Where have all the Red Tories gone?

Blogger Dylan at "Right of Centre Ice" provides some commentary to Globe & Mail columnist Lawrence Martin's search for "...an old-style Tory in the House?",

Where have all the Red Tories gone?

Dylan suggests that the Red Tories have no one to blame but themselves for the sad state of affairs that has given dominance to the Reform style MPs led by Stephen Harper.

Lawrence Martin asked the question "Is there an old-style Tory in the House?" in today's Globe and Mail. And I'm here to answer it: no, Lawrence. There isn't. And who is to blame? Unfortunately, Red Tories themselves, it seems. Well, some of us anyways.

This is part of what Lawrence has to say:

"The old Tories have few but themselves to blame for their demise, starting with the 1993 election when they reduced themselves to two seats. Another critical moment came in 2003 when they staged a disastrous leadership convention, electing Peter MacKay by way of a backroom deal with David Orchard. The party left that convention in no shape to continue on its own. This allowed Mr. Harper, the Alliance leader, to move in for the kill."

Dylan suggests a number of people who may be Red Tories and a possible strategy for them to regain control of the party.

In the comment section on Dylan's post, CK Twight notes suggests the following,

I often think of the red tory brand as dead and those, like Jim Calder and yourself, as more like "blue grits" these days; folks more likely to vote liberal due to the fact you don't have the stomach to vote for Harper. Correct me if I'm wrong...

Back in January, the Catch 22 Harper Conservatives campaign was known briefly as Catch 22 Tories. However, a number of people suggested we not grace the Harper gang with such a descriptor as it suggests a style of governing where things are being built, not torn apart. We heeded the advice.

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