Conservative Party National Council Making Up New Rules And Spending Thousands To Acclaim Rob Anders In Calgary Seat
An unprecedented move by the Conservative Party of Canada's National Council to deny voting rights to new members in Calgary West is curtailing any potential challenges to MP Rob Anders in a court-ordered second nomination battle.The new party rule applies ONLY in Calgary West Constituency and gives a vote only to those who were party members in the middle of August last year and contrasts with every other Tory riding in Canada, where anyone who has held a membership for more than three weeks can vote at a party nomination.
University of Calgary political analyst David Taras says the Tories' solution to the infighting in Calgary West flies in the face of the populist, grassroots-style party that Prime Minister Stephen Harper embraced as a Reformer in the early 1990s.
"What you really want is to have an open nomination process, and the purpose of course is to get the best candidates, to open it up to citizens, to stir involvement and passion. That's what political parties are all about."
"This is the Reform party in reverse. This is closing down memberships, this is not allowing the grassroots to be vocal and shows the great distance that's been travelled between the old Stephen Harper and the new Stephen Harper."
Buckdog has been following the Rob Anders case for sometime. Stay tuned for further developments!
Brooks Bulletin
