UPDATE: Yesterday, Andrew Sheer did the right thing and announced that he was stepping down as the Leader of the Conservative Party. Although I agree with his decision as per below, I am yet saddened by it...Politics is a dirty albeit interesting business. Now the real fun begins. Many pundits are already predicting that a large number of candidates will seek the Tory Crown and moreover, that the Tories are most likely to beat Trudeau when the dust from the next election settles. Not so fast say I. The majority of those pundits are predicting that the Party will move further left so rather than the Liberal Lite Party we now have...my words...the Tory Party will be full-fledged Liberal. So what does one gain when one sells out? Stay Tuned.
I say this with a certain amount of sadness since I believe Mr. Sheer is just too nice for politics. As I have told my wife on several occasions (to her chagrin, she is my sounding board), Speakers of the House, do not usually make good Leaders. The only exception might be the retiring Speaker of the British House, but it is a sure thing, we'll ever know that for sure.
At this point, for his own well-being and that of his family's, he should resign and perhaps he could even do so on his own terms which I will come to shortly.
My wife and I both had votes for the Leadership Contest that saw Sheer win in May of 2017. Neither one of us voted for him despite his apparent Social Conservative credentials and this in spite of the fact that we are both strongly of that persuasion. We simply believed, even then, that he was too weak & too silent on the social issues of concern to us both.
So why, so close to the end of this October's Canadian General Election, do I believe he needs to go??
Simply stated, he ran a very poor campaign. If you cannot beat Justin Trudeau after his first term of miscues and shenanigans...it just ain't going to happen.
Related to this, is the fact that no-one supports him ....not the Social Conservatives, not the Red Tories, and certainly none of Society's Progressives which make up between 65 and 70 % of the voting public. The way I have it figured is that Andrew may be able to count on his family voting in his favour at this coming April's Leadership. Okay, I exaggerate a bit but you get the idea.
If I was advising Andrew Sheer I would encourage him to resign but to insist that he stay on as Interim Leader until a successor has been voted in at at full blown Leadership Convention. I would also insist that that Leadership Contest be delayed as long a possible to help ensure that some good candidates come out of the woodwork. Too often quick Leadership Contests results in limited ...B and C level contestants. The Tories are in desperate need of an A Leader. John Baird and Pierre Poilievre come readily to mind. But delay is needed in case there are others of that ilk.
Admittedly, these decisions do not rest with the Leader of the Party but rather with the Party President and if I was that person, I'd take the offer. A failed Leadership vote in April would only expose more division and embitterment throughout the Party. And it would be a win / win for both Sheer and the Party. Sheer is young and has lots of years left to serve the Party and our Country in Parliament. And he is not the type to pose a threat to whomever comes out victorious. Sort of like another Joe Clark but even better. And he'd make a great Party Statesman.
So say the Tories get a good Leader...how should he / she lead?
Well is it not obvious? With up to 70% of the voting public left of centre - of course you would want to move the Tories to the left as well ....indeed this is what past Tory Leaders have done consistently including, Stanfield, Clark, Mulroney, Harper and currently Sheer. The only trouble with this very sensible approach is that it does not work. More government intervention, more debt, issues of genuine import get ignored with the unelected courts only too glad to step in to fill the void.
We need a truly Conservative Government. Small Government, Balance Budgets, and Social Issues such as open season on Abortion get addressed. For instance, in the case of the latter, a reasonable term limit could, I believe, be negotiated such as 3 or 4 months. With modern birth control there is absolutely no reason a baby can be aborted right up until the time of birth and sadly despite the denial of left radicals, this does happen. In this atrocity we are right up there with the North Korea and Red China.
We also need a society consisting of more givers / more doers and less takers. That is what made the West Great and that is why billions around the world are so anxious to reach our shores. Sadly though and by example of our resident progressives, immigrants and refugees are now too often coming to receive rather than contribute. And who can blame them! Religion is under attack, Capitalism is discredited despite the fact that is has literally raised billions out of poverty. We have become morally bankrupt and the world economy is listless and heading down.
So how did we get here? Well in the case of Canada, The Right - Conservatives and Libertarians have failed to sell the need for values at the core of Conservatism, Rather they have adopted Liberalism over the course of the last 50 years so no wonder the electorate has been brainwashed wth liberal / progressive thinking.
The Right needs to finally enter the debate and I can assure each and every one of you that the task will not be an easy one. In fact, we will likely suffer more defeats along the way but at least - at long last - the voter will be given a real choice. Less Big Government, more Independence and we can do this with our heads held high in the knowledge that Socialism Simply Does Not Work !
The only country left where the battle between left and right continues is the United States of America but the division lines are split 50 / 50. Unless the world's democracies get their respective acts together the day is quickly coming when we will see American numbers reflect our own miserable figures.
Here in Canada we need to get started and the opportunity for that begins with the Tory Leadership Vote in April.
As I See It...
K.D. Bell