Reform/Progressive Conservative crack forms

[Pappywinkle]

Just as we are seeing racial abuse being hurled at her on these forums, it doesn't surprise me that it is happening elsewhere.

This is sadly true as we're seeing right wingers jump to pulling the race card as their sole defense of Leslyn Lewis as if that is the only thing they know about her, which is horribly racist and abusive, as well as insulting to Lewis' years of hard work in politics. Canadians with Canadian values discuss politicians based on their political records and merits rather than skin colour, and this again represents the disgustingly regressive and completely un-Canadian attitudes that sadly still persist on the right.

We can all look forward to a day when politicians can be discussed without right wingers showing their racist biases that force a person's skin colour front and centre of every discussion. Truly sad, and just the absolute worst!

[hobbyguy]

I have searched over the past two days for references or factual statements that "racial slurs or comments" were made or directed towards Leslyn Lewis in Parliament. What I have discovered are comments directed towards her during her campaign for CPC leadership by supporters of other candidates. Perhaps, someone can direct me towards factual references to these claims.

Unfortunately, Mr O'Toole and the CPC find themselves in a very difficult position. They are not unified. A portion of their elected members to Parliament cannot participate in sittings because they are not vaccinated and Mr O'Toole will not allow hybrid sittings. It is time that the Party decides to work together for the good of Canada. They have an important job as Opposition. That job can only be accomplished with full participation in Parliament. Opposition is more that just criticism fired from the sidelines. It means you must offer constructive alternatives. At the moment the CPC seems more interested in destructive implosion than holding our elected government to task.

The reference to Lewis and racial slurs is just another example the constant use of innuendo/smear without fact by the CPC gang. I have no doubt that a person of color, any person of color regardless of politician or not, will have had such incidents occur in Canada simply because we do have the likes of Faith Goldy in Canada. I do not think that any of the party leaders O'Toole, Trudeau, Bernier, Hill, Singh, Paul (or May), or Blanchet would countenance such abusive behavior from party members/MPs. In fact, even in regard to some of the lowest echelon of of our politicians like Derek Sloan, I have not been able to find reference to such behavior.

The accusative innuendo is, however, an example the "cry wolf" that has permeated the CPC culture, where a constant barrage of nonsense comes from the CPC supposedly as "holding the government accountable". That nonsense, and it is without constructive criticism and alternative proposals, continues to tarnish the CPC brand. It also carries with it the "cry wolf" problem that if and when genuine issues arise, they lack impact and results because voters just see it as more of the constant stream of nonsense from the official opposition. In fact, that constant stream of nonsense from the CPC is part of the reason that PM Trudeau is teflon.

If we look at the polling from the last two elections, what we see is that the CPC gets an initial bounce after the election - lots of "lookie loos" kicking the tires for an alternative. The problem is that when those "lookie loos" look under the hood, they walk away because the policy/positioning and rhetoric does not match up and become worthy of their vote.

The CPC has its roots in AlSask and there is no question that the AlSask political culture is very different from the rest of Canada (while the people themselves are not that much different - if at all). That difference is not unique to AlSask, BC has its own flavor with a coastal penchant for the NDP, Quebec with its Francophone nationalism, Newfoundland/Labrador has a divergent culture, etc.

The trick for a national party is try to meld those differences into package that works within those somewhat divergent political cultures, and recognizes that a working stiff in Medicine Hat, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Moncton, Hamilton, Trois Riviere, Moosejaw etc. all have a large set of common interests. The CPC needs to figure out to accomplish that trick - and unfortunately that will mean some compromises within the party in a backdrop of uncompromising factions and and tendency for the AlSask political culture to be uncompromising.

The mistake that O'Toole made was trying to impose his personal vision of that compromise, rather than doing the hard work of nudging, educating, and bringing the party together around key issues. By doing so he has highlighted and inflamed the cracks between the uncompromising factions within the party without leaving himself room to put compromises together. In essence, O'Toole did not demonstrate the patience necessary to do the job of party leader. That patience would have required acceptance that the last election was not the time and place for doing that work, and that existing party policy/positions was what should be taken into the election. The place for changes is in the run up to and within the party convention(s) where careful internal discussion can take place to move the party into what it sees as the correct positions.

[Catri]

Liberals, standing in the House and hurling racist abuse towards Lewis was shocking.

I didn't see this, but thank you for drawing attention to it. Just as we are seeing racial abuse being hurled at her on these forums, it doesn't surprise me that it is happening elsewhere.

I will ask again, what racial epithets/abuse aimed at Leslyn Lewis are you seeing on these forums? Surely if they exist you can quote them here.

[erinmore3775]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conser ... -1.6227634

Mr O'Toole and members of his Caucus has said that the vaccination issue is a distraction. While he says all of his Caucus members who attend Parliament will be vaccinated, he says he intends to challenge the rule requiring that all elecected members must be vaccinated to enter the building or the House.

""The Conservative leader has objected to the process used to establish that new rule, saying the question should be settled by all 338 elected MPs rather than a group of "seven MPs meeting in secret."

O'Toole doubled down on that position today, saying that "only the House of Commons itself can determine its composition and its conduct" and that his party would call for a vote on the new rules as soon as possible.

His party is likely to lose that vote. All of the other parties represented in the House of Commons say they support the new rule."

This entire issue is a CPC distraction. It panders to the smallest base of their support. The greatest number of Canadians are vaccinated and support measures that reduce the effects of COVID. This CPC "policy" distraction does little to enamour the CPC to Canadians. It also shows that they are unable to work with the rest of Parliament to work on Canada's return to the new normal, help control inflation, and encourage development of our economy will working towards improving the environment.

[The Green Barbarian]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conser ... -1.6227634

Mr O'Toole and members of his Caucus has said that the vaccination issue is a distraction.

I have really been impressed by Erin during this vaccination discussion. While utter cowards like Justin babble about other parties, he refuses to acknowledge the Liberals who refuse to be vaccinated. This is why the Liberals have lost two elections in a row. Great job Erin!

[Pappywinkle]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conser ... -1.6227634

Mr O'Toole and members of his Caucus has said that the vaccination issue is a distraction. While he says all of his Caucus members who attend Parliament will be vaccinated, he says he intends to challenge the rule requiring that all elecected members must be vaccinated to enter the building or the House.

I have been really discouraged by Erin’s constant flip flopping and backtracking as he desperately tries to hide the fact that he needs the crazy right wing anti-vax support. These ridiculous about-faces are such an embarrassment for the CPC, and rightly so! And given O’Toole’s desperate promise today that he’ll be able to convince the many anti-vax CPC MP’s to get vaccinated it’s likely he’s been calling and begging his members to get vaccinated rather than give him the boot like lame duck Scheer. What an embarrassing time to be a conservative. And even more embarrassing to support lame duck O’Toole!

[erinmore3775]

Unfortunately, the CPC has not and will not form the government in the 42, 43, or this the 44 Parliament. By definition that means they did not "win" the most seats, the Liberals "won" the most seats. If was the constant equivocation of Mr O'Toole and the CPC party platform that failed them in the 44th election. This equivocation continues with their position(s) on vaccinations. This is not a good start for the "official" Opposition. It is clear that Mr O'Toole and the CPC Caucus have ceded that position to the NDP and the Bloc.

[crookedmember]

I will ask again, what racial epithets/abuse aimed at Leslyn Lewis are you seeing on these forums? Surely if they exist you can quote them here.

They might be thinking of the racial epithets/abuse they hurled at brown people crossing the border a few years ago. They referred to it as the biggest crisis ever (it wasn't).

Heck, the CPC even had disgusting memes featuring those swarthy brown people.

These are disgusting people.

[hobbyguy]

Unfortunately, the CPC has not and will not form the government in the 42, 43, or this the 44 Parliament. By definition that means they did not "win" the most seats, the Liberals "won" the most seats. If was the constant equivocation of Mr O'Toole and the CPC party platform that failed them in the 44th election. This equivocation continues with their position(s) on vaccinations. This is not a good start for the "official" Opposition. It is clear that Mr O'Toole and the CPC Caucus have ceded that position to the NDP and the Bloc.

It is indeed a distraction and a losing issue for the CPC. No other party is talking about this, and now O'Toole wants to waste parliamentary time - and our tax $$$ re-litigating a settled issue.

The CPC and O'Toole constantly seem to want to re-litigate old battles that are lost. Same sex marriage. Abortion. MAID. "Pipelines everywhere".

Now O'Toole wants to waste more time on the vaccine mandate - which every other party supports and every other party has 100% MP compliance with. Even if parliament wastes its time with a vote, O'Toole and CPC lose again - and it only serves to reinforce with the public that the O'Toole CPC is out of step and irrelevant to where Canada is going.

Old rule of politics: "when you find yourself in a hole - stop digging!"

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion ... -question/

"The Tories have blown their shot on the vaccine question"

"Question: does the Conservative Party of Canada have a death wish? I don’t mean literally, though in some of the harder cases one sometimes wonders. But the party’s stance on vaccine mandates is so muddled, so self-defeating, it has to be asked."

"No one knows how many members of the Conservative caucus have yet to be vaccinated, or how many, though they have been vaccinated themselves, object nevertheless to vaccines being mandated. What is certain is that they are a minority of the House of Commons. One way or another, then, members of Parliament will be required to get vaccinated as a condition of entry – if not by last week’s vote of the Board of Internal Economy, then by a vote of the whole House. The Tories cannot stop it. All they can do is make themselves look foolish and their leader weak."

[crookedmember]

Oops, Flip did it again!





And again! (Accidentally)

They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning,
No-one you see, is smarter than he,
And we know Flipper, lives in a world full of wonder,
Flying there-under, under the sea!

[Pappywinkle]

They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning,
No-one you see, is smarter than he,
And we know Flipper, lives in a world full of wonder,
Flying there-under, under the sea!

Thankfully Flipper O'Toole didn't get even close to becoming PM - what a disaster that would've been!

[The Green Barbarian]

Oops, Flip did it again!

I don't know who "flip" is, but Erin O'Toole is doing a fantastic job on this vaccine issue, unlike his cowardly opponents. Keep up the great work Erin!

[The Green Barbarian]

It is indeed a distraction and a losing issue for the CPC.

Actually, the only reason this is a distraction is because of the cowardly fool we have for a PM, Justin Trudeau, and for the Liberals it is a losing issue. The Liberals fumbled and bumbled their way through this issue during the election, and looked like giant fools the entire way. It was one of the reasons that during their wasting of $600 million trying a stupid power grab, they got destroyed in the polls and lost. The CPC is handling this issue masterfully, and the way it should be handled, and it is fantastic to see Erin, a true leader, leading the way. The Liberals are far too dense to ever learn from their mistakes, and I fully expect those massive fools to continue to make mistake after mistake, and look the fool for doing so.

Keep up the great work here Erin! You are awesome!

[Catri]

Liberals, standing in the House and hurling racist abuse towards Lewis was shocking.

I didn't see this, but thank you for drawing attention to it. Just as we are seeing racial abuse being hurled at her on these forums, it doesn't surprise me that it is happening elsewhere.

Still waiting for you to back up these allegations. It should be very easy to prove, you obviously know how to use the quote feature. People will start to think you're making it up!

[The Green Barbarian]

They might be thinking of the racial epithets/abuse they hurled at brown people crossing the border a few years ago.

Nope, I'm thinking of idiots calling Leslyn Lewis "Loopy" and a "Goof". She is neither of those things. The only reason Liberal DI's would say such disgusting things about her is because her skin colour doesn't mesh with what Liberals want to see on their benches. Justin has run off several women of colour in his party, and we all know why. The Liberals are horrible racists who hate seeing strong intelligent women of colour like Leslyn in politics. Liberal DI's - your racist attacks on Leslyn will never be forgotten.