Smallc Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 Some have had that feeling about other high profile Conservative ministers too..... Who? Quote
olpfan1 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 The PM isn't going to throw away one of his most experience MPs. He too pragmatic for that. Also, I would bet my life Baird is in favor of gay marriage. I just have a....feeling...yeah... theres plenty of gay republicans who vote / say they are against same sex marriage Quote
olpfan1 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) Minister of Family Values? What? That is what Toews used to be.... what he was called Edited March 3, 2012 by olpfan1 Quote
Smallc Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) That is what Toews used to be.... That was never a position in this government. He was Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. Liberals called him the minister of family values, because they didn't like his social conservatism....and, I agree with them on that. Edited March 3, 2012 by Smallc Quote
UofGPolitico Posted March 3, 2012 Author Report Posted March 3, 2012 Who? He's been mentioned quite alot in this thread as a possible successor of the Conservative leadership. Quote
Newfoundlander Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 ill have to check on that He's also "supposedly" gay. Here's an article from 2006 that mentions him voting against Harper's motion to open the same-sex marriage debate and he also favoured same-sex marriage as PC House Leader in Ontario. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=bbd99843-8338-4e3d-b81c-d57a706119c2 Quote
j44 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 theres plenty of gay republicans who vote / say they are against same sex marriage Fair enough. Quote
olpfan1 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 That was never a position in this government. He was Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. Liberals called him the minister of family values, because they didn't like his social conservatism....and, I agree with them on that. I stand corrected, you are correct Quote
Newfoundlander Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 huh are you joking? minister of family values who is everything but family values and you think that wouldnt affect his job? good god I don't know what this Minister of Family Values is all about but even if he was I don't see how having an affair affects your job. Not great judgement but it's hardly a scandal. Quote
olpfan1 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 He's also "supposedly" gay. Here's an article from 2006 that mentions him voting against Harper's motion to open the same-sex marriage debate and he also favoured same-sex marriage as PC House Leader in Ontario. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=bbd99843-8338-4e3d-b81c-d57a706119c2 I stand corrected again lol Quote
olpfan1 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 I don't know what this Minister of Family Values is all about but even if he was I don't see how having an affair affects your job. Not great judgement but it's hardly a scandal. To be fair if you cheat on your wife with multiple women and keep it from her for 10 years you aren't trustworthy enough when it comes to the Canadian public right? Quote
dre Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 To be fair if you cheat on your wife with multiple women and keep it from her for 10 years you aren't trustworthy enough when it comes to the Canadian public right? Well to be fair, if you can hide your that from your wife for ten years youre probably exactly the right person to thrive in Canadian politics. Quote I question things because I am human. And call no one my father who's no closer than a stranger
olpfan1 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 Well to be fair, if you can hide your that from your wife for ten years youre probably exactly the right person to thrive in Canadian politics. no, if you are that good at hiding deceit you shouldn't be anywhere near canadian tax dollars Quote
August1991 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 God knows who the next federal Conservative leader will be. Who could have predicted in 1924 that Louis St-Laurent would be the next federal Liberal leader, and a federal PM? If he does get re-elected with a majority mandate in 2015, if he were to serve the full term (until fall 2019) he would be Canada's longest serving prime minister (in terms of consecutive time in power) since Wilfrid Laurier.Precisely my point.In addition, I wouldn't discount underwhelming opposition.Same diff. Quote
TheNewTeddy Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) Harper could serve 7 more years. I can not see him serving more than that. Chretien retired in 2003, and in 1996 most of the people who ran to replace him were "known" quantities. Martin called it quits in 2006, and outside of Iggy, most of the candidates were "known" in 1999, though some were in other parties. This is not St.Laurent in 1924, this is St.Laurent in 1941. Edited March 3, 2012 by TheNewTeddy Quote Feel free to contact me outside the forums. Add "TheNewTeddy" to Twitter, Facebook, or Hotmail to reach me!
-TSS- Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 Has Harper made any hints that he would be stepping down any time soon? As you in Canada can elect your leaders as many times as you wish and Harper is just 52 he may be around for a long time to come. Not necesarily as PM as the electorate yearns for a change from time to time but at least as a leader of the party. Quote
MiddleClassCentrist Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 Canada seems to like political dynasties. We might be waiting a while for a future leader. Quote Ideology does not make good policy. Good policy comes from an analysis of options, comparison of options and selection of one option that works best in the current situation. This option is often a compromise between ideologies.
j44 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 Has Harper made any hints that he would be stepping down any time soon? As you in Canada can elect your leaders as many times as you wish and Harper is just 52 he may be around for a long time to come. Not necesarily as PM as the electorate yearns for a change from time to time but at least as a leader of the party. I'm not sure how this plays out in history but I would assume that regardless of his age a PM who had a majority would not enjoy being in opposition again and therefore would retire after losing power. Personally I think Harper sticks around until he loses power. Anything can happen between now and the next election but I think the other parties have their work cut out for them. Even beating him down to a minority might be difficult barring an economic downturn or a major scandal (still waiting to see how this potential election fraud plays out). Can anyone point to an example where a PM with a majority stuck around to be in opposition? Quote
-TSS- Posted March 3, 2012 Report Posted March 3, 2012 I'm not sure how this plays out in history but I would assume that regardless of his age a PM who had a majority would not enjoy being in opposition again and therefore would retire after losing power. Personally I think Harper sticks around until he loses power. Anything can happen between now and the next election but I think the other parties have their work cut out for them. Even beating him down to a minority might be difficult barring an economic downturn or a major scandal (still waiting to see how this potential election fraud plays out). Can anyone point to an example where a PM with a majority stuck around to be in opposition? Didn't John Turner remain as Liberal-leader and opposition-leader after the devastating election defeat in 1984 only to lose again four years later. Even though he was PM only for a couple of months he was still PM. Quote
TheNewTeddy Posted March 5, 2012 Report Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) Prime Ministers, in general, have been opposition leaders either before or after their term. Harper - Before - Majority, Elected Martin - Never - Majority, Unelected - Minority, Elected Chretien - Before - Majority, Elected - Retired or Died while PM Campbell - Never - Majority, Unelected Mulroney - Before - Majority, Elected - Retired or Died while PM Turner - After - Majority, Unelected Trudeau - Between - Majority, Elected - Retired or Died while PM Clark - Both - Minority, Elected Pearson - Before - Majority, Elected Diefenbaker - Both - Majority, Elected St. Laurent - After - Majority, Elected King - Between - Majority, Elected - Retired or Died while PM Bennett - Both - Majority, Elected Meighen - Before - Minority, (un)Elected - King-Byng Borden - Before - Majority, Elected Laurier - Both - Majority, Elected Macdonald - Between - Majority, Elected - Retired or Died while PM Mackenzie - Both - Majority, Elected Only Martin and Campbell never served as Leader of the Opposition, but Martin did spend time on the Opposition benches. Campbell never was an opposition MP. Edited March 5, 2012 by TheNewTeddy Quote Feel free to contact me outside the forums. Add "TheNewTeddy" to Twitter, Facebook, or Hotmail to reach me!
Shakeyhands Posted March 5, 2012 Report Posted March 5, 2012 what do you mean? he voted against gay marriage and I bet he's pro life, against assisted suicide and marijuana legalization.. what makes him "progressive"? I may be wrong here, but isn't Baird gay? Quote "They muddy the water, to make it seem deep." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Newfoundlander Posted March 5, 2012 Report Posted March 5, 2012 I may be wrong here, but isn't Baird gay? Not publicly. Quote
Shakeyhands Posted March 6, 2012 Report Posted March 6, 2012 Not publicly. As is his right. I seem to recall hearing he was from someone. Not that it matters, just curious (so to speak:-)) Quote "They muddy the water, to make it seem deep." - Friedrich Nietzsche
August1991 Posted March 6, 2012 Report Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) Harper could serve 7 more years. I can not see him serving more than that.Why not?Chretien retired in 2003... Uh, Chretien did not retire voluntarily...---- In speaking of Quebec, Harper has said that the Conservatives in the past have succeeded only with large, superficial wins: 1958, 1984. This is like the NDP in 2011. They are victories with no roots. Harper intends to plant firm Conservative roots in Quebec so that there will be several federal Conservative MPs far into the future. Harper is picking his regions well but I don't know if the strategy will work. Before Riel and Laurier, the federal Conservatives existed in Quebec. Duplessis ran originally as a provincial Conservative until he created the Union Nationale. ---- Anyway, it seems to me that Harper wants to create a federal Conservative dynasty and he seems well on his way to doing this - despite the topic du jour that the Toronto/Montreal chattering classes are discussing this week. With House seating reform, a divided opposition and a confused Quebec, Harper will in all likelihood win another majority in 2015. In 2020, Harper will be in his early 60s. He may decide to do as Leslie Frost (retired at 66 after 12 years in office) or John Robarts (retired at 54 after 10 years in office) and pass the baton to a William Davis. If I had to hazard a guess now who the next person would be, I'd pick Christopher Alexander. Prime Ministers, in general, have been opposition leaders either before or after their term.You're picking the wrong model: Harper intends to imitate the Tories in Ontario and Alberta, or the Liberals in Ottawa from Laurier on. Your stats are misleading. Edited March 6, 2012 by August1991 Quote
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