What the Tories need to do

[Argus]

Forget Quebec. They're not going to win there in the foreseable future. They need to hang on to the west and break through in Ontario. That means offering specific proposals that don't sound like more of the same old, same old. They need to offer up enough specifics to get people interested and excited.

CRIME

Always a hot button issue. They need to do away with parole except for demonstrated cases of remorse and rehabilitation. They need to impose minimum sentences for illegal firearm posession and knife and firearms violence, and introduce special funds for police to support strike teams to arrest gun dealers, smugglers and gang members. Propose reforming the young offenders act to crack down hard on early offenders and ship them to work farms where they can labour for 12 hours a day and learn that there are consequences to their actions. They need to put enough money into the system to speed up trials, especially for young offenders.

HEALTH

They need to pick a European model, be it France, Germany, Norway, whatever; one which operates efficiently for approximately what we pay, and then propose shifting Canada's health care system towards them. That will pull the rug out from under the constant bleating about an "American style" system. They need to make specific promises about treatment times, ie, anyone going to an ER gets treated within an hour, cancer treatement within a week, etc.

They can have other issues, of course, like the military, tax cuts, corruption, expanding the Auditor General's office, but the electorate doesn't follow anything very closely and if you get too complicated they'll get all confused. Stick to two or three hot button issues and hammer away at them all the time, with details that interest people, with absolute promises of performance. The Liberals promises will seem even more vague by comparison.

[I Miss Trudeau]

All they need to do to get elected is abandon whack job social conservatism. Had they done this in the last election, they would have formed at least a minorty government.

[ceemes]

What do the tories have to do to win the next general elections????

Two words......Lose Harper.

[I Miss Trudeau]

What do the tories have to do to win the next general elections????

Two words......Lose Harper.

That couldn't hurt, either.

[Cameron]

What they needed to do last election is keep with the positive platform and not go down the road that the Liberals went down near the end of the election. If Harper and crew decided to keep with the positive message and renforce it near the end, the outcome could have been different.

Where I think they went wrong is when the libs and cons started to attack each other and it tarnished the whole process. The cons moved away from their original plan.

[CAGERATTLER]

Where I think they went wrong is when the libs and cons started to attack each other and it tarnished the whole process. The cons moved away from their original plan.

Where they went wrong was Harper bragging he was going to win a majority. Canadians hate arrogance! Another thing they did wrong is issue a press release accusing Martin of supporting child porn AND WHEN HARPER refused to publicly apologize for it well Canadians got a taste of the REAL Harper.

VOILA LIBERALS WIN!

[Newfie Canadian]

They need to stop performing with amazing grace the tactical blunders they perfected in the last election.

In other words, they need to stop shooting themselves in the foot.

Stick to the platform, and if some loud mouth candidate does or says something ...unfortunate, handle it quickly and as quietly as possible.

[Argus]

All they need to do to get elected is abandon whack job social conservatism. Had they done this in the last election, they would have formed at least a minorty government.

The fact is that things like gay marriage and abortion are deciding factors in the votes of, at the very most, 10-15% of the electorate. Of that group most are confirmed socialists and liberals who would NEVER vote conservative no matter what they said or did.

Of the next group, those to whom such things matter, but not that much, most are young - and mostly don't vote.

Appealing to either group is a waste of time.

The Tories need to appeal to mainstream, adult voters to whom issues like gay marriage are little more than a minor distraction. Most people care about the economy, taxes, health care, police, etc.

[Argus]

Where I think they went wrong is when the libs and cons started to attack each other and it tarnished the whole process. The cons moved away from their original plan.

Where they went wrong was Harper bragging he was going to win a majority. Canadians hate arrogance! Another thing they did wrong is issue a press release accusing Martin of supporting child porn AND WHEN HARPER refused to publicly apologize for it well Canadians got a taste of the REAL Harper.

VOILA LIBERALS WIN!

Harper's position on child porn is stupid and simplistic. Unfortunately, most Canadians have the same simplistic, panicky view of child porn. So I don't think that hurt him too much. But they did let themselves get distracted from their message by petty stuff like this, like bilingualism, and abortion.

[caesar]

It was Harpers support of the USA's invasion of Iraq that really turned off many people. He clinched losing the election when he favoured privatizing our health care instead of fixing the one we have.

Our public healthcare and our national reputation as a fair and friendly nation are too important to the Canadian people.

[Bakunin]

1) Get rid of social conservatism

2) Get rid of social conservatism

3) Get rid of social conservatism

4) Get rid of social conservatism

and finally

5) Get rid of social conservatism

----

That's all they have to do.

If they can stop scarying the gays, the womens and the other more socially open minded maybe they could win.

[Redneck Yokel]

Our public healthcare and our national reputation as a fair and friendly nation are too important to the Canadian people.

Is it important enough to leave critically ill patients waiting for weeks and months on end just to receive any sort of treatment?

Throwing money at a failing system is not the answer. At least the Conservatives have a mind to see the failings in the current system and look at replacing a lame mule.

[caesar]

Throwing money at a failing system is not the answer. At least the Conservatives have a mind to see the failings in the current system and look at replacing a lame mule.

Replacing a system that CAN work fairly for all taxpayers is much better than replacing it. Canadians do not want a two tiered system. That does not put more doctors working in the system; it only allows those with money to get get preferred service. Health care is a national concern and should be administered by the Federal government. The provinces play games; the provincial authorities recognized that our pharmacare system would be run cheaper and more fairly by the federal government; so too could our medical system.

NO THANKS That is not a solution.

[Digby]

To get elected ?

Well just dress Harper in a Dress and get him to say not only is he in favour of Gay marriage he is considering partakeing it himself .

Then have a national bible burning on prime time CBC , then stomp up and down on an american flag with cow sh-t on his boots .

And lastly open up marijuana to not only make it legal but FREE . Oh ya And Start a national Porn Industry .

That should get him elected .

[Argus]

1) Get rid of social conservatism

2) Get rid of social conservatism

3) Get rid of social conservatism

4) Get rid of social conservatism

and finally

5) Get rid of social conservatism

----

That's all they have to do.

If they can stop scarying the gays, the womens and the other more socially open minded maybe they could win.

The thing about people with no morality is that they believe everyone is like them. They aren't. You want the tories to abandon their beliefs in order to appeal to people who have no beliefs, but such people already have a political affiliation with the Liberals. And in any case, most conservatives want power in order to accomplish something. If they abandon their conservative beliefs, if instead of trying to persuade people that their way is the better way they simply give in and look to the polls for their "beliefs", then why should they even be running for office? Or if all they seek is power for its own sake they should be running as Liberals.

[Argus]

Throwing money at a failing system is not the answer. At least the Conservatives have a mind to see the failings in the current system and look at replacing a lame mule.

Replacing a system that CAN work fairly for all taxpayers is much better than replacing it. Canadians do not want a two tiered system.

This is the doctinare belief of those who believe in mystical revelations and philosophies. Canada doesn't want a two-tier system!

Except, uh, we have a two-tier system. We have ALWAYS had a two-tier system. We always will have a two-tier system.

What you are really railing against is capitalism and profit. You would rather have a failed socialist system which lets people die on waiting lists than a capable, efficient system where some people make profits.

[kimmy]

Throwing money at a failing system is not the answer. At least the Conservatives have a mind to see the failings in the current system and look at replacing a lame mule.

Replacing a system that CAN work fairly for all taxpayers is much better than replacing it. Canadians do not want a two tiered system.

Every time the idea of changes to the Canada Health Act comes up, people start throwing around phrases like "two-tier" and "US-style." Why is that? Why do Canadians, who fancy themselves to be so much more knowledgeable of the wider world than their American friends, seem to have the notion that if it's not "Canada-style" healthcare, it must be "US-style" healthcare?

France and Sweden have healthcare systems where both private and public care providers work side-by-side. France and Sweden have outstanding healthcare systems, where patient care and wait times have been judged better than in Canada.

The Conservatives will have to do a much better job of articulating a vision. As long as people have the notion that "changes to the Canada Health Act" equals "US-style healthcare", they won't get elected. As Argus said, they have to provide a clear, articulate proposal that people can look at.

-kimmy

[Argus]

To get elected ?

Well just dress Harper in a Dress and get him to say not only is he in favour of Gay marriage he is considering partakeing it himself .

Then have a national bible burning on prime time CBC , then stomp up and down on an american flag with cow sh-t on his boots .

And lastly open up marijuana to not only make it legal but FREE . Oh ya And Start a national Porn Industry .

That should get him elected .

It would get him approval and votes from the media, to be certain.

[Digby]

True Argus , you hit right on .

The sad thing is We probly are headed for more liberal Goverment . Right too the point we see without a doubt the damage that liberal goverment is causeing .

And by that time it will be too late .

I was joking in the post above , but the scary thing is losening the laws on marijuana possesion is probly enough to keep Martin elected next election no matter what platform Harper and crowd come up with . About 25% - 50% of this country is now smoking pot on a normal bases and the liberals know it and will say what needs to be said to get elected .

[Fortunata]

My, my some of you are so myopic; a trait that you want to attribute to the populace at large. CPC lost the last election because of themselves, not brainwashed Liberal masses. Plain and simple enough for you?

Unless the Liberals blow their legs off because of what is in this mind-blowing testimony CPC will not win. They will not win an election on their own merits, there are just not enough merits and too many socons with backward ideas that trouble the majority.

[CAGERATTLER]

Stick to the platform, and if some loud mouth candidate does or says something ...unfortunate, handle it quickly and as quietly as possible.

What platform? They just had a convention in order to come up with a platform do you hear any CON servative types ranting about the new platform?

All I hear on here is more Liberal nit picking.

If they've now got such a great platform to run on why aren't they talking about it?

UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!

[CAGERATTLER]

It would get him approval and votes from the media, to be certain.

Wasn't that Harper I heard whinning about the media at the convention?

The biggest B.S. mtyh in this country is the myth the media is bias toward the Liberals.

That is a fact. For every article you can find that is bias toward the Liberals I can find 5 that are the opposite!

[Argus]

Stick to the platform, and if some loud mouth candidate does or says something ...unfortunate, handle it quickly and as quietly as possible.

What platform? They just had a convention in order to come up with a platform do you hear any CON servative types ranting about the new platform?

All I hear on here is more Liberal nit picking.

Nitpicking. I guess if you decide to follow a party of thieving liars you have to try and justify it somehow. Downgrading the theft and corruption to mere "nitpicking" seems like it'd take a heckuva lot of self-deception.

But then deception is what Liberals are all about.

[willy]

The biggest B.S. mtyh in this country is the myth the media is bias toward the Liberals.

The governor general is a former reporter.

Our representative in New York is also a former reporter.

Much of the government’s communication team are former reporters.

The Liberals look to the media scrums for appointments.

You are right this must just be a coincidence.

Another view would be that writers as a demographic tend to be more liberal in attitude. Just like the average business student would be more likely to be a conservative.

Ah, I miss the old national post.

[caesar]

After the Mulroney conservatives; you should consider yourself lucky to get anyone voted in as a conservative.

The Liberals got the edge in the last election because of Harper's desire to join the USA in Iraq plus his wish to dismantle our health care system, True enough some provinces are sneakily allowing a two tiered system to exist. Harper's lying claims that he agreed with the decision not to go into Iraq alongside the USA come election time was dumb and insult the intelligence of anyone old enough to vote and those too closed minded to care,