| Subject: Ariane, looks like the CA's are joining to support Jim P. not DO |
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Margo
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Date Posted: 03:53:21 03/09/03 Sun
Author Host/IP: h24-80-4-138.vc.shawcable.net/24.80.4.138
Ariane, you were concerned a while back that Alliance people were joining the PC to vote for David Orchard in the leadership race. Have you seen this article? This candidate is openly pursuing, then, a course of action that the PCPC membership has given several, loud, vocal's "NO!"'s to, and yet you do not excoriate him as you do David Orchard who is definitely not advocating that the PCPC morph into something else. Strange...
................................
Bill Curry and Sheldon Alberts,
National Post, Saturday, March 08, 2003
OTTAWA -- Senior Canadian Alliance MP Vic Toews
is urging members of his party to join the Tories in order
to vote for Alberta lawyer Jim Prentice as leader of the
Progressive Conservatives.
Mr. Toews, who was a Tory Cabinet minister in the
Manitoba government prior to joining the Alliance
in 2000, said he was encouraged to see several of the
Tory leadership hopefuls talking about co-operation
with the Alliance, but Mr. Prentice appears to be the
most committed to the idea.
"If [Alliance members] want to find a way to work
together, take out PC membership," said Mr. Toews.
"It's one-member one-vote and it's open to all Canadians.
I'm not suggesting they sabotage [the race]. I'm suggesting
they find a way to work together, and that's certainly one way."
As a long-time Tory, Mr. Toews said he joined the Alliance
in the hope of bringing the two parties together in order to
defeat the Liberals. The Alliance justice critic says he hopes the Tory leadership race will become an opportunity to revive momentum for co-operation between the two parties.
Mr. Toews said Mr. Prentice has told him he would be
open to having the Tories and the Alliance sit together
in the House of Commons and would agree not to run
candidates in Alliance-held ridings, provided the same
courtesy is reciprocated.
"Jim Prentice understands the reality of politics in Western
Canada and indeed in Ontario," he said. Mr. Toews issued
a press release in his riding this week stating that of the
candidates talking about bringing the two parties together,
Mr. Prentice "is most likely to offer the potential for real
co-operation."
Mr. Toews said front-runner Peter MacKay has failed to
come up with a clear proposal for working with the Alliance.
Mr. Prentice said he was "delighted" by Mr. Toews views,
which he said accurately described him as the candidate
who can bring people together.
However, Mr. Prentice said he will not be putting forward
his specific plan for co-operation until later in the leadership race. "No one has ever beaten the Liberals with a divided conservative family," he said. "I'm not suggesting that, in and of itself, is enough to form a government. I understand we have to go beyond that. But you certainly need a base from which to form a government. As long as we have conservatives fighting amongst conservatives, we are never going to be able to govern this country."
Mr. Prentice said he is the most able candidate to
"rebuild" the conservative coalition because he is trusted
by members of the Alliance. "The fundamental objective
that we have to regain sight of as conservatives in this
country is that you have to be able to win," he said.
"This is about winning. A political party is not a
debating society."
While Mr. Prentice, an Alberta lawyer, has advocated
co-operation with the Alliance, two other major
candidates -- Nova Scotia MPs Scott Brison and Peter
MacKay -- have also made nods in that direction. Mr.
Brison's campaign co-chairman is Ken Kalopsis, a
former Alliance party chairman and one of that party's
founders, while Mr. MacKay gave a speech in Alberta
last week about uniting conservatives, but offered no
specifics.
So far, six members of the Tory caucus are supporting Mr.
Prentice in the leadership race. They are Manitoba MPs Rick
Borotsik and Inky Mark, Newfoundland MP Rex Barnes and
Senators Terry Stratton, David Tkachuk and Len Gustafson.
But not all of Mr. Prentice's supporters are keen on striking any deals with the Alliance. Mr. Barnes said he is supporting Mr. Prentice because he will open the door to Alliance members who want to join the Tories.
==================================
bcurry@nationalpost.com
© Copyright 2003 National Post
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