Conservatives: A culture of defeat

There are more than a few of us shaking our heads this week. And no doubt there will be some liberal amounts of liberal self-flagellation in the coming weeks.

But let's re-cap.

We spent nearly thirteen years in government. We accomplished some pretty amazing things.

We also got - fairly or unfairly - tagged with some silliness around a gun registry, the fiction of the "billion-dollar boondoggle," a sponsorship program where some naughtiness was done, an RCMP investigation into two government departments during an election campaign, an election no one except wanted Jack Layton, Stephen Harper, and Gilles Duceppe, and a campaign which admittedly was not our finest hour.

And we lost.

We lost because Stephen Harper got 124 seats to our 103 seats.

Harper got 36% of the vote, against our 30%.

According to Environics, of the 36% who voted conservative, 54% voted that way because they wanted a change, only 41% because they wanted a conservative government.

In plain english, only about 17% of Canadians want a Conservative government. The remaining 19% who voted conservative felt the Liberals needed a kick in the pants.

But for just one moment, imagine the positions were reversed, that the Tories had been in government and the Liberals had just won.

In my party, a leader who came home with that kind of result under those conditions would find his leadership under siege and questions about his ability to deliver.

Given the circumstances, anyone who regards 124 seats as a 'victory' needs their head examined.

Apparently not in the Conservative Party of Canada.

And that is what makes us different.

Liberals have vision.

We are about what is possible, about better government, about succeeding. We are about results.

Harper has won this battle, but he may yet lose the war.

Many of his coalition are social conservatives, small government conservatives, and fiscal ultra-conservatives. And they have a problem.

Social conservatives will want to re-visit the gay marriage debate. Harper may pry off a few liberals, but members of his own caucus such as James Moore and John Baird will likely vote against a change.

Small government conservatives will want to kill the national daycare programme. However, Liberals, NDP and BQ will line-up to keep Ken Dryden's work in place.

The fiscal conservatives will push for the GST reduction, but be hard pressed to roll-back the tax-cut for low-income Canadians in the first Tory budget... which is confidence motion... Again, Liberals, Dippers, and BQuistes may support the GST reduction, but likely won't support raising taxes on the poor.

Yes, the Tories won the election. But calling it a victory?

The only way anyone might figure this is a victory after thirteen years in the wilderness... well, they'd have to come from a Culture of defeat.