Thread by @jaycurrie

@acoyne thinks @PierrePoilievre is not, himself, an extremist but is a man willing to pander to people Coyne thinks are extremists. By which Coyne means truckers, freedom enthusiasts, the vax hesitant, free speechers and climate skeptics. 1/

There are an ever changing set of beliefs which right thinking Canadians are expected to have. First and foremost - Donald Trump is evil incarnate. Second, "American style" anything - free speech, gun rights, healthcare - is un Canadian. 2/

Third, there is a Canadian "consensus" on social issues such as homosexuality, abortion, womens' rights, First Nations policy, the importance of BLM and trans rights and if you disagree you are a bigoted misogynistic racist who has no place in the public square. 3/

Fourth, climate change is the most important issue of our time and Canada has a responsibility to lead the world in taking "climate action". 4/

If you disagree with any of the positions above (and there are more but they tire me to type out) you become, in the eyes of @acoyne and a host of other legacy media types, an extremist. 5/

The fact that @PierrePoilievre is not prepared to cast "extremists" into the outer darkness shocks Coyne. But what actually frightens Coyne is that there maybe quite a few of these "extremists" scattered around the nation. 6/

Last federal election, Trudeau "won" with (as I recall) 32% of the votes cast but, because voting turnout was very low, only 17% of the potential votes available. Effectively, only a small fraction of Canadians voted Liberal. 7/

@acoyne is not a stupid man. He is well aware of the fact that @PierrePoilievre, ideally in concert with the #PPC, could count on the majority of the @CPC_HQ vote plus voters who sat the last election out. 8/

@PierrePoilievre knows that there are very, very few votes to be gleaned pretending to be Liberal-lite. O'Toole proved what a losing strategy that is. The Red Tories are as dead as Flora MacDonald. 9/

So, pace @acoyne, PP is going after actual conservative votes and refusing to pander to Canada's self-appointed elites, @acoyne Prop. 10/

If @PierrePoilievre wins the @CPC_HQ leadership, which is, amazingly, still uncertain at this point, there is some danger that he will turn out to be an actual conservative - small gov't, pro-energy...11/

For the next couple of weeks it will be fun to watch @acoyne and his ilk come to grips with an actual Blue Tory becoming leader of @CPC_HQ. Andrews silk boxers are in quite a twist. 12/12