One of his main points is that the so-called 'unanimous' caucus endorsement of Tory as leader is hardly a cause for celebration:
Provincial politics is a team effort so it is neither surprising nor meaningful that caucus would endorse the current leader.
All we have to do is look at Stephane Dion and the Federal Liberals' attempt to give the appearance of solidarity to see how flimsy the reality is. In both cases, the knives can barely be contained.
Snobelen's also points out that Tory was supposed to be assuming responsibility for all his decisions in this disastrous campaign, but his response was to fire his polling firm; not himself.
Sun columnist and defeated Liberal candidate Marianne Meed Ward also expresses some candid thoughts about John Tory's leadership abilities this morning (Tory has an uphill climb in the 905 area). Ward suggests that one of his biggest problems is his corporate background which does not translate well to politics:
In politics, you use polling data to craft your policies, not defend them. In corporate circles, it's the other way around. The joke about corporate consultants (of which pollsters are but one variety) is this: You hire consultants, give them a watch, and ask them to tell you the time. The more sophisticated consultants will first ask what time you want it to be.
Tory wanted faith-based schools to fly, and somebody told him it would.
Snobelen is asking John Tory to show some real leadership:
Leadership is about taking responsibility for your team and taking the blame when things go wrong. Tory's current strategy has his team taking responsibility for his loss.
So here is my advice to John, again: Resign and ask the party to hold a leadership contest as soon as possible. Let's get the leadership issue resolved once and for all and get on with the business of being a great opposition party and a creditable alternative in the next election.
I agree. Let's put it to the party in a free and democratic process. If John Tory emerges the undisputed leader, fine. He then deserves unanimous support.
A fractured party won't be able to hold the McGuinty regime to account. The PC party needs strong leadership, with its leader actually able to sit in the Legislature - not observe from the gallery. It also needs to develop clear, practical policies.
Otherwise, we'll be picking up the pieces of this province four years from now.
* * * *
Update: Jeff Allan has a segment on first thing Monday morning that looks interesting - "Faith-based school issue here to stay".
My prediction is that four years from now we will either have funding for all faith-based schools in Ontario, or else none.
The status quo is no longer acceptable in such a culturally diverse province. I'm not saying I'm for it one way or the other. It's just that it's no longer a defensible position.
Update: Jeff Allan has a segment on first thing Monday morning that looks interesting - "Faith-based school issue here to stay".
My prediction is that four years from now we will either have funding for all faith-based schools in Ontario, or else none.
The status quo is no longer acceptable in such a culturally diverse province. I'm not saying I'm for it one way or the other. It's just that it's no longer a defensible position.
11 comments:
I agree on the John Tory comments. How can he lead a party when he doesn't even have a seat in government?
There needs to be a leadership review as soon as possible. Tory said he would take responsibility for the loss...now its time for him to do so.
But waitaminute? Marianne Meed Ward ran for the Liberals and lost? AWESOME!
I just read a few articles to see for myself? I quit reading Meed Ward years ago because her combination of gross ignorance on issues of faith combined with her complete arrogance grated on me to a point where I couldn't stand it anymore.
That she lost and fell flat on her face gave my Sunday morning a huge boost! Damn! If only I had known this on election night, I could have found a silver lining around that dark McStorm cloud!
Nicol, glad to give you your morning smile. ;)
Having a Catholic system fully funded while the non-Catholics that value some religious instruction in class have to pay 100% for their own system underlines how out of whack with voter values Queens Park has become.
However, as has been argued here on several threads, funding for FBS is the tip of the iceberg.
What iceberg is the titanic province of Ontario (with it’s city-state of Toronto) heading toward?
Value for our tax dollars.
The value of taxes problem is a double whammy when we consider Mayor Miller who wants to tax us more but does nothing to deliver better value for our services.
The issue for the next Toronto Mayor contestants and the next leader of the PC’s is simply: value for our tax dollars.
(BTW, I have no problem if John Tory is in the race for PC leader again)
The solutions will have to come about by offering more choice than the status quo can provide. It is the job of the new candidates to tell us what they would do. We must insist on value for taxes. Value is not a left or right issue, it is simply what middle class people deserve and expect. The only way to achieve value is with competing ideas.
This may be only starting: John Tory is a "red" tory in a party dominated by "blue" tories both in its parliamentary caucus and its activist base. John Tory's election as leader was seen as a sign that the old Davis-style red tories were reviving themselves, but Tory's failed campaign ended with few of them being elected and their credibility once again reduced, in large part because of the schools question, which was itself a hold over from the last years of the Davis regime. I was quite surprised Tory didn't resign right away, and John Snobelan's column may be a sign others in the party are getting over their surprise, too.
Value for our tax dollars.
Now, there is a good Tory policy if I ever saw one! Well done, Nomdeblog.
He must resign. He didn't just lose the election, he blew the election. A first grader could have told him that religious funding is divisive.
And, I must add, thanks to him, we we have 4 more years of McGuinty government in the province.
If that's not a crime, I don't know what is.
And, I must add, thanks to him, we we have 4 more years of McGuinty government in the province.
I think you should blame a bit of that blame on the Liberal war-room's 'campaign of fear'. It was very effective.
Tory did his job too well. He was the doofus that allowed liberals to strengthen their hold on Ontario and to ensure that gays get whatever they want going forward. Now is the time to take down Tory and throw in a few punches too.
I think you should blame a bit of that blame on the Liberal war-room's 'campaign of fear'. It was very effective.
Tory was the leader. The campaign was screwed up from the beginning. I knew it, and a lot of other conservatives knew it. He had the opportunity to drop the religious funding issue even before the official campaign began, but did not.
I think he has to wear this.
Honestly, by the end of August, I knew the PC's were not going to win, or even hold the Libs to a minority, all due to one tiny piece of the campaign. I admit, I'm not a genius, but I was sure they were f*cked.
...since the next election can only be 4 years from now, I think Tory must resign, and the PC's must find a new (real conservative) leader, to rebuild from this disaster.
The more I think about it, the more I believe he must leave.
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