Conservatives now billing themselves as ‘Canada’s founding party’

When your name is tarnished by a series of scandals and the public starts viewing you as a bunch of entitled ne’er–do–wells, there’s only one thing left to do: rebrand yourself!

That’s what the Conservative Party of Canada is apparently trying to do with its new slogan describing Stephen Harper and his merry gang of pranksters as “Canada’s founding party.”

A new page on the official Conservative website describes the current Conservative Party as part of “the national political movement that has been building a stronger, safer, and better Canada for over 145 years,” claiming credit for such things as the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, women’s suffrage and even Confederation itself.

One would be tempted to think the Conservatives are going back to their roots, looking through the history books for inspiration. Looking to giants from the past like Macdonald, Diefenbaker, Mulroney.

But one would be wrong.

The majority of the page is devoted to glorifying Stephen Harper and vilifying his political rivals — so, pretty much business as usual for the Tories.

The biggest howler of all is when the party claims: “Since taking office, the Harper Conservative Government has replaced the old Liberal culture of entitlement with a new culture of achievement.”

That would be the same Conservative government whose senators have been mired in a months-long scandal about improper housing and travel allowances, and whose ministers are famous for $16 glasses of orange juice and limousine rides.

Nope. No culture of entitlement here.

If the emphasis on “Canada’s founding party” were sincere, an actual return to principles, it wouldn’t be so galling. When the line is trotted out along with the same talking points we’ve all heard ad nauseum for the last seven years, it falls flat.

Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Ishmael N. Daro