When Andrew Scheer was elected leader of the Conservative Party, he promised that he would promote a "positive message." Andrew Coyne writes that, so far, he hasn't been very positive:
As Parliament resumes, we’ve yet to see much of that vaunted positivity from Scheer. He has let it be known his party will be focused on three things in the fall sitting: the settlement of Omar Khadr’s lawsuit against the government, at a cost of $10.5 million; the recent influx of asylum-seekers from the United States, primarily in Quebec; and proposed changes to the taxation of private corporations, the subject of so much recent vitriol.
On each of these issues, Scheer is howling in pure Conservative boilerplate:
It is the easiest thing in the world to oppose the Khadr payment — polls show it is wildly unpopular — but is that really the most crucial issue facing the nation, two months later? And can the Conservatives say with any certainty that fighting the case to the bitter end would have saved any money?
The asylum-seeker issue, likewise, appears already to be fading: the rate of inflow has fallen from nearly 300 a day to fewer than 100. And while it’s certainly possible it could flare again, we have yet to hear a plausible solution from the opposition.
As for the tax ruckus, there are any number of valid conservative critiques that could be offered: the government’s proposals are too complex, too intrusive, too costly and so on.
If the party were feeling extra adventurous, it might even offer, you know, positive alternatives: perhaps reducing the incentive to incorporate, by closing the gap between the small business rate and the top personal rate, or a more broad-based reform of the tax system that would address a number of distortions and inequities at one go, rather than picking just one.
The faces change. But they offer the same regurgitated policies. That's not positive.
Image: The National Post
6 comments:
The Conservatives are a reactionary party and by nature oppositional. They're also the current official opposition. Given the party's nature and circumstances, we're more likely to see global cooling than positive messages out of Scheer.
Cap
I fear, Cap, that you're right -- most definitely.
Scheer is the Conservatives IGGY. No Cattle No Hat, and no matter what angle you try and capture him from he looks creepy.
Andrew Scheer does have a "positive message." He is positively against the payment to Omar Khadr, positively against asylum-seekers and positively against taxing corporations. One suspects that Scheer has a long list of things he is positively against.
The Conservatives like to say he's Stephen Harper with a smile, Steve. But, once you're past the smile, you discover that nothing has changed.
Nicely put, Toby.
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