WILL THE CANDADIAN RIGHT FOLLOW THE USA, and revoke a woman’s right to choose? by Wayne Johnston

I thought I would share my response to a Con Cockwobble who thought that a statement, that the right in Canada will be pushing hard to reopen the abortion issue, was the raving of a madman. After putting out the standard Con talking points, i.e., falsehoods, he called me a few names. He, of course, blamed Trudeau for everything. Standard procedure. My response:

The issue of Roe vs Wade is not going away and will remain in the headlines for a long time. The timing of this frankly couldn’t be better for Maxime Bernier and the PPC, and couldn’t be worse for PP and the Tories. The hue and cry from their troglodyte base will be deafening as it demands that Canada revoke a woman’s right to choose. Timing is everything in life, this is particularly true in politics with the chaotic, insane comings and goings in America on so many issues. Canadians feel like we live above a meth lab and many will no longer visit the omnishambles, be it due to gun violence, racism etc. Now that the knuckle dragging cult have been successful in overturning Roe vs Wade, the right wing Canadian rancorous gangs are in the starters block.

If you don’t think that a great number of your uber right Con friends are itching to reopen the abortion debate in Canada then, you sir, are completely feckless; some support ending a woman’s right to choose but are being clandestine about it, as many of your ilk tend to be. If it’s the former, you qualify for political consideration for the award for uninformed citizen of the year. I find that many CPC faithful are low information voters. The base is talking about it on open source, so while you can deflect all you wish, the fact remains that this is already occurring.

The twister Harper wisely kept a lid on the evangelical wing of the CPC. While most of us abhor the man, he kept the Tory insane wack jobs in their cages. That was then, this is now, a totally different dynamic within the CPC as all the patients are out of the box and seem to be part of the leadership.

In fact, the CPC is very much a different party than under Harper. If you think Poilievre can, or will, even attempt to keep a lid on the abortion issue then you really are naive. It’s going to happen, it’s only a matter of time before the base demands that they make their twisted sense of morality a part of the mix. Naturally, Tory candidates will feed the red meat of abortion to solidify and satisfy the knuckle draggers, of which you are obviously a member, based on your many posts. Thankfully you and your hate filled ilk are very much in the minority.

In the highly unlikely event that PP can keep candidates disciplined and on message, I can assure you that Maxime Bernier is not stupid, but clearly a clever, cunning, political opportunist who will seize on the growing appetite within the base to follow America down the road to perdition and revoke the hard fought woman’s fundamental right to choose.

He knows that if the CPC remain clandestine on the agenda of the base, by saying nothing or denying it’s up for discussion, Maxime will seize the moment, and most certainly will bring the matter to the table.

Bernier needs to do this in order to garner support from a disgruntled Tory base of voters who feel their concerns have been ignored. Maxime will most definitely reassure them that he and the PPC are listening and will reopen the abortion issue, thereby continuing to hemorrhage votes, funding, and support to the PPC. The PPC have nothing to lose by adopting such vile, uber right positions and much to gain by enticing retrograde CPC voters over to the PPC camp. He’ll charge hard on this issue as he knows it’s very much a chink in the armour and a weak spot to be exploited.

Frankly, the only way he can grow the party is to attack the CPC. What happens in the USA very much impacts the political tempo here in Canada, particularly on the right. It’s not radical that Maxime is aware that he’s not going to win over any soft Liberals or any remaining old progressive Cons. He and the PPC have zero hope in winning over any NDP or Green voters. Next election Max and his crew will be coming at the CPC like a freight train in order to increase their share of the popular vote nationally and perhaps gain a seat or three.

Believe it or not they polled double, or close to it, in many Prairie ridings and surprisingly in a couple in BC. Indeed, in Ontario they polled rather respectably in the 7-9% area in a few rural ridings and 3-5% in a number of others. In urban ridings, like the CPC, they were not even a factor. East of Ontario they fared rather poorly mirroring the CPC in PQ, and in many Atlantic ridings they were completely slaughtered. That is, other than Maxime’s riding in PQ where he garnered 10%.

The CPC are very much boxed in on the abortion issue. On one hand if they actually tell the truth, that the CPC under PP very much wishes to reopen it, then yes, they might secure and contain the disgruntled base from hemorrhaging over to the PPC.

I have no doubt they will in an attempt to cut Maxime and the PPC off at the pass. It only creates yet a greater and a much more complex set of problems. Guess what? The soft Progressives (who already don’t trust PP) and soft Liberals won’t even consider voting Tory.

What I predict is that Max and the PPC are going to kick the abortion issue doors wide open. He well remembers that, but for a handful of votes, 18 to be exact, he would have defeated Andrew Scheer. A large number of Conservatives clearly supported him and he remains a darling within the hard-core wing of the party. His supporters are still within the ranks of the CPC. In order to grow the PPC he has no choice but to go on the offensive against the CPC as he has zero growth potential outside it.

This is an issue that the CPC is deathly afraid of. On one hand, yes, many want to open up debate. They really want to. On the other, the issue is very much their Achilles heel and Bernier knows it. As an experienced political operative, he will exploit it using a maximum effort to force the CPC’s hand. PP will have only two choices as follows; First, issue a statement that the CPC has zero intention of opening up the abortion issue. This may attract some soft progressive voters but very few as, like most of us, they know it’s a complete falsehood. Naturally Maxime and the PPC will double down by promising to reopen the debate.

Again, zero risk for the PPC as their base are not going anywhere. Totally an upside political move as they will cause many of the CPC base to quickly shift loyalties. The net result being a split right vote in many ridings that are traditionally blue. We all know what happens when the vote is split up the middle, as the CPC have been doing for years, as the Liberals and NDP fight for votes. Now the shoe is very much on the other foot. Choice number two, and really the only other option, PP can counter Maxime, and the PPC, by doubling down and admitting to the Canadian people that, yes, he will reopen the abortion debate. He will have countered Maxime by being even more right than Max and his PPC.

However, anyone who is a progressive or a soft liberal will run like rabbits from the CPC, perhaps voting “anything but Poilievre” to put an end to his political aspirations and making him number four of Team CPC to be struck out. Now batting number 5… I wonder who the next leader will be? Nothing would surprise me, even if they were to choose Pat “the rat” King or the “queen of insurrection”, Tamara Lich.

This is called political analysis, looking at the political battle space and making educated predictions based on the political players, the issues Canadians hold dear and outside influences like the comings and goings in America that all too often impact our country.

Indeed, the timing of this matter benefits the other Canadian political parties who support enshrined woman’s rights, especially the Liberals. Naturally this is predicated on taking the time to vote. And vote we must. Vote for our daughters, granddaughters and all women, vote as if their lives depend on it. They do! What I do know is that the evangelical right, along with the rest of the base, will take this issue as a call to arms. A call to arms that decent society in Canada must join to defeat. This is by far the greatest domestic threat to Canada currently… The right in its many guises, be it the PCP, PPC or whatever other wack job candidates are running, needs to be drubbed and crushed soundly.

Canadians need to send a clear message to all political parties that here in Canada we have hot stove issues. Do not touch the burner, be it universal health care, or a woman’s right to choose.