"Did not."
Posted on 03/27/2005 8:21:20 AM PST by Heartofsong83
Rick Anderson declares Tories ready, willing and able to take reins
The Conservatives are certainly ready to govern. This really boils down to two main questions and, on both counts, the Conservatives are increasingly in better shape than the Liberals.
First, the Conservatives are slowly putting together an attractive policy program: Raise incomes and create jobs by easing the heavy hand of government on economic levers and in your pocket; shift the emphasis to individual, family and local responsibility; curtail the growth of the nanny state. Let innovation flourish in health care, guided by practical criteria — better services and access, value for money — instead of shackled by partisan clichés. Common sense approaches to international affairs and relationships.
The Conservative platform still has some holes. Democratic reform is an important one, especially in light of Paul Martin's non-delivery in this key area. And the Conservatives need to do more to let voters know who they are, which is different from saying what they're not. Importantly, the party must avoid shallow advice to become Liberal lookalikes. If and when voters opt for change, positive change is what they should get. By and large, though, the Conservatives are on the right track.
Second, the Conservatives have the depth of talent. Long-term MPs like Diane Ablonczy, Jay Hill, Monte Solberg, Chuck Strahl and others have a dozen years of parliamentary experience under their belts. Younger MPs like James Rajotte and James Moore are smart and steady contributors. Vic Toews, Loyola Hearn, Brian Pallister and Rob Nicholson bring ministerial experience from provincial and federal governments. And rookie MPs such as Gord Brown, Gordon O'Connor, Bev Oda, Jim Prentice and Belinda Stronach add valuable experience from outside politics.
Bottom line, the Conservative benches compare increasingly favourably to the Liberals in terms of creativity, energy, idealism and freshness.
Finally, there is the principle known in French as l'alternance. Alternation. A notion corrupted and applied, like so much else in national politics, in a manner comforting to the federal Grits, wherein the ascribed meaning comes to be a Liberal prime minister from Quebec, followed by a Liberal prime minister from outside Quebec, followed by a Liberal PM from Quebec, followed by ... you get the picture.
For democracy to be healthy, alternation must come to mean a healthy alternation among two or more governing parties in a competitive political environment. What the Liberals brag about as the "most successful political party in the western world" is injurious to your health.
Even among those in power, few believe the one-party dominance that characterizes Canadian politics is healthy (Liberal governments for 54 of the last 70 years). To those interested in good governance, this is recognized as a suffocating problem for the country.
There is only one antidote: alternation, among two or more healthy parties. So, democrats should cheer, and encourage, Conservative progress toward being a principled mainstream alternative.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rick Anderson was a campaign director for the Reform party.randerson@starcolumns.ca.
Please do not change the title. Thank you.
You mean, soldiers might be sent overseas with guns? That would be nice. Go Tories! FReegards....
They have supported the war in Iraq and other US military action, unlike most (but not all) of the Fiberals...
Didn't Canada send troops to Afghanistan without guns? I had read a report that the Canadian soldiers had to be guarded by ... of all things... German soldiers. It was some kind of political slap by the 'anti-Bush' Prime Minister of Canada, last I'd read. I rarely get that good a laugh.
FReegards....
That they did, thanks to dramatic cutbacks which were demanded by Quebec (where over 35% want the entire Canadian military abolished) and forced onto Canada in the 1980s and 90s...
Seriously, I'm glad to hear that Tories are making headway. It tells me that the Information Age is triggering a worldwide trend. More evidence that Carl Rove, while smart, here in the US, was bestowed the Midas Touch. FReegards....
"Did not."
Um, I don't think so. They had weapons, but the wrong cam-pattern (forest green), and there's a service-wide shortage of boots, if you can believe it. :-( The snipers and JTF2 guys were kitted out properly, but then other guys were out in the cold, as it were. They had the useless Iltis GP vehicle (now being withdrawn in favour of one made by Mercedes. But by the time they fiddle the contracts, it will be just as unsuitable), and no mediaum-size APCs.
Um, I don't think so. They had weapons, but the wrong cam-pattern (forest green) for their uniforms, and there's a service-wide shortage of boots, if you can believe it. :-( The snipers and JTF2 guys were kitted out properly, but then other guys were out in the cold, as it were. They had the useless Iltis GP vehicle (now being withdrawn in favour of one made by Mercedes. But by the time they fiddle the contracts, it will be just as unsuitable), and no mediaum-size APCs.
The Cam pattern that the Canadian Army uses now though is top-notch. The Canadian Army in fact makes some money now licensing out the cam pattern to organizations around the world including the US Army.
Actually, it was a small group of 17 individuals sent to look things over before the full force was sent. No, they didn't have guns and were escorted by Germans. However, when the main group arrived, they were indeed armed.
Were they knife fighters? Do they kick well? Or are they classic boxers sent to scout out ahead? I don't get it. 17 soldiers without a single gun between them is still interesting to ponder, especially with the foaming-at-the-mouth liberal wing of Canada sending them.
Laughing FReegards....
Green cam in the desert? I bet you have a lot of fun lampooning the left up there! We thought we were having good laughs down here. I'm almost envious. FReegards....
I try not to imagine how a lefty thinks ... it scares me. I don't know why they agreed to go over there without weapons and I certainly didn't agree with it at that time either.
The fact that the libs are in power up here, albeit a minority government, isn't that much fun actually. : \
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.