Tories wonder if Jason Kenney next to lead party

[Wild Bill]

Thats fine and I didn't disagree with the fact that there are attacks against Harper. However, the fact that I'm new doesn't change anything; as if you stating facts magically changes something in this argument.

Nothing wrong with being a newbie. EVERYBODY starts out that way!

However, assuming that things began only when you joined up is not logical. I don't think anything personal was meant by calling you "new". It's just that over the months and years that I've been here I have to absolutely positively agree that the bulk of the ad hominem name calling has been from the 'left' against the 'right'!

There have been some exceptions, of course. Still, if you pick a thread or two and start a tally as you scroll through the posts I think you'll find things overwhelmingly one-sided AGAINST your premise!

I think perhaps your post just surprised 'Keepitsimple' so much that he typed a response a bit too quickly to avoid ruffling your feathers.

Be thankful this board is not like "Rubble.com"! The response would have contained at least a dozen profane words and some pretty personal descriptions of your morals and sexual habits, with likely ZERO reference to your actual point!

[Canadian Blue]

In some Toronto newspapers they have. Fact is, if you look at the two leaders professional qualifications, Ignatieff is more qualified hands down. He has taught at Oxford, Harvard and has been a journalist in the UK and abroad (covered the war and genocide in Yugoslavia).

How exactly is that pertinent to running a government? Qualifications is a largely abstract term. If we were to base this purely on political experience Harper would win hands down.

IF anyone understands the way the world works and how Canada should interact in the globe, it's probably Ignatieff. In the end, the world is globalizing at a rapid pace and being around matters less and less when one can keep up with national headlines and problems daily.

Agreed, and I'm happy to see Ignatieff has largely eviscerated the myth of peacekeeping.

The fact that the conservatives have become so anti-intellectual shows that they understand that this is Ignatieff's strength and need to turn it into a weakness by simply declaring that he didn't live in Canada and therefore isn't worthy as a Canadian leader. Understandably, this works to the conservative base and people who don't know much about Ignatieff.

Come on, what exactly is "anti-intellectual." This reminds me of when the Liberals warned that the Tories were going to bring in a "hidden agenda" which included two-tier American healthcare. Even though American's don't really have a two-tier system, but Australia and New Zealand do.

If you think only the Tories play to ignorance you're blind to reality.

Finally, the way the anti-Liberal hatred on this site is espoused is absolutely appalling. Everything anti-Harper is Liberal fabricated lies. I even saw one post to the effect of calling Liberals gutter dwelling vermin. All Canadians of every stripe, whether we agree with them or not, is trying to do what's best for Canada. There's no need for this propaganda. We can disagree without bringing up these extremely disturbing stereotypes. I'm currently reading Saul Friedländer's Nazi Germany and the Jews. Without trying to sound too dramatic (which is impossible when making a reference of this kind), some posts you could substitute liberals with jews and things read here would be absolutely Hitler-esque, which to me is infintely disturbing as to how much of a divide there is between left and right now-a-days. It used to be that the Liberals and Conservatives were essentially the same party with some differences here and there. Now, the discontent being fostered by many is leading to this kind of garbage.

What divide? The biggest policy difference is over EI payments, hardly the Naziesque picture you paint. Hell I even read a piece by the head of the Liberal Party in Alberta arguing that we should extend the mission in Afghanistan.

The Conservatives and the Liberals have essentially become the same party with a few differences. We now essentially have two parties battling for the centre, one on the left, and the separatists. That being said I really doubt policy differences on senate reform, the three strikes law, or EI, will somehow result in the Kristallnacht.

Edited August 10, 2009 by Canadian Blue

[Canadian Blue]

With reference to the possibility of a CPC leadership race. The most important characteristic for any future leader is to maintain the big tent the CPC currently has. That requires a centre-right candidate who is as pragmatic as Harper [stop frothing at the mouth partisan hacks] has shown in government. The best candidate in my judgement would be Jean Charest. He probably wants to become Prime Minister and is currently running a centre-right Liberal government in Quebec. The biggest advantage for Charest would be the ability to win in Quebec and a relatively successful experience in government. While some might wonder what I've been smoking, I'll remind you that the CPC leadership is done proportionally by riding instead of one man one vote, thus giving Quebec an equivalent amount of sway as BC and Alberta.

If Jean Charest doesn't run, the CPC would be better of with Peter Mackay, Jim Prentice, or Brad Wall.

Edited August 10, 2009 by Canadian Blue

[jdobbin]

If Jean Charest doesn't run, the CPC would be better of with Peter Mackay, Jim Prentice, or Brad Wall.

The only one who speaks English and French is Charest.

I don't know that the Tories can have a leader who isn't bilingual. They can try but I think it would be an impediment for Quebec Tory delegates.