In her second “free speech pub night” Lindsay Shepherd of The Laurier Society For Open Inquiry introduced Andrew Lawton to speak on Ideological Conformity in Politics and the Media.
Andrew Lawton is a writer, columnist, broadcaster, and former radio talk show host. With a quick wit, entertaining speaking skills, and personal anecdotes he reveals the lunacy of post-modernism and the problem with politics in both Canada and the United States.
On the heels of Ontario’s newly elected Progressive Conservative majority government under Doug Ford, expectations of ‘change’ – for the better – are high. It would be difficult to imagine anything worse than what Ontarians endured under the ousted Wynne Liberal Party, which no longer holds official party ‘standing’ in the legislature.
However, it must be recognized that the conditions under which Ontario currently suffers are a consequence of the cumulative actions and directions taken by all of the parties in the legislature. Kathleen Wynne and her government merely continued in the political direction (Leftward) already established and entrenched by previous governments – including those of the Progressive Conservatives.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict or evaluate what the PCs may do under Ford, since the party won its majority mandate under a single objective: getting rid of Kathleen Wynne.
In the absence of any substantive or credible commitment to actually ‘change’ the Leftward direction in which Ontario is heading, Ford and his PCs have left us little to speculate about. After all, how does one reconcile a promise “to increase government spending, reduce taxes, and balance the budget?”
What we do know about the PC party is its history and tradition. Continue reading »
As the last broadcast before next week’s Ontario provincial election, there is a sense of urgency in our sounding one last pre-election alarm about Ontario’s very alarming state of affairs. It is a situation not unlike that in many other jurisdictions around the globe.
What’s at stake is freedom itself, and freedom has no voice in the Ontario legislature, and a very limited voice in the current Ontario election as heard only through representatives of the Freedom Party of Ontario.
For those on the Right, Ontario’s political crisis boils down to one of IDENTITY. If ever there was a need to place ‘identity politics’ in a valid context, it is with regard to political parties. In particular, it is the failure to properly IDENTIFY Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party as being on the Left, even as the party continues to be intentionally associated with values of the ‘Right’ by both the media and many ‘conservatives’ alike.
This is significant, because individual freedom itself IS a value of the Right, but the philosophy necessary to achieve individual freedom is not being either preached or practiced by any other party besides Freedom Party. Continue reading »
Rage against the political machine all you want, but as long as every gear in that machine turns leftward, the option of shifting gears in the right direction simply doesn’t exist. With few exceptions, that’s the reality in Ontario politics today – particularly now that the June 7 general election is underway.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government certainly deserves all of the criticism it is getting – and more. But simply ridding the province of Kathleen Wynne will do little to help alleviate the chronic shortage of doctors and hospital beds, or reduce the unprecedented cost of electricity, nor address the dramatically increasing poverty and drug addiction rates.
Considered Wynne’s leading opponent is Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford, hailed by many as the man to rescue Ontario. Unfortunately for Ford, he is ‘progressively’ being found to be far more of a ‘progressive’ than a ‘conservative’ – a circumstance that has found many traditional Conservative supporters in a quandary about how to justify their vote. Continue reading »
Driven a Ford lately? Most Fords are capable of being driven in any direction, but the Ford being driven by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party (PC) is only capable of steering Left.
Doug Ford is a likable character to many on the right, but the party driving him has a clear and consistent history of making Left turns only. The very crisis that conservatives blame on Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne’s ruling Liberal Party was in fact created and continues to be fueled by Ontario’s PC party. Under the PC banner, Doug Ford can now be counted upon to continue this Progressive tradition.
For example, within the span of but a single day following his election as PC leader, on the issue of the upcoming legalization of cannabis in Ontario, Ford switched from saying ‘Let markets dictate’ to ‘Let’s dictate the market.’
Making it clear that he himself does not support the legalization of cannabis, Ford later attempted to reconcile all of his contradictory statements with his pledge to “Start off in our controlled market, eventually I believe in the free market.” Continue reading »
Ontario residents have increasingly been suffering under the burdens imposed by the province’s current Leftist Liberal government led by Kathleen Wynne.
Whether consciously aware of it or not, those seeking an alternative in the upcoming June election are faced with the reality that the other two parties sitting in the legislature are also on the Left. This means that their continued electoral success will only ensure that Ontario continues on its current destructive path, while the burdens experienced by Ontario’s residents will increase unabated.
Unfortunately, one of the parties in the legislature – the Progressive Conservative Party (PC)– has for years been falsely identified as a party on the Right, even though the PCs fully share the philosophy, ideology, planks and platforms that are advocated and implemented by their Leftist opponents. In an age of so-called ‘identity politics’ it is a tragedy that so few understand the true identity of the political parties for which they vote. Continue reading »
In the wake of Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Leader Patrick Brown’s resignation due to anonymous allegations of sexual misconduct, the term “identity politics” has taken on a new – and valid – meaning. In this case, the “identity” in question concerns that of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party itself.
Falsely viewed by many as a party on the Right, it is no such thing. The confusion is somewhat understandable, given that the PC Party sits in ‘opposition’ to the ruling Liberal Party, a party most definitely on the Left, as is the New Democratic Party (NDP).
Unfortunately, opposition in the legislature does not mean opposition to the ideas, principles, philosophies, or political direction of the other parties. In every essential way, the philosophy and leadership of the Progressive Conservatives point to the Left.
There is, however, one significant difference between Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives and the other parties of the Left. Continue reading »