{"id":402346,"date":"2022-02-01T22:30:14","date_gmt":"2022-02-01T19:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-conservative-revolt-has-begun\/"},"modified":"2022-02-01T22:30:14","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T19:30:14","slug":"the-conservative-revolt-has-begun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-conservative-revolt-has-begun\/","title":{"rendered":"#The Conservative revolt has begun"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#The Conservative revolt has begun<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n Welcome to a sneak peek of the\u00a0<\/em>Maclean\u2019s\u00a0Politics Insider\u00a0news<\/a>letter.\u00a0Sign up to get it delivered\u00a0straight to your inbox in the morning.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There is a Conservative caucus revolt underway, and Paul Wells<\/strong> has been talking to one of the MPs who wants\u00a0Erin O\u2019Toole out<\/strong>. That unnamed MP believes anyone would be better.<\/p>\n

Replace O\u2019Toole? With whom? \u201cI don\u2019t think it matters. To me it doesn\u2019t. Anything would be better than this. I\u2019m to the point of preferring a name drawn out of a hat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why? The \u201cstraw that broke the camel\u2019s back,\u201d this MP said, was \u201cthe ham-fisted response to this trucker convoy.\u201d The Conservative leader spent last week and the weekend looking for an attitude in response to the arrival of thousands of protesters in the nation\u2019s capital: from\u00a0studied incomprehensibility<\/a>\u00a0to assorted shades of\u00a0support<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0concern<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\nWells gives us a quick history lesson, reviewing the\u00a0\u201ceast\/west, insider\/outsider shimmy\u201d of Conservative politics in recent decades, although an infusion of Trumpism makes it hard to figure out what will happ<\/a>en this time.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

35 names:<\/strong>\u00a0The Globe<\/em> broke<\/a>\u00a0the story\u00a0Monday night. Thirty-five MPs have signed a letter seeking a caucus leadership\u00a0review vote, which could happen as early as Wednesday\u2019s caucus meeting. Sources tell the Globe<\/em> that \u201cat least 63 MPs of the elected 119 Conservative members\u201d are ready to vote against O\u2019Toole. An O\u2019Toole supporter in caucus tells the Globe<\/em>, though, that most MPs support him. There have apparently been a lot of phone calls<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Conservative Party Whip James Bezan<\/strong> made calls Sunday and Monday to dissident MPs, warning of repercussions if they tried to oust Mr. O\u2019Toole, according to the sources.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the open:<\/strong> Calgary MP Bob Benzen<\/strong>, who supported O\u2019Toole in the 2017 and 2020 leadership races, tweeted a letter<\/a>\u00a0calling for a review, pointing to disagreements over a carbon tax, firearms laws, English language rights in Quebec and pandemic restrictions: \u201cI believe a caucus leadership review is the only way to prevent a dangerous split<\/strong> in the Conservative Party that may not be repairable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Revolt:<\/strong> O\u2019Toole\u2019s camp responded by telling<\/a> CBC\u2019s\u00a0Travis Dhanraj<\/strong> that Saskatchewan MP Garnett Genuis<\/strong> was organizing the caucus revolt over a conversion therapy vote, and that Andrew Scheer wants to be interim leader. Genuis took to Twitter<\/a> to deny that and insist that O\u2019Toole has to go.<\/p>\n

Still walking: Tasha Kheiriddin<\/strong>, with a quick column<\/a> in the Post<\/em>, pronounces O\u2019Toole a \u201cdead man walking,\u201d and she points to the role of the convoy.<\/p>\n

After this weekend\u2019s protests in Ottawa, one can\u2019t say it\u2019s a surprise. Conservative MPs Pierre Poilievre<\/strong> and Leslyn Lewis<\/strong> were working the crowd all weekend, giving coffee and sympathy to protesters and yammering about \u201cfreedom\u201d until their vocal cords gave out. They were basically kickstarting their respective leadership campaigns, sticking the knives in O\u2019Toole so fast it\u2019s a wonder he hasn\u2019t bled out on the floor.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, the two even got an endorsement. Organizers of the protest said O\u2019Toole should quit and be replaced by Poilievre or Lewis. \u201cIf they were smart, they would pull Erin now. Right now. Get him out of there,\u201d said spokesman Benjamin Dichter<\/strong>. \u201cWe all think that Pierre resonates with the vast majority of Canadians in his opposition to Justin Trudeau.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Convoy talks:<\/strong>\u00a0Meanwhile, in Ottawa,\u00a0Police Chief<\/strong>\u00a0Peter Sloly<\/strong> said Monday that his force is talking to the anti-mandate protesters who have shut down much of downtown Ottawa, CTV reports<\/a>: \u201cAll options are on the table, from negotiation through to enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Afraid of violence:<\/strong> Earlier, Mayor Jim Watson<\/strong> said the threat of violence had been too great to force protesters to leave, CBC reports<\/a>: \u201cI asked \u2026 why you can\u2019t start ticketing [on Queen Elizabeth Driveway], it\u2019s far enough away. And they said they\u2019d get on their CB [radio] and there would be another 20 truckers there smashing down the barricade.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fed up:<\/strong> Many downtown restaurants have closed their doors, the Citizen<\/em> reports<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s chaos down there, wall-to-wall trucks, and the noise is unbearable,\u201d Anthony Bailey<\/strong>, owner-operator of Toro Taqueria on Bank Street.<\/p>\n

Please go:<\/strong> In a column<\/a> in the Star<\/em>, Robert Hiltz<\/strong> expressed his frustration with the situation: \u201cHow can you sympathize with the cause of people who will throw rocks at paramedics; who will impose their vision of maskless freedom on a mall full of people who just want to do their jobs?\u201d<\/p>\n

Social<\/a> panic?<\/strong> In the Post<\/em>, Jonathan Kay<\/strong> writes that<\/a> people are overreacting:\u00a0\u201cThe last few days have provided an instructive spectacle \u2014 a microcosm for the larger, profoundly off-putting phenomenon by which progressives lazily default to labelling anything they dislike or disagree with as a manifestation of bigotry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stereotypes:<\/strong> The Post<\/em> also has a sympathetic column<\/a> from\u00a0Rupa Subramanya<\/strong>, who found the protest more diverse than media coverage would have suggested:<\/p>\n

One myth that was busted right away was the striking diversity of the protestors starting with the two main organizers, Benjamin Dichter<\/strong>, who is Jewish and Tamara Lich<\/strong>, who is Metis. Far from being a uniformly disgruntled group of white Canadians, not that there is anything wrong with being that, one saw Indo-Canadians, Arab Canadians, Chinese Canadians, Black Canadians and just about every other ethnic Canadian under the sun.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Won\u2019t back down:<\/strong> Parliament resumed on Monday, and Justin Trudeau<\/strong>, who is isolating with COVID, had a news conference to say that he would not yield to the protests, CTV reports<\/a>: \u201cI want to be very clear, we are not intimidated<\/strong> by those who hurl insults and abuse at small business workers, and steal food from the homeless. We won\u2019t give in to those who fly racist flags. We won\u2019t cave to those who engage in vandalism or dishonor the memory of our veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ford speaks: Doug Ford<\/strong> also spoke against the excesses of the protest, the Star<\/em> reports<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cI was extremely disturbed<\/strong>, however, to see some individuals desecrate our most sacred monuments and wave swastikas and other symbols of hate and intolerance this weekend. That has no place in Ontario or Canada. Not now. Not ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opinion shifts:<\/strong> Politicians are speaking against the protest, but there are indications that Canadians may agree that it is time<\/strong> to ease restrictions. The Toronto Sun<\/em> has an Angus Reid poll<\/a>\u00a0showing \u201c54% want restrictions to be lifted<\/strong> compared to just 39% who wanted restrictions lifted when the same question was asked two weeks earlier.\u201d\u00a0 And an Innovative Research poll<\/a>\u00a0finds 46 per cent opposed to the protest while 31 per cent support it,<\/strong> which would be significant, given the largely negative media coverage.<\/p>\n

Northern tea? <\/strong>In the Globe<\/em>, smart professors\u00a0Amarnath Amarasingam<\/strong> and Stephanie Carvin<\/strong> wonder<\/a> whether the convoy movement will\u00a0morph into a Tea Party-style populist movement.<\/p>\n

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If many different actors claim success and seek to push the movement in competing directions, it will ultimately be unable to frame itself around a coherent narrative. Additionally, it may be abandoned by those who simply took the opportunity to express anger and frustrations as we enter year three of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Clear the road:<\/strong> Meanwhile, in Alberta, RCMP have decided that a border blockade is \u201cno longer lawful and resources are in place to make arrests and tow away vehicles if they are unable to resolve the conflict,\u201d CP reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Au bout de nos jours:<\/strong>\u00a0Legendary Quebec singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault, <\/strong>93,<\/strong> announced Monday he is also removing his music from Spotify, joining\u00a0Neil Young<\/strong> and Joni Mitchell<\/strong>, who recently denounced the firm for spreading misinformation, CP reports<\/a>: \u201cI find Neil Young<\/strong> and Joni Mitchell<\/strong> right to set this example and it is as honourable as it is relevant to follow them in their rejection of the dangerous falsehoods professed by theorists of rampant populism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Stephen Maher<\/strong>
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