Common Sense Revolution 2.0?

by: Chris Bilton

June 29, 2009 5:00 PM

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Seen written on the flip chart in the Markham Hilton Suites media room:

Red Neck
Hillbilly
Knuckle Dragger

Welcome to the 2009 Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership convention, where derision rides a dark horse and success is only a failed leader away.

Contrary to our worst preconceptions, the PC party is actually surprisingly young and hot. Or at least that’s the sense I get from observing the convention attendees as they swarm around the breakfast stations spread throughout the open-concept lobby outside the Don Cousens ballroom. Sure, there’s your usual contingent sporting silver hair and carrying a bit of geriatric weight, but this is no anti-gun registry rally.

Maybe it’s the lure of suburban opulence that the Markham Hilton Suites offers (or at the very least, the convenient proximity to at least a half-dozen golf courses), but a good number of young republicans have been lured away from this stunningly sunny late June Saturday to witness the tabulation of results that will determine Dalton McGuinty’s next opponent.

The leadership race hadn’t been much of a headline grabber until last week’s vote fraud hoax, wherein a fake RCMP communicae was sent out to party members warning that they were investigating “voter fraud.” Up to that point, the discussion had mainly centered on whether or not Mike Harris-endorsed candidate Tim Hudak was going to blow his early lead, with some coverage dedicated to EYE WEEKLY’s favourite subject: abolishing the Human Rights Tribunal. (Hudak and libertarian “dark horse” candidate Randy Hillier are both for the abolition, while Frank Klees and Mrs. Jim Flaherty, Christine Elliott, are firmly opposed.)

As for the other candidates’ chances, Hillier is something of a running joke — all rural revolutionary and, as the National Post joked, “A conservative leader for those of you who think Mike Harris was too much of a pinko commie” — while Klees didn’t even warrant mention from the right-of-centre daily’s candidate website analysis. Only Christine Elliott appears to pose a real threat to Hudak, as her reign would pave the way for a matrimonial union of the provincial PCs with their federal counterpart.

But, as I mentioned, we’re not really here to watch a leadership convention per se. The voting concluded a few nights ago, and today we will be witnessing the results, just like any commoner on Election Day.

The night prior, at the super-casual meet-and-greet, a young London organizer for Hudak named Justin Samial explained the complicated, yet efficient, voting process, whereby the votes are weighted based on how much support the leader has in each region of the province. While it’s still essentially a one-member/one vote situation, along with second and third choices, there’s also a sort of failsafe against poor distribution. That way, if Hillier wins by a landslide in northern Ontario, but has no chance of taking Toronto, they won’t be stuck with some outsider leader. This is also supposed to prevent the back-room dealings so common to a leadership convention which, arguably, adds the drama that makes these things worth attending in the first place.

At 11:15am there’s lots of action as the Klees camp gains surprising ground over both Elliott and Hillier (well, OK, maybe not surprising about the latter). After the first ballot it’s: Elliott, 2728; Hillier, 1013; Hudak, 3511; Klees, 3093.

Paul — a heavy set politics wonk with an air of 1970s business-formal who I meet in the lobby — says that the Klees camp seem happy with their second-place showing. He thinks it will probably come down to Hudak and Klees. This is notable, he intones, because they aren’t the fresh faces of the party — they were both around during the back-to-back majorities of the ’90s.

After the announcement, Randy Hillier just wants to go outside and have a smoke — according to his media handler. “We changed the direction of the campaign and shaped the discussion,” Hillier says. “We opened up the human-rights issue and removed the suffocating correctness of the debate. It will continue regardless of who is in charge.”

I’m handed a Frank Klees Leadership Kit (containing mouthwash, self-tanning lotion and hair product) by the Liberal caucus girl. I ask if her “LIBERAL” laminate is something of a target. But she says she got off light with only that; sometimes they put a big “Liberal” sticker on you. Everyone in the media room loves the kit, and countless jokes about Klees’ hair ensue.

After lunch, Bill Davis calls outgoing PC leader John Tory “the finest premier Ontario never had.” It’s one of the few profound moments in the otherwise tedious tribute to Tory featuring an overlong video wherein everybody from Karen Stintz to Mike Harris and Mike Duffy coughs up glowing praise for the eternal underdog. The other moment of profundity comes when Tory re-states his intention not to run for Mayor of Toronto. (Apparently Barbara won’t let him.) This, despite what someone in the Hillier hospitality suite may have mentioned the night before.

Tory’s parting message is one of “can’t we all just get along,” as he stresses that the party needs to look like they are not disagreeing among themselves. Strangely, his version of the PC ethos seems to hinge on the fantasy that there is no inconsistency in having lower taxes and equality; that free enterprising wealth creation goes hand in hand with the idea that no one gets left behind.

The results of the second vote provide some palpable drama as the remaining candidates are running neck and neck for at least the first few ridings. Camps Klees and Hudak now have signs and throw them up amidst massive cheers every time their candidate takes a riding. Hudak soon pulls comfortably away, and in the end it’s Elliott who drops off. Judging by the A/V bunker, this is the least interesting part of the day as far as television is concerned. Atop tripods, the unmanned cameras look like the remnants of an abandoned war front.

That is, until a few minutes before 5pm and the entire ballroom is abuzz with final announcement anticipation. News anchors bark orders at their cameramen. There’s a contingent photo-opping with Peter McKay and Mike Harris in front of the stage. (Incidentally, John Baird looks like a moray eel or a barracuda up close — all pointy-faced and gleaming teeth. A touch of crazy eyes, too.) The delegates have overflowed the chairs and stand at the back of the room clutching beers and the last of the post-punch appetizers.

And then it’s official: Tim Hudak is the new leader of the Ontario PC party. In his acceptance speech, he vows to take the party down a new path — the low road to Mike Harris Conservatism 2.0. Make no mistake about it; we are entering a new age of Regressive Conservatives in this province. And these folks are eager to take over in 2011. Expect the next 800 or so days to be filled with revisionist history in which Harris was actually the best thing for Ontario, and that Dalton McGuinty is somehow responsible for crippling cities and turning this province into a land of have-nots. (And also, Oceania is at war with East Asia; it has always been at war with East Asia.)

But if the thought of Hudak as premier isn’t enough to send you packing for Nunavut and you’re inclined to stick around and fight the good fight, there is a silver lining to this ominous cloud: if the PCs ever do regain power, there are very few social programs left to download. Things couldn’t possibly get any worse than they were during the Common Sense Revolution.

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Provincial Politics

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Common Sense Revolution 2.0?

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