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A Conservative Movement: It's about Time
Friday, April 27, 2007
With a federal election looming large on the horizon conservatives are faced with a very important decision once again.
Do we vote for a purist party, or do we hold our nose and vote for the Conservative Party of Canada, even though Harper has been less then stellar on key conservative issues?
I don't know about you, but for my part neither choice seems appealing.
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Unfortunately, it's the reality of our day, and as a close friend eloquently put it: "politics is the art of the possible."
Now, for all of you wonderful principled purists, don't worry I'm not going to spend the rest of the column convincing you to vote the Conservative party line; you've probably decided that if nothing else, punishing the conservatives is more important than risking a Liberal minority government. So there is no point in trying to change your mind.
Besides, with the polls favoring the Conservatives these days, I guess now is as good as any time to vote against the Conservatives - very little chance of a Liberal victory. Of course, if punishing the Conservatives is what you want, there's probably not much chance they'll get the message in this election cycle.
For those of us who will hold our nose as we vote Conservative - well what of it? Not much to say here. The fact is you've probably already convinced yourself "there just isn't an alternative". So no point in arguing for the various small "c" conservative parties out there - of which there is only one federally to speak of.
But what strikes me in all of this is how quickly we conservatives forget and how easily we are satisfied. Too many conservatives are just too pleased with Harper's first term. Although, and I have to admit, as my friend says, "he is way better than the Liberals."
But as consistent conservatives, why don't we demand more?
I mean is it really so hard to be better then the Liberals?
And why do we forget so quickly that Harper promised a real fight for marriage, and not simply a cursory review of the "question"; which by the way, was aborted behind back doors long before it was born on the floor of the Commons; and then only to be followed by the afterbirth of that ridiculous comment by Harper about how "marriage" was a settled issue.
But none of this matters in the end.
Like another friend said to me, some politicians in Ottawa have made it clear: "There is just no political cost to ignoring you people."
And you know what?
He's right.
He is right because the most we can do is shake our head. And at best, run off and support a smaller, purer party - which really doesn't do much to advance conservatism.
Ultimately, the hard reality is that in today's political world all we can do is settle for a party that is just better then the Liberals.
We don't have to like this. We can even be angry about it - as we should; but what we have to do is face it. We have to face the fact that it is us, conservative Canadians, and not the Conservative Party of Canada, that is the problem.
The fact that politicians in Ottawa can look my friend in the face and tell him, "We can afford to ignore you" says a whole lot more about us, then it does about them.
It says that we don't exist.
Oh, don't get me wrong. There are plenty of "conservative" Canadians. But, because we are not organized, because we don't have visible leaders that stand apart from the political party apparatus and have the power to shake the ground of the party structure, (like they do in the US), because we don't have a powerful alternative conservative media, coupled with eloquent spokespeople who are also real conservatives (and not moral socialists) we simply will remain nobodies in the eyes of the political structure.
We simply do not exist. And the sooner we face this, the more quickly we'll be able to change it.
Forget party politics for just a moment. As conservatives, isn't it correct to say that we ultimately don't believe that "civil government" is the answer? Isn't it true to say that we believe in "limited government"? This is just basic conservative dogma, right?
But if that is the case, then why do we expect the "party" to create and sustain a conservative movement? Why do we expect the politicians to lead? Why do we believe in limited government, yet insist on comprehensive party leadership?
If you think about it, in practice we're no better than the enemy. We want politics to change things for us, rather than the other way around.
The fact is political parties don't lead, and very rarely do politicians. I know it sounds strange, but it's true. Precisely because politics is the art of the possible, politicians will always wait to see what the horizon presents before they step out.
Which is why, if we want a conservative party in Canada, we are going to have to create a conservative movement for them to follow. And that means we will need real leaders; cultural leaders, alternative media personalities, think-tanks (and not those with the lingering leftwing after taste); we'll need grassroots organizations, and yes, even political prophets.
And equally important, we are going to need Canadians conservatives to start putting their money where their mouth is and fund these kinds of enterprises for a long time to come. Because if it's a movement we need, we are going to have to grease the wheels to make this one move.
It really comes down to this.
If we want to be seen, we are going to have to move.
So let's move...move until the earth shakes and Ottawa gets out of the way.
| Yours for our culture, |
Tristan Emmanuel |
| ECP Centre President |
Hardcover
$39.95 cdn, $28.95 us
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Softcover
$23.95 cdn, $18.95 us
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WARNED
Canada's Revolution Against Faith, Family and Freedom Threatens America by Tristan Emmanuel
This book is essential reading for both Americans and Canadians even though it is more particularly directed to our American friends. Both countries face a serious challenge to their cultures. This book exposes the radical exploitation of Canada at the hands of extremist activists, leftwing politicians and a plethora of crusading activist judges, who are using their status in Canada to get at America. Their aim is marriage. But the prize is America. They want to use marriage as a weapon to systematically destroy the Judeo-Christian civilization of North America, but to do that they need America to "go gay". Gay "marriage" will open up America to the rest of the demands of the homosexual political movement. Everything from school curriculum to parental rights, adoption, the age of consent and religious freedoms will be up for grabs once gay "marriage" is made legal in America. Unless socons in both countries unite and work to resist these political opponents, we can kiss our continent good-bye.
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