5 Feet of Fury

“So now conservatives are just ‘stakeholders’ in their own party?”

Joseph Ben-Ami is not amused:

If there’s one thing conservative politicians in Canada should have learned by now it’s that you can’t make friends of your enemies by making enemies of your friends, which is why the attitude of the Conservative Party toward conservatives is so baffling.

(…)

Influential conservatives outside the party are beginning to speak out. Commentators such as John Williamson, Gerry Nicholls, Link Byfield, David Warren and others (dare I count myself among such an illustrious and expanding group?) have been writing about the Conservative Party’s precipitous flight from conservatism with increasing vigour. Add to the list all those who aren’t in the public eye and the number of conservative opinion-makers and activists annoyed with the Conservative Party becomes ominously large. These aren’t the usual blowhards claiming that Canada in now a homosexual country either. These are responsible and respectable professionals, dedicated to advancing the cause of conservatism in Canada – with a Harper-led Conservative Party if possible; without it if necessary.

They are, in short, exactly the kind of conservative supporters Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party need, but seem so determined to push away.

Sound familiar, American conservatives…?