http://tiny.cc/10PfE
Well, it’s mission accomplished for the big blue boys at Conservative headquarters just days after they seized control of a Calgary riding association from local members trying to oust their own controversial MP.
Calgary West MP Rob Anders is now 100% safe from a nomination challenge after every opponent to his continued candidacy quit the board Wednesday night in disgust with the undemocratic thumping they received from national Conservative officials last weekend.
Their departure ends a prolonged battle to subject Mr. Anders, a source of mindless controversy backed by very few intellectual contributions, to an open nomination ahead of the next election.
Securing the party nomination is the key to political victory in a riding where being the Conservative amounts to an election acclamation.
Despite his controversial hard-right record, Mr. Anders has been inexplicably shielded by party headquarters from a nomination challenge, despite local attempts to have him replaced. In board elections last year, hundreds of Conservative members lined up to oust those who supported the MP unconditionally, replacing them with directors favouring a contested nomination.
But in a scathing letter to council president John Walsh on Wednesday, 16 of those anti-Anders board members resigned, citing the national council’s failure to explain why it abruptly grabbed control of board funds, membership lists and the annual general meeting.
“We feel that democracy is being neither recognized nor served by the arbitrary and absolute control being utilized by the National Council in attempting to minutely direct both the actions and thoughts of the local Board,” riding president Dan Morrison wrote.
The association claims the national council, despite pledging to continue working with local members, won’t even return phone calls to explain its position. Conservative party headquarters in Ottawa has refused all media comment on what it terms an “internal matter.”
“Fundamentally the National Council has decided that the current board should have no access or input to our membership despite this board being duly elected by these same members,” the board wrote. “While indicating in the letter that National Council would work cooperatively with this board, since the letter was received, you have not responded to any subsequent communication from our President.”
9 comments:
And this differs from Liberals parachuting in candidates, how?
I would hazard to guess that Harper is shielding Anders because of both the their involvement with the Aryan Guard and Stormfront. I wish media would actually start look for this stuff. Its not hidden.
''...The federal Conservative Party instituted the two-thirds requirement last year for constituencies that want to oust an incumbent.
No riding was able to reach that threshold, so all sitting Conservative MPs, including Anders, were declared candidates for the next election...''
Liberals not only parachute in candidates, they parachuted in their current leader.
I suppose I could understand the draconian and undemocratic moves by Harper if Anders was significant or even mildly influencial or played any role in the government at all. But he's not a cabinet minister, he is not a beachhead in an electoral battleground, he is no "star" candidate playing a role in either strategy or policy. It baffles.
His only claim to fame that I can see is that he was one of the ones who introduced Harper to Laureen - so maybe a personal loyality - and he is a fundamentalist evangelical - so maybe a sense that "I have to keep them muzzled and supportive as a voter block, and I'm not courageous enough to give social conservatives real positions or policy, so I have to protect far right social conservative MPs and try to sneak their issues in to foreign aid policies to keep them happy and quiet".
The other odd thing is that, like the trolls who quickly appeared point out, it eliminates a talking point attack.
They have gone out of their way in recent years to put up barriers and protect themselves from their own base - like Anders, like at the policy convention ("Conservative supporters are only one stakeholder among many", policy adopted by Conservatives "is not in any way binding on us", etc.).
Now, of course, it is not true talking point because Harper has parachuted in candidates and has gone out of his way to protect candidates from Conservative voters, like paying off Liddle to not run so he could parachute Cutler into a riding.
?
Anonymous, I think you are making things up. Why do you think the media would keep that secret, if it were true?
Larry. We are not talking parachuting. Anders's is a situation where they are closing the nomination for an incumbant. So it more like protecting the incumbant, for some reason. Also for most parachuted candidates, the executive will provide a good reason (for example, the party thinks the candidate would be in cabinet, so they want to ensure their election in a safe riding).
Have the Liberals made secret why they certain candidates safe for nomination?
In Anders' case, why are the Tories so interested in him remaining MP? He is not cabinet material. One explanation is that they want to demonstrate that the party is loyal to mps who are loyal to the party, and that in this case, this outweighs the considerations of open nominations.
But it is puzzling.
google it crf.
Folk, I see this as another example of the Conservatives doing what they said was terrible when the Liberals did it. To be honest, I think the Party Centre ought to have the power to make sure that Ridings aren't highjacked -- as happened in the Liberal Party many years ago by certain one issue groups.
Maybe their partnership has a lot to do with Focus on the Family and the Leadership Institute connections.
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