Coming Apart at the Seams?

The Tories are a "big tent" party, especially for social conservsatives, the gang who call the shots in  Redneckistan. They had one of their own running the show during the Harper era and they thought Harper's successor, Andrew Scheer, would carry the same flag. Only, in their eyes, Scheer wimped out. He failed to keep the faith. He let down the side.

The progressive side, what remains of it, is already out for Scheer. Now it's the redneck base that is honing its knives. Sounds like a good, old fashioned, Tory skinning party is in the works.

“A lot of social conservatives have no interest whatsoever in backing Andrew Scheer," ex-Conservative MP and defeated leadership candidate Brad Trost told The Globe and Mail. “We feel we are being made the whipping boy for his communications blunders.” 

Mr. Trost, along with the Campaign Life Coalition and evangelical Christian leader Charles McVety, all told The Globe the Conservatives need a new leader. And the anti-abortion group, Right Now, which ranked Mr. Scheer as its second choice during the leadership race, said it is taking a “wait-and-see” approach before making its own decision. 

Mr. Scheer’s office said it didn’t have a comment on the criticism.

During the election, the party came out with “confusing and garbled” messages on abortion and abortion funding, said Alissa Golob, the co-founder of Right Now. She said Mr. Scheer’s position that the party would continue to fund overseas abortions through foreign aid, was against party policy and his position on whether MPs would be able to introduce anti-abortion legislation was unclear.

All of this is bad enough but, to add insult to injury, the Globe's John Ibbitson has already written Scheer's obituary. He says the 'summer help insurance clerk' simply hasn't got what it takes.

Leading the fractious Conservative Party of Canada is a challenge for any leader. Andrew Scheer does not appear up to that challenge. Within the party, people are asking whether he will step down now or draw out the agony until April’s leadership vote. 

Mr. Scheer’s supporters have good reason to be upset by this lack of loyalty. The Regina MP took a party that appeared doomed to a decade in opposition and brought it to the brink of victory in the Oct. 29 election. The Conservatives increased their seat count and won the popular vote, reducing Justin Trudeau’s Liberals to a minority government. Why on earth would the Tories be in almost-open rebellion after such a result? 

The answer is simple: Mr. Scheer is a leader who is unable to convince.
For starters, his tactical judgment is unconvincing. On the weekend, he fired his chief of staff and communications director, more than a month after the election. Such bloodlettings are best dealt with immediately after a loss. 

This was yet another example of the leader’s chronic inability to head problems off at the pass. (Not dealing with the question of his American citizenship before the election might have been the worst such example.) A politician needs to have a certain touch. Mr. Scheer lacks it.

A word of advice for my Tory friends. If you're planning on attending the party in April don't wear your good shoes.