FELDSTED - The Conservative mandarins believe they can hire specialists to package a leader and run an election campaign. They have been proven wrong twice in a row
We are still wondering how the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) managed to lose the October election. It seems we were even more inept than our opponents. Many of us underestimate the impact of abortion and gay rights protection; both are highly charged, emotional issues. Being pro-abortion and pro-gay is “in”. Conservative leader Andrew Sheer was indecisive, which is considered dangerous by those who motivated by emotion. A 5% swing in undecided votes is deadly in a first past the post system. Scheer’s campaign people and advisors should all be dismissed. In the critical period from the beginning of May to the end of August, Scheer was a ghost with no media presence. No one knew what he stood for. No policies were articulated. The CPC was a cipher. Scheer failed to “brand” the Conservative Party as his. That led to criticisms that the CPC was still Harper-era, and that Scheer was a reincarnation of Harper. Scheer needed to brand the Conservatives as his i...