Ontario's Progressive Conservatives should be worried. Doug Ford -- a Regressive Conservative -- wants to ditch the carbon tax. Caroline Mulroney and Christine Elliot are troding the path he is blazing. Martin Regg Cohn writes:
A mere eight weeks ago, the provincial Tories proclaimed themselves ready to win power with a plan, a carefully crafted election platform two years in the making.
Two months later, it’s done. Or more precisely, undone — unravelling on Ford’s terms, reshaped in his own image, recalibrated to his own vision.
Mulroney and Elliott are merely following Ford’s lead, reluctantly doing as Doug does and as he dictates. Declaring his candidacy last month, Ford demanded an end to the carbon tax at a time when his rivals were both trying to have it both ways — a carbon tax if necessary, but not necessarily a carbon tax.
Never mind whether or not the carbon tax is good environmental policy. It is the cornerstone of the party's platform:
As Dan Robertson, a senior member of the PC campaign team, observed succinctly, “If you drop the carbon tax, there is no ‘rest of the platform.’ No middle class tax cut, no child care refund, no mental health investment, no dental care for low income seniors.”
Can the party base change course in a matter of days, ditching its People’s Guarantee mere weeks before the June 7 election? No political party has ever made and remade its platform so close to a campaign, and no leadership candidates have so rapidly renounced their own promises before.
With Doug Ford in the race, all this chaos shouldn't be surprising. That's what the Fords do. They create chaos and call it leadership -- just like their orange cousin south of the border.
Image: Six Flags
6 comments:
All of which serves to demonstrate, Owen, that political prostitution is alive and well in Ontario.
It's inteersting to see how quickly political "principles" melt, Lorne.
The right wing seems to be okay with child stalkers and wife beaters, Owen, so anything can happen in politics these days.
I'm not a fan of any conservative oriented party, Owen, but looking at the field in Ontario, I'd say that Jim's widow is the least offensive.
For what it's worth, Lulymay, I have a conservative friend who agrees with you.
Ford was channelling his maximum Trump today. Why, under him, Ontario is going to be the most amazing province in Canada, ever! Yessir, and the richest, because jobs jobs jobs for everyone.
I look at him and what I see is a pudgy man with a vacuum firmly suspended between his ears, and a overwhelming need for attention. Which unfortunately means that a solid 35% of Ontario's voting population would regard him as just the ticket. Yessir, they would think, here's a guy who'll stick it to the man.
I've found even among reasonably educated acquaintances that money is a mystery to them. But whatever money is only the wealthy and governments have it. The next layer down in our population have no real idea of the difference between governments, federal and provincial. They know there's a difference somehow, somewhere, but reliably just consider it all government and government has money, which they want more of.
Considering the general level of understanding among the population at large, Doug Ford would seem like a prescient saviour of the lesser spotted common dimwit who thought school was a waste of time.
You may regard my musings as harsh. Then tell me, where have you seen general behaviour that disproves my snide misgivings?
BM
I don't disagree wwith you, BM. If Ford wins, Ignorance will have triumphed. Unfortunately, Ignorance has been winning in a number of places these days.
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