Regular readers know that I’m no Conservative Party of Canada sycophant, though liberals, bereft of honesty, ideas, and of sane arguments that can hold water, beg to differ —until I shock them and argue with them, at which point they run away like little girls (leaking water). As I tell them as they’re running, I’m not even a member of the Conservative Party. I won’t join a party that supports abortion and fails to support a reduction in government size and scope; fails to drastically reduce government spending and the growing national reliance on nanny-state government entitlements and phony socialist crutches; and which fails to support traditional marriage; and so on. You know, CONSERVATIVE things. Nor am I a Conservative Party myrmidon, and I wish MPs and members of the Party would stop being just that.
Whoever in the CPC sent out a talking points memo (referred to me by the web site NoApologies.ca) to Conservative MPs—if indeed the document is legitimate—should be ignored by Conservative Party MPs, and moreover, by all of us. The conservatives of Canada. Of course it wasn’t directed at us. I’m almost surprised it wasn’t.
The document suggests how Conservative MPs should answer, when asked about the Steyn/Levant cases which are now before various stupid Canadian “human rights” commissions; and how to answer questions about the related Liberal Party MP Keith Martin’s very right-thinking private member’s motion which would reign-in the commissions a tiny bit (this motion is unsupported by the Liberal Party, and apparently the Conservatives have chosen to follow their lead):
I have no reason to question the validity of the document, since I have absolutely no concrete knowledge about where the Conservative Party is on the issue in question, which, once again, means they aren’t taking the right side. Or even any side. And this document seems to speak to ensuring that that remains the case.
If asked about the Steyn / Levant cases:
• It is not appropriate for me to comment on particular matters that might be before the Canadian Human Rights Commission or the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
• The Government of Canada is committed to the protection and promotion of human rights.If asked about the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and its process:
• Refer letter writer to the CHRC’s website which has very detailed information pertaining to its mandate, discrimination and harassment, dispute resolution and much more: http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/about/default-en.asp
[…]
That claptrap sounds like a liberal government—and one that is now so obviously mammoth in size and scope and appendages, and which is so complicated, that it’s as if they’re looking down at their body, and can’t figure out what body parts are part of itself, and what parts aren’t.
Let me help: It’s all government. Their government. The stupid CHRC is as much the government as the CBC is the government, and Via Rail, and the nuclear regulator, and Canada Post, and so many other parts are the government. They’re all part and parcel of the same thing. It’s all the government.
They should shake their heads and acknowledge it. That’s always a good first step when an addict is earnestly seeking rehab. Face up to what they are and what they have become. Then change. Be different. In this case, be conservative. Not liberal. Not a party which could be called Liberal Party Too.
So what do we do when we’re stuck with people who have lost their way, and yet they’ve got the house keys in their mitts?
This article by the good American conservative Laura Ingraham, coincidentally sent to me yesterday at about the same time as the above document, covers largely the same ground I’m going over in my head today as a result of the above and other disturbing lapses of the Conservative Party of Canada. Laura Ingraham is referring to the impending and unfortunate nomination of John McCain for the Republican run at the Presidency in November. But the solution is germane to us—Canadian conservatives—as well:
[…]
So this is no time for conservatives to sit on the sidelines.
On the state and local level, we can recruit and support solid, traditional conservatives for everything from the school board to the state house. We can be active conservatives in our neighborhoods and churches by working with others to highlight what is good—and defeat what is bad about today’s popular culture. We can join organizations that do great grassroots work on the issues we care about. We can show how much we support the troops and their mission by helping returning vets and their families.
We are a movement that believes in personal responsibility, so it’s time to take some. There are consequences to losing. Now is the time to rebuild and re-group, not whine or complain or sulk. Reagan lost many political battles along the way but never lost hope in the enduring nature of basic conservative principles. Neither should we.
Here’s a YouTube video of Laura Ingraham introducing Mitt Romney at CPAC, during which Romney announced his withdrawal from the race. Laura Ingraham makes some points for conservatism, which I thought were excellent. See how they apply to Canadian conservatives almost identically. Replace instances of “Republican” with Conservative” (almost like that would be a valid thing to do).
And by great coincidence, Ezra Levant was scheduled to be on Laura Ingraham’s very popular radio show today.
And this is just as good, and also received yesterday: An article by the good conservative Newt Gingrich:
This weekend, I had the opportunity to address CPAC—the Conservative Political Action Conference. This is the same group to which Ronald Reagan delivered his historic “bold colors, not pale pastels” speech in 1975, sparking a new center-right coalition that would become the ground troops of the Reagan Revolution.
In my speech, I called for a conservative “declaration of independence” from the Republican Party.
By a “declaration of independence” I don’t mean a third party. I mean a renewed willingness among center-right Americans to criticize Republicans when they are wrong as vigorously as we criticize Democrats when they are wrong.
And I mean a reinvigoration of the grassroots to focus on all 513,000 elected officials in our country, not just those in Washington.
I told the conservatives at CPAC that we need to embrace the movement for change in America and make it our own. As I argue in my new book, Real Change: From the World that Fails to the World that Works, all change is not equal. We need the right changes, not the wrong changes…
See Newt Gingrich’s CPAC speech here courtesy of the great TownHall.com
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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