Friday, November 18, 2005

Big Red Orchard

I have it on very good authority from a contact in Regina that the Liberals are in talks with David Orchard about running as a candidate for them in the upcoming election. There's no signed deal on a napkin yet, but it does seem like a serious possibility.

I presume most of Orchard's followers have already left the CPC so this wouldn't be a devastating loss for the Conservatives, but it would still be quite the catch for Paul, all things considered.

34 Comments:

  • Is it just me, or does this grand coalition of anyone and everyone that Martin is building seem very Mulroney-esque?

    Any wagers on when it will explode in a truly awe inspiring mushroom cloud?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:29 p.m.  

  • So, David "I cudda been a contenda!" Orchard will run for the Libs. Yea that will get PMPM a pile of votes in Saskatchewan.

    Also the election hasn't even started yet and the Libs are playing the anti-US card. Yea I know Canadians will drink that Kool-Aid also.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:45 p.m.  

  • As a former PCer, I can only say...

    "I hope this is true."

    ...Certainly won't have me shedding any tears.

    Maybe Orchard sees another party that is about to be in a weaker state, and feels he and his followers can inject themselves into its machine.

    (And to the man's credit, he does have followers.)

    By Blogger The Hack, at 9:40 p.m.  

  • Can you imagine MacKay vs. Orchard in Parliament?

    I would pay to see that.

    By Blogger Simon Pole, at 10:41 p.m.  

  • As Deputy PM vs. critic from the 3rd party........I'd pay to se that too.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:05 p.m.  

  • "Can you imagine MacKay vs. Orchard in Parliament?"

    How about MacKay as a Conservative, Brison as a Liberal and Orchard as a Dipper? THAT would be entertainment.

    (Even more entertaining would be, through some miraculous confluence of events, the three of them ended up as leaders of said parties at the exact same time.)

    By Blogger Ryan Ringer, at 11:27 p.m.  

  • Interesting story, CG.

    I agree with Blue Grit's analysis that David Orchard should be in the NDP. If one considers the historical link between Red Tories and socialists (as described by social scientist Gad Horowitz in the 1960s), Orchard's natural home is the party of Jack Layton.

    And besides, in the murky world of Canadian politics, anything can happen.

    By Blogger Right Ho, at 11:41 p.m.  

  • I don't get it.

    Are the Liberals about to do another 180 on free trade and withdraw from NAFTA?

    By Blogger BL, at 12:09 a.m.  

  • I'm not sure if bringing Orchard into the fray is the best move for the LPC. We're trying to run on an "honesty" platform here. Bringing in someone who did something he promised not to do may not be the solution to our problems.

    As to Orchard in the House, yes, it would be fun to watch him and Peter debate. They don't tend to do things like that though. Notice how McKay never asks questions about HRSDC?

    The Opposition gets to pick the matchups.

    By Blogger James Bowie, at 12:40 a.m.  

  • Did he make Martin sign anything before agreeing to run?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:12 a.m.  

  • "Did he make Martin sign anything before agreeing to run?"

    Yeah, apparently Martin has promised not to merge the party with the Conservatives.

    Oy, no offence meant to Mr. Orchard personally, I'm sure he's a very nice guy but... I don't want him nor his cabal of anti-globalists in the Liberal party. I really think they'd be more at home in the NDP.

    By Blogger Ryan Ringer, at 4:38 a.m.  

  • I can hardly believe this is true, seeing as the Liberal Government signed onto NAFTA and all. If this is true, CalgaryGrit, then either Orchard is no longer opposed to Free Trade, or the Martin Government is about to make a break with its international free trade agreements.

    By Blogger John Murney , at 5:03 a.m.  

  • Orchard will ultimately embarrass any party he belongs to - its in his makeup. Injest Orchardite fruit at own risk.

    Full disclosure - CPC and former PC member

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:41 a.m.  

  • David Orchard to run for the Liberals? I can't really keep myself from giggling on that one. As far as I'm concerned that's a win-win scenario for Conservatives. It means either Paul Martin is so hard up for candidates that he'll recruit anyone with out foot out of the assylum or he's about to do something truly silly on the trade front.

    If the Liberals want a cultish figure who thinks he's a Conservative while being anti-free trade and worrying about globalization and all sorts of environmental concerns they'll welcome to him. Look out for the whole "I can't believe I'm not leader" tantrum and a drop off the face of the planet for all purposes but self promotion.

    By Blogger Chris, at 5:08 p.m.  

  • The next election will be a numbers game, like any race for the best minority. I guess the Libs need someone with name value in Sask., and Orchard needs a plateform to get his name out, so he can continue to sell books and get booked for $peeches.

    Libs seem better than the Tories to control their different factions winthin, or at least that's what I'm told by the media. The guy is suppose to have a good network, so it'll be a bit of a short-term gain. I doubt the Libs are thinking long-term these days. It's no lost for the Tories! Bad news for the Green, I would think. Hurts the NDP, but Jack and the Ont. unions hurt them more, with their western base.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:13 p.m.  

  • Brison, Stronach.... and now Orchard! Wonderful news. Our Conservative Party is becoming more conservatively distinctive every day. Could it be these 3 were really Liberals in Conservative clothing all along? Maybe put up to it by back-room Liberals to hijack the Conservative party? And when it eventually became evident to them real conservatives would have no part of it, they cut and run back to Big Daddy to get what they can while they can. Interesting indeed!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:19 p.m.  

  • I work in Ottawa and have heard the same thing. It's far from a done deal at this point, but there have been talks.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:27 p.m.  

  • He'll run in collingwood.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:36 p.m.  

  • go, david, go.. literally. he is not a member of the CPC nor would we ever want him. his agenda is his ego. bring him on to discredit the libs, much like his involvemnt in the pcpoc discredited it.

    disclosure: i worked against him and his minions in the PCPOC. i am CPC member.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:09 p.m.  

  • thanks to bourque for bringing this out in the open !

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:28 p.m.  

  • I think the only thing that David Orchard should be worried about is whether or not he will get "all" his money back from 2003 PC Party leadership race.

    As for getting into the House of Commons, he has no chance unless he is visiting the chamber as a tourist.

    By Blogger scott, at 5:29 p.m.  

  • He may as well join the NDP because he has always shared the same policies as them.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:59 p.m.  

  • How does a loose canon like Orchard form "quite a catch for Paul"? The Conservatives were more than happy to jettison that whole bunch.

    Martin just spent a lot of political capital at the Summit of the Americas beating the drum for more Free Trade. Orchard is anti-Free Trade ... vehemently-so.

    This guy is hard-core NDP. He's no "conservative", and I don't even see him under a Liberal tent. Martin is certainly a very conservative Liberal, and he may be very sorry if Orchard comes on board and actually wins a seat. Then Martin will be spending all of his time trying to keep him in line instead of Carolyn Parrish.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:17 p.m.  

  • I remember Alexa McDonnough attended at a party at the Domus Legis Society in Halifax one night a few years ago. I asked her, jokingly, if she'd take David Orchard off the Tories' hands. She said they didn't want him!

    Orchard is the perfect marriage of ignorance, historic revisionist, socialist that sets him up to run for a Mel Hurtig type party.

    Orchard is pretty useless, he can't even win a seat in his home area. He was never much of a Tory, he even campaigned against Charest, so it wasn't really about the merger for this guy.

    As a PC Candidate in 2000 under Grit lap dog Joe Clark, Orhcrad breached the PC constitution by running print ads against every major PC Accomplishment/policy of the previous 20 years.

    You want to talk to a red tory, talk to Hugh Segal or Jim Prentice. Orchard is more of a xeonophobic protectionist/leftist. . . fortress Canada type . . .

    Orchard's statements about Conservative history show just how little he understands it. His anti-Americanism and bigotry makes Parrish and co look reasonable and tolerant.

    By Blogger Liam O'Brien, at 7:24 p.m.  

  • Wouldn't it be rather hypocritical for Orchard to join the ethically and morally challenged Liberals? After all the questioning of Mackay bringing about a conservative merger, using a legitimate process I might add, and the fuss Orchard and his few remaining followers made, perhaps the motive just might be to hold his nose and continue the anti-free trade efforts as bll suggests.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:44 p.m.  

  • Orchard's candidacy (if true) will do exactly what this blog has done - revisit the issue of just whatever happened to the Progressive Conservatives.
    One previous post seemed to celebrate the triumverate of "departures" - Brison, Stronach, and possibly Orchard and how this was helping to make the Conservative party truly more conservative.
    If this is the strategy of Conservative thinkers then they truly are stupid. Canadians have consistently shown a desire to be governed by brokerage parties, not by ideologues.
    The only thing propping up any chance of a conservative government is the presence of the separatist Bloc, not any sort of support from across Canada for neo-conservatism. If we ever remove the threat of the BQ from our national election scene the present version of the Conservatives would have no hope whatsoever of competing for government and would have to move more toward and beyond the idological landscape previously occupied by the progressive conservatives.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:00 p.m.  

  • it is not april 1st today, is it?

    ...what about naphtha ... is it dead yet?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:39 p.m.  

  • Are you truly a Liberal? I have been unable to find a Liberal on the net that will debate and present facts. I'm not sure what their fear is? Aren't the Liberals the only voice of Canada?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:21 p.m.  

  • With Orchard on board the Glibs will re-confirm their abominable socialist philosophy. Go ahead bite the Orchard apple. Rick Bouchard NS

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:00 a.m.  

  • This is just too good to be true.

    By Blogger What it takes to win., at 12:24 a.m.  

  • Saw this on Bourque, interesting..

    What's better? Nealenews.com or Bourque?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:15 a.m.  

  • "We're trying to run on an "honesty" platform here"

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    Opps, sorry

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    Horny Toad

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:40 a.m.  

  • Yeh for Orchard I always liked his politics, he would be far better off with the Libs at this point, how much do you know about the conservatives, reformers, and Liberationers, as they call themselves, if you want to lose your CPP, american health care in Canada, a flat tax, all provinces responsible for social, housing and education just vote conservative.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:29 p.m.  

  • I hope to God you're wrong, CG. I can just imagine the next convention!

    By Blogger Jason Cherniak, at 6:36 p.m.  

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