insurance industry, myself included worked as brokers before passing the exams and being licensed. It’s part of the training program where you take courses write tests, prospect for clients and go out on appointments either with a manager or training officer who is licensed and signs the contracts. In my case the commission was held until obtaining my license but was paid a living salary against them. I certainly didn’t fetch coffee and answer the phone and it’s a tad unfair to all aspiring agents and brokers to suggest that’s all they do.

  5. Steve T says:

    A couple of immediate reasons I can see for this situation (which I agree is odd). all of which are somewhat soul-destroying as a thoughtful voter:

    1. Some people vote the party line regardless of the leader, or the scandals, or how the country is doing. All parties benefit from this to some extent, and clearly the Liberals are benefiting heavily from it right now. They also benefited from it in 2006 and 2008, when they should have been swept into the dustbin.

    2. Extending the above, some people vote AGAINST a particular party under all circumstances. When the Liberals were reduced to 3rd party status in 2011, the number of Conservative seats didn’t change as much as the number of Liberal seats. That is to say, a lot of people still voted against the Conservatives – they just chose the NDP rather than the Liberals. This was somewhat true in the 1993 and 1997 elections as well (not so much number of seats, but pure vote count).

    3. The third reason, and the most depressing, is that many voters are not particularly bright, and follow the shiny media ball to wherever it takes them next. Equivocation of dissimilar things becomes the norm. One politician tells a massive lie, while his/her opponent says something generally (but not 100%) true, and voters shrug and say “All politicians lie”. One politician breaks a fundamental campaign promise, while his/her opponent introduces a change that is similar but not identical to their promise, and voters shrug and say “Politicians never keep their promises.
    Many voters are lazy, disengaged, and think of democracy as a reality TV show. We get the government we deserve.

  6. A. Voter says:

    I think the best the Conservative party can hope for is a Liberal minority. And for the talked about upcoming recession to happen during this minority.
    But who will succeed Sheer? Anyone who had what it takes would already be kicking Trudeau’s butt in this election.

  7. Yours is a rational, analytical, cartesian piece.

    But mine is gut-based and it’s still screaming Conservative win by leaps and bounds. (One of us is right, LOL.)

  8. PK says:

    I think he’s comfortably muddled himself into a slot that won’t grow past his present polling numbers – with any potential change trending down.

  9. WestGuy says:

    And we’ll be known as a country that actively re-elected a national leader who wore blackface.

  10. The Doctor says:

    I knew he was a lousy choice for leader as soon as he won the leadership. The citizenship thing is just a head-smackingly stupid own goal.

    But to me, the more interesting issue is this: why does a major political party like the CPC have such lame, uninspiring people running for its leadership?

    A related point is that Rona Ambrose should have run for the leadership. She would have been formidable IMO. Head and shoulders above Scheer.

    • Chris says:

      Ambrose, like all “interim leaders” of all parties, publicly vow not to run for the permanent leadership as a condition of becoming the “interim leader.”

      Which was too bad as Rona proved to be a well-liked and effective leader.

  11. Joe says:

    Justin Trudeau says people who are running to be Prime Minister have to be honest. This is an amazing display of arrogance, unmitigated gall, and hypocrisy even for Justin.

    https://election.ctvnews.ca/have-to-be-honest-with-canadians-when-vying-to-become-pm-trudeau-on-scheer-s-citizenship-1.4624258

    Honesty?
    Like Justin about blackface?
    Like Justin about SNC?
    Like Justin about Admiral Norman
    Like Justin about JWR?
    Like Justin about the latest ethics investigation?
    Like Justin about the balancing the budget?
    Like Justin about electoral reform?
    Like Justin about omnibus bills?
    Etc.

    Justin Trudeau: the most “honest” Liberal

  12. Terence says:

    Because nobody wants an American former insurance salesman getting his mitts on the Canada Health Act. Most Canadians aren’t conservative. Our phony electoral system lets the news pretend that the party has more support than it does. If we introduced proportional representation, we wouldn’t have another Conservative government for a hundred years.

    • Chris says:

      If we had prop-rep, Bernier’s party would win 13 seats. Think about that for a while.

      • Fred from BC says:

        And legislative gridlock…and fringe parties extorting concessions from coalition governments in return for their votes, etc, etc. No thanks.

  13. Don Johnson says:

    I agree, but my take is the long campaign of scare tactics on the Conservatives in general has some effect. They’ve basically given up on advancing social conservativism (to my regret, personally), but the media and Liberals have successfully convinced enough of the electorate that they are right wing boogey-men.

    That, and the general center-left worldview of most Canadians is a big hill to climb for a Conservative.

  14. DraftDodger says:

    Andrew Scheer was (is?) registered for the U.S. military draft, which would make You Know Who his Commander In Chief.

    See, this is what happens when you sideline strategists who know where all the bodies are buried!

  15. Dave Fuller says:

    Was A Raj from the HuffPost spotted in an Ottawa bistro this week with G. Butts? Think she fed sock boy some advance questions?

    As she is a debate moderator next week , methinks she should step down and let one man sit with the other 4 female moderators.

  16. Peter says:

    A bit exaggerated about where he should be in the polls. There is at least half of the electorate that wouldn’t vote Con to save the planet. But your point is completely fair nonetheless. All four of them are campaigning in fear of offending somebody, presumably the middle, independent voter. But do they not think that voter can smell a snow-job or fatuous blather? Are they so confident of their base that they can count on them not to stay home? I’m Con-leaning, but just this week I’ve come across two Green and NDP supporters who are turned off by their leaders and are counting themselves as undecided.

    One yearns for the principled appeals of politicians before the age of polling and bright, young handlers. My model, from the turn of the last century, is the very Catholic British M.P., Hillaire Belloc, who was heckled with cries of “Papist!” at a constituency meeting and answered: “Sir, do you you see this rosary? I say it every morning before my breakfast. I pause at mid-day to say it again. I say it once more before I retire for the night. If that troubles you, Sir, then all I can say is may God spare me the ignominy of representing you in Parliament!”

  17. mike jeffries says:

    Well! We Canadians nice people. We are ordinary, no fancy like you know the gentry who go to paint up parties and wear funny costumes! We watch that Downton Abbey and while we in awe yet we like the kitchen staff the best. They are nice like us. So honest and easy to understand.
    That’s why we like Andrew. We have never heard of Ipsos or Nanos those people are they like our Prime Minister? When they phone we don’t answer or hangup they have funny names sort of fancy!
    We will vote for Andrew. He’s like us, nice, and ordinary and easy to understand.
    We know what we like and we always vote for who we like. Rain or snow can’t stop us. Be assured Andrew. Keep ordinary.

  18. Max says:

    Liberal’s Sydney-Victoria candidate apologizes for past racist, homophobic and sexist social media posts. Its in the Cape Breton Post here and on local CBC. It was uncovered by the Toronto Sun. What will Trudeau do? Can’t fire a candidate given his own failures.

  19. Pedro says:

    Andrew Scheer cannot express a vision for the future of Canada that inspires voters. That said, tough to come up with a vision when there’s no money to spend. Hate to say it, gonna need somebody to campaign on increasing taxes pretty soon – Canadians want vision. Are we ready to pay for it? And I don’t mean “free stuff” like universal veterinary care ‘cuz pets help people feel better. Especially when they prefer to live alone. (As a lifelong conservative-libertarian, I just busted a blood vessel)

    • lyn says:

      Pedro: I hoping all the farmers across Canada will vote PC as they have always done. Since 2018 their income has fallen by 45%, remember all the Income TAX revision Lib’s did!!! Also we have all the OIL personnel that will vote PC to make sure that we get OIL to tide water and EAST. Just remember all the MILLIONS could be BILLIONS Trudeau has sent all over the world…not happening anymore, should help pay down the debt. If you vote for Trudeau or not vote at all will be a vote for the Lib’s. Trudeau will be spending BILLIONS more the debt will explode.

    • Fred from BC says:

      “As a lifelong conservative-libertarian, ”

      (I think that describes me, too)

      Just heard my first radio ad for the Green Party, where they used a little kid to first berate adults for not doing enough to save the planet (ala Greta) then ending with a plaintive whine of “for meee?”.
      I haven’t been that offended since the old “Soldiers. With guns. In our streets.” ad from Paul Martin’s crew.

      • Pedro says:

        Fred, actually, when I was a teen and first ventured into reading about political philosophy, I got excited when I read John Locke and thought, “Wow! Being “liberal” seems like it fits.” Then with time, I reacted with horror as I learned of the horrific creature modern day “liberals” had turned the word into. They should be ashamed . . . ha-ha! How many Liberals have you heard of feeling shame? As a punk rocking musician at one time, and still tapping the skins, I just don’t get Kinsella and his blind loyalty.

  20. Marty says:

    1. because half of Canada is blindly devoted to Brand Trudeau
    2. because Scheer was a compromise, unoffensive, everyones third pick candidate, kind of like Joe Clark and Bob Skelly.
    3. because this is 1979 all over again, except that this Trudeau hasn’t had as long to damage stuff. or wait, more like 72? Scheer is more like Stanfield, Clark or Stockwell Day…

  21. Susan Manderson says:

    I may not even vote this time around, it’s so depressing, and my riding will be CPC no matter what.
    Re the citizenship furore, I wonder if Andrew Scheer took his time renouncing the US, because, according to some articles I’ve read, it’s only about now that it looks like he actually has a shot at being PM?
    I keep hoping he’ll show signs of some kind of zip, or statesmanship, but that’s about as futile as hoping Trudeau will do the same. I’m finding Boris and UK politics far more interesting.

    • lyn says:

      Susan Manderson: Scheer has sent in his paper work to renounce his US citizenship and what he did isn’t against the law politically legal! If you don’t vote that is a vote for the Lib’s yes it is depressing but that is what Trudeau wants you to do…not vote. So please do your duty as a citizen and vote. Scheer’s nature is not to be loud and if he was Trudeau would play a trump card and say something critical over, over and over again, while pointing a finger!!

  22. Derek Pearce says:

    As usual I must preface this by saying I am not voting Liberal but I’m about to say something unpopular around here at this site, and it’s and superficial but true: it’s his smirk, which he can’t help. My buddy who is a 50 yr old blue- collar working class straight guy and lives a block away from here in East York said ” he looks like he’s just farted and is waiting a few secs for the laugh when those around him suddenly smell it.” True story dudes.

    • Derek Pearce says:

      I will add that my good friend is one of the hopeless cases who won’t vote no matter how much I plead with and/or scold him. He’s intelligent but absolutely jaded and has given up on electoral politics. Makes me feel anxious knowing this actually.

  23. Chris says:

    Paul Wells’ “2nd Law of Canadian Politics”….

    “If everyone in Ottawa knows something, it isn’t true.”

    What do we all know?

    NDP will be lucky to survive as an official party.
    Bernier probably won’t win a seat.
    Trudeau is headed for a minority win.
    Can’t wait for tomorrow’s Globe & Mail.

    • Nancy M says:

      What do you mean probably. Bernier has no chance.

      And tomorrow’s G&M will have nothing about this story. Everything about this is fake news.

    • Fred from BC says:

      I’m going to go with Ronald on this one, and predict a Conservative win. I’m basing this on the surprising lack of lawn signs, mostly, and figuring the people will ‘park’ their votes with the Greens or NDP for now but when crunch time comes, they’ll hold their noses and vote Conservative.

      Left-wing icon Michael Harris says “Andrew Scheer is about as scary as the Michelin Man”, and I think that is what it will come down to: as much as people may *want* to be afraid of Scheer, they just can’t get that excited about him.

      • Ronald O'Dowd says:

        Fred,

        What do you think about the latest NANOS? The NDP is at 16, GP at 7. (LPC is at 36, CPC at 33, BQ at 6 and PPC at 2.)

        Here’s my expectation: Singh does increasingly well as the campaign advances, particularly after Monday’s debate. My take is that the progressive undecided who can’t support Trudeau and are increasingly dropping May, begin to move in waves to the NDP. If that’s right, counted on Liberal seats flip to the NDP while CPC turnout probably hits a modern record. In short, the Liberal shore gets weathered on both the progressive and conservative side. Not a recipe that Broadhurst and Butts will like.

        • Fred from BC says:

          “What do you think about the latest NANOS? The NDP is at 16, GP at 7. (LPC is at 36, CPC at 33, BQ at 6 and PPC at 2.)”

          I think those Green numbers are significant, for the fact that even though a large number of Canadians claim the environment as their top issue, they aren’t being very truthful. Agree with you that those voters will flip to the NDP (barring any more Bozo outbursts from Jagmeet) as soon as stuff starts to get ‘real’. That only helps the Conservatives, as you say.

          The bottom line? There are three parties now vying for the ‘progressive’ vote and they can’t all win it.

  24. lyn says:

    Chris: With the info you have stated I’d say the Conservatives have won.
    NDP will be lucky to survive as an official party. ? NO PIPELINES
    Bernier probably won’t win a seat. ? WINsome????
    Trudeau is headed for a minority win. ?? NOT
    Scheer will win….not sure of the numbers!
    Greens will be lucky to survive. NO PIPELINES
    No pipelines means NO CANADA!

  25. Robert White says:

    I agree with all the feedback you are giving Scheer & CPC War Room newbies he hired from the second string cut of the Liberal War Room possible hires, Warren. I also agree with the tone you are taking with them as they deserve it at this juncture of mid stream failure.

    I predict a Liberal minority win and a Conservative Leadership Review outcome at the voting booth.

    Personally, I think the race is being called now via punditry, but to be honest here I think Scheer has done better than I thought he would. If I were the CPC I, for one, would give Scheer another run for next election given what he has learned to date.

    RW

  26. Jason says:

    Like a lot of you guys, I expect the conservatives to win.
    But- I’m tired of everyone calling those still voting liberal, like myself, cult followers, low IQ, or worse.
    It’s not that complicated. A meaningful climate policy with significant progress is more important to me and my family than which leader is the bigger hypocrite and did the worse things 20 years ago. And a lot of us see the SNC thing as an internal power struggle – and the “Shawcross Doctrine” as less important in priorities than climate policy.
    People can support a party and be disappointed in the leader.

    • Fred from BC says:

      “A meaningful climate policy with significant progress is more important to me and my family than which leader is the bigger hypocrite ”

      I can respect that. I don’t agree, but it’s your vote to cast as you see fit.

      The problem you have, though, is that *none* of the parties have a viable environmental policy. The Liberal one is slightly less useless than the Conservative one but will still do absolutely nothing to reduce the dreaded GHGs. The NDP and the Greens have more useful plans but would utterly destroy our economy in the process (and, in the grand scheme of things, still do virtually nothing to save the planet).

      You’re screwed no matter how you vote, Jason.

    • Pedant says:

      It’s more about supporting Canadian workers in Alberta as opposed to enriching the Saudis, as the Liberal/NDP/Green proposed massacre of the oil sands industry would accomplish.

  27. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    All readers here should look in the mirror and ask yourself if you are either pleased with, or even remotely satisfied with Justin Trudeau as our prime minister. Then please, for the sake of our democracy, make your vote count — one way or another — in this election. Each of you has the power. Don’t waste it. Vote your convictions. Make your voice heard and send them a loud and clear message. Thank you.

    • Derek Pearce says:

      It’s possible to be deeply fucking disappointed with Trudeau and still not want Scheer as PM. Scheer had a non existent climate policy– people prefer Trudeau’s fake climate policy instead. Ridiculous but true.

      • Fred from BC says:

        So fake is somehow better than non-existent, to you? Interesting…

        • If the political will to implement a real climate policy appears, the Liberals will be less resistant to it.

          As small carbon tax is better then bascially denialism.

        • Derek Pearce says:

          To me, fake is just as useless as non-existant. But electorally, going with the fake plan lets voters feel better about themselves for caring. The Conservatives are stupid to not recognize this and formulate accordingly. Everyone knows politics is more about emotion than logic. All parties have their blind spots I guess.

  28. Ronald O'Dowd says:

    Frankly, as a tactician, I’m greatly disappointed in the LPC and CPC war rooms. How come no one saw the twin planes or dual citizenship things coming??? And worse yet, no rapid-response cogent answers were already in the can??? Simply unbelievable at this supposed war room level.

    And one more thing: never smart to dismiss your war roomers when they already know where your political bodies are buried. Revenge is a dish…

    • nonA says:

      I don’t think the Liberal war room knew about the blackface photos; other than that, they have proven to be quite effective at counter-punching and changing the narrative.

      The CPC war room is a disaster. It’s probably staffed with bow-tie wearing insurance brokers too busy making cold calls.

      Bring back Jenni and her merry band of thugs and hooligans.

      Today’s Nanos: Trudeau 8 points ahead of Scheer on Best PM. LPC 4 points ahead of CPC.

  29. John says:

    I can’t believe how stupid this election is. And the media is encouraging this stupidity. Does anyone really believe that the most important issues facing Canadians is Scheer’s dual citizenship, gay rights, and abortion. The first item is a non story, the other two were settled by the courts and parliament years ago. And to top it off, the Liberals and media think that Scheer is the one holding talks with the Ontario school unions.

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