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Originally Posted by Resolute 14
I agree with CC that you are mischaracterizing the "bozo eruptions" by claiming that the WRP "embraced extremist elements". They did fail to effectively denounce those elements, however, which was ultimately their downfall. As you say, they authored their own demise there.
That said, a party with 34% of the vote has widespread support among the mainstream, and that should have been deeply concerning for the PCs. Mid-term polls are dangerous to read too much into because the opposition parties often score higher in them. Chances are that the protest "votes" going to the Liberals and NDP in the polls today will shift back to the PCs come the next election as it will shape up to be another WRP vs. PC battle. The question will come down to how effective Wildrose's work as the Opposition plus their continued evolution of party platform is at leeching support from the Tories.
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One could make an arguement that the reason why they did not effectively denounce those elements that well is because if they appeared too heavy handed they might alienate the 'bozo' vote. Which let's face it, they were attempting to reach out towards effectively with official policy at the time.
The 'conscience rights'' BS was exactly that. It was a carrot to entice a socially conservative demographic of longtime PC supporters to vote for them instead of the PCs.
As a personal aside I still cannot for the life of me understand why we cannot get a party that supports economic
and personal liberty. It seems that government needs to be either in your back pocket or in your bedroom.