The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
What Leadership? How about that Aaaahnold Shwarzenegger? As predicted by "The Corner" (electing Aaahnold Oct. 2nd) and a lot of others, the Terminator swamped the 134 other candidates, finishing more than a million votes ahead of his nearest competitor in an election that fascinated people around the world. As predicted, incumbent governor Gray Davis was handily recalled by angry voters, 48% of whom voted for Arnold. Cruz Bustamente, the Democrat Lt. Gov. got 32% and remains the Lt. Gov., while porn king Larry Flynt got 12,000 votes and tiny Gary Coleman attracted 14,000 (his slogan was 'vote for a governor you can get drunk with'). After the all-candidate debate, the election was over as comparing the candidates was a "no-brainer". The California Democratic Party certainly tried to deep six Arnold. They first insinuated that the Austrian body builder was an admirer of Hitler. This didn't work as Arnold had received awards from Jewish organizations for his support. Then they dug up 15 women who claimed that sometime in the past 20 years Arnold had harassed them, touched them or spanked them on the sets of various movies or at parties. Arnold and his wife of 17 years, Maria Shriver (J.F.K.'s niece) denied/ignored the accusations, solemnly brought forward by Davis and Bustamente, as did the voters (Arnold did as well with women voters as men). California is in deep financial trouble. A few days before Oct. 2nd, Davis signed a bill ordering businesses to pay for their employees' health care. Many businesses were threatening to leave the state. The voters turned to someone new to solve their problems. The challenges are enormous and why the Action Hero wanted the job is beyond the comprehension of most observers, but now he will be expected to deliver. He has been elected to provide the state with leadership. Good luck Governor Shwarzenegger! How about the leadership Ð or lack of it Ð in Canada's two right wing parties, the PCs and the Alliance? Since Peter Mackay became Tory chief, the parties have been talking about a merger to save the country from the Liberal dictatorship. Well-leaked merger talks took place in September and October and indeed may be successful. The name has been selected Ð The Conservative Party of Canada Ð but the two parties can not agree on how to select a leader. The Alliance wants one-person-one-vote by members, but the Tories fear the Alliance support in Alberta and B.C., and are therefore demanding a delegate-selection process, which is their latest system. One would think that with the powerful negotiators they have selected and with a looming federal election that a compromise could be reached. Head negotiator for the PCs is Don Mazankowski, known as "Maz", and former finance minister and deputy PM under Mulroney. Maz, a car salesman from Vegreville, was unbeatable in his Alberta riding winning with massive majorities. I had a first hand look at this in a July 8th federal election. After working for my MP Ð "dapper Dan McKenzie", we headed for the west coast. Stopping at Maz's Vermillion headquarters I offered to help but was told that it was all over seven days before the vote. It was, Maz had already won. Heading the talks for the Alliance was/is Senator Gerry St. Germaine. Gerry was a Progressive Conservative MP from B.C., who later served as the party's national president. He was rewarded by Mulroney and appointed to the senate, but later switched to the Alliance. Most Tory supporters including several locals interviewed by The Reminder see little hope for the "right" if they can't merge. It is a strong argument. Consider the well-off riding of Charleswood-Assiniboine. In the last election, the Liberal MPs vote was nearly 9,000 less than the totals of the Alliance-Conservatives. If the new party idea doesn't work there is another way. The parties could agree to not run candidates in ridings where the other can beat the Liberal/NDP. For example, in Edmonton if the PC stayed out and allowed the Alliance to run, both Liberal MPs Anne McLellan and David Kilgout would lose. Similarly, in many Ontario ridings, the lack of an Alliance candidate would give the Tories a good chance. As it is now, the vote split gives many Liberals a sure win. After the election the parties could form a coalition, another step towards a merger. It's worth a try guys! In the last election in Selkirk-Interlake, Tory members and supporters deserted their party and voted for Alliance candidate Howard Hilstrom, who did a lot of work for the provincial PCs. The objective was to make sure the NDP did not win the riding as the gun-control Liberals had no chance. The strategy worked well as Hilstrom won easily, as the PCs did poorly. What's in a name? As mentioned the would-be-combined new party will be called the Conservative Party of Canada with the word "Progressive" disappearing. Do you know how the Conservative party became the Progressive-Conservatives? It came about when dour John Bracken the "Progressive" 20-year Premier of Manitoba agreed to run for the federal PC leadership if the party would adopt the name Progressive-Conservative. Bracken didn't last long but the name remains, at least until a new party is formed Ð if ever. It really is a matter of leadership. To date both both leaders are new and untried at least in a general election. Obviously neither wants to give up his shot at leading and becoming Prime Minister. Can you blame them? Maybe not, but without a merger agreement the PM will be Paul Martin. As we all know, a tentative agreement was reached in late October between the two leaders, much to the consternation of Joe Clark and NDP/Tory David Orchard who claimed Peter Mackay had lied to him. Welcome to politics David! Now, both parties will vote in December to see if they want a merger Ð of course they do! A lot of the press, and a lot of left-wingers are moaning about the radical right taking over the Tory party. They forget that the Reform/Alliance was part of the PCs until after 1988. Most Conservatives like the idea and will surely support a national Conservative party. Keep tuned!
