willy

Stuff like this is junk. The party decided not to change the status quo on abortion. As for gay marriage, the stance is as progressive as any nation in Europe. Extend all rights just not the name. As for economics, they do talk about it. As for other areas, justice should be a big winner for the Conservatives. No one will agree with any party 100% of the time. The fact is Harper is a moderate. Aside from gay marriage, name one other that Harper is extreem on. There are not any.

Bakunin, So share with us what they must do. Who is the progressive vote? What do they stand for and how will the Conservatives communicate to them that they represent those views? Remember the second the Conservatives stop talking about sponsorship and start talking policy the policy will then become the issue. I would argue that the policy that came out of Montreal is mainstream, effective and progressive.

I am a conservative; I don't need a book written by a liberal to explain what I think. If that is necessary, I suggest you read Anne Coulter and her view of what liberals think. There are two types of government good and bad. In our system neither party is extreme on policy. The question is which one can you trust. The consistent I see in the world is too much power corrupts and our home grown Liberals are a best practice. If you hear the word moderate in the media this week replace it with Liberal. If you hear the word extreme replace it with Conservative.

Here is another quote from this story. Spin by amateurs. Asper is and always has been a Liberal. When the Southham News started the Post, their was no doubt it was a Conservative paper but not any more. Some of the columnists are more supportive like Andrew Coyne but he is also on the CBC and you wouldn't call them Conservative would you. The Liberal party spin machine is at work and trying to take advantage of a perceived weakness. Stronach was the background noise in the party that still sought leadership and now she is spent. We will not have an election this spring, and we don't have a leadership review for another year and a half. So it might make the any body but a Conservative crowd excited but don't get your hopes up. Most Conservative realize that not only does the party need unity but the country needs an alternative.

I personally support Harper. He has led the party to unity, and through many mile stones. The party has challenges, and is at risk of having the Liberals create their brand. Now aside from my personal view what does the future hold? Most influence campaigns in the corporate world expect 24 months before they shift the prevailing opinion. Right now the politically engaged (like those on forums) flip and flop and tend to pay a lot of attention to every detail. If the Conservatives are to be successful they need to stay the course. The operations of the party are just now starting to function after the change during the merger. With continuity the party will gain strength. Though out the 90's the opposition was in a constant state of change and was never able to present a viable option. Harper has the skills, and support of the caucus. A week from now when a new focus is presented this level of criticism will dissipate and the Liberals will become the story again. Just think Martin was a senior minister in a corrupt government, under his leadership the party lost 10 points in the polls, and the sovereignty movement has gained 10 points in the polls. If a leader should go it is the Liberals. They need a fresh face and a new front bench so Quebec can move past the party’s criminality. With no clear accountability the country is running a big risk of becoming ever increasingly more volatile. And many on this forum are focused on the opposition leader because he lost one vote a week after he won three votes. Don't be a hater!

This probably had to do with the Kingston riding itself and not at us. Kingston has a proud tradition of training our military. (and housing a number of jails) The production was amateurish. With a good editor and better pictures it could be good. But if I were her I would pull it. Far from offensive. Just silly.

Hey the Liberals are cagy and it is taking a lot of work to get the fox out of the hen house.

I want an election. It is time to let us all have a say on this government. If you still want them you should get the chance to say so. It is beyond question that there is a scandal. The question all Liberals will have to ask: Is their own party to be trusted to clean itself out or should we vote them out and force them to clean house? The PCs went down to 2 seats in 92 and they deserved it. Some would like to say same party but after 13 years and all the changes in leadership the party has changed. It is time the Liberals go through the same process. The Conservatives have moved to the middle and if the NDP can do the same and moderate Canadians will still be well represented. All the lefties on the forum I encourage you to work hard for Jack to get some quality candidates. The Conservatives will present a good team. It would please me like nothing else than to see the Liberals fall through the middle.

Scott, didn't you hear Layton said he would sit out members if the Conservative members are to sick to vote. Let's then wait for the big vote in 6 weeks and see who has the gigles.

Why Gomery will not name names. He will only make recommendations for change. In fact his scope does not allow him to accuse anyone. The Liberals would like nothing more than to have his report of recommendations and run on implementing them. The fact that we can't trust a word they say doesn't matter.

Or lets say one was offered a cabinet position and had a limited leadership potential in the new party, maybe for self interest they jump ship. Then for the next 10 months you have to stand in the house in ones ministry position and defend the crimes of the new family. If one could only do it again and this night mare would be over. _________________________________________________________________ The same sex marriage vote at the convention was close, if one would have stayed and fought for what they believed it may have been defeated.

bigdude, ScottBrison, Will you at some point start an adult debate or does the school yard antics need to continue? In case you didn't notice most people on this forum are firmly entrenched in there political leanings so the low brow, simple, and insulting comments you are tending to favour are not influencing anyone. They do bate me in to more of the same. If you would like to discuss policy and political strategy, I am familiar with what the actual Conservative platform is so let's discuss. I am also curious to what is directing the Liberals. Anne at the Liberal convention said that they would not be basing government policy on the resolutions passed. So can you please enlighten all of us what the vision for this country is. They are for now still in power and I would be comforted to know that all this spending is a cohesive plan and not just vote buying. At the Liberal convention people passionately arguing for more abortion legislation and no extension of marriage rights. I am sure all here know this but one more time: 1. The Conservative government will not introduce abortion legislation. 2. The Conservative government will support same sex unions with the extensions of all marital rights to those couples. The word marriage will still represent one man and one women. Grow up folks and realize that we are all thinking people. I firmly disagree with almost everything Layton says but I don’t think he is stupid. Manning is working for the Fraser Institute; I challenge you to actually read some of his work. The man is very thoughtful and has done some great work.

I will take exception to that. The CPC party has a much stronger link between policy and action. The Reform genesis of the constitution is what changed this party and is the key difference to the old PCs. The tired old Liberals I do agree don't care what their members say they stand for. takeanumber, don't confuse the provincial PC's with the federal CPC. Have a look at the constitution of each and you will see some subtle but significant differences. Governance structure may glaze the eyes of most people but as the Canadian Constitution has impacted us as a country so do party constitutions.

And this will still occur but my standard for who I vote for is higher than are they a criminal or just unethical.

We should not wait any longer for an election. I want to enjoy the BBQ season so lets get it on. Waiting for the Gomery report will not prove useful. His mandate is such that the testimony will be more insightful. What do we expect him to deliver that will add more clarity?

This is a big nothing. The party hosted economic forums around the province that invited business, and politicals alike to come and network with some key note speeches. The cost of these lunches in some cases and breakfasts in others was $25.00 per person. Not exactly extortion and not exactly a major party money maker. The total money made by the liberal party based on this is around $2000.00 from municipal officials. This money has now been returned. For a group that had donations of over $8million last year this is just stupid. If the chamber had hosted these events no problem. The only difference is the events would have cost more. This is a story of optics and not substance. Now if you look at the NDP here the unions have been running ads during the writ period. Those same unions were supplying campaigns with signs outside the BC election contributions. I have not heard the total but I would peg it as much higher than $2000.00. This also does not include the amount of money that the labour has paid organizers to attack the government for the last 8 months (all outside the party books and disclosures). This does disservice to the serious nature of the Gomery allegations when you try and paint this story in comparison.

Melanie, The question I would ask you is, what should the federal government provide and what should your provincial government provide? Professional women can benefit from tax cuts, but that is not the only answer. The provinces are in the best position to determine the most effective ways of delivering or facilitating more child care options. The federal government is responsible for enabling the provinces to provide these services by fixing the fiscal imbalance. It is not for the government to decide if women should be at home with the kids or in the workforce, it is the individual’s choice. That being said the structures can be in place to ensure the choice. The Manitoba deal announced was $176 million for five years. They expect to create 5000 new child care spaces. That is $35,200.00 per child. The demand is for 20000 new spaces in Manitoba. Is the approach of the current government really going to deliver the system that will enable more women the choice to follow in a career or is it an overly expensive system that will only reach a small portion of people who knew someone to navigate the system to access one of the few spaces available. The cost then being passed on to the rest with little to no societal benefit.

What scares me is what the Liberal stated policy is on a number of issues. i.e. legalizing drugs and prostitution

Cummins, has not been shut up. He is a thoughtful MP who is passionate about the fishing issues on both coasts. Right now he has been working hard to get a commission to look into the fish that died in the salmon run up the Fraser last year. He is still rocking the apple cart and charging that we don't put enough resources into enforcement. Mr. Cummins is still a member of the fisheries committee and plays an important roll. Here is a link to John's website so you can see the work he has been up to. http://www.johncummins.ca/

Here is a link to the policy that came out of the Convention. http://www.conservative.ca/documents/20050...DECLARATION.pdf An election platform will be forthcoming......

This is not hearsay. It is voluntary first hand confessions.

Anne won by less than 1000 votes and she is the Deputy PM. What big Liberal support are you talking about?

Anyone else? Not a great list.

CAGERATTLER, the amount of money BC will receive through the fix for a generation will run our health care system for 3 days each year. Our annual budget for BC health cost is approaching $14 billion annually. Our total budget for the province is only $31 billion. This is the fiscal imbalance that you may have heard about. We still have to fund transportation, education, environment, etc.

The Liberals drop and the Conservatives and NDP are picking up new votes. The Block is holding steady. As this rolls out it will be interesting to see if the Conservatives and NDP become competitive in specific ridings. I would like to know what the distribution of these numbers across the province would look like.