Re: “Trump could inspire a new Conservative party,” letter, Nov. 11.
The letter-writer’s description of a new Conservative party is the one we just defeated. At present, Canada is fortunate to be on the other side of the ultra-conservative experiment, having rejected many of the very planks the letter-writer advocates.
In fact, what the Conservatives need to do is find a way back to the Progressive Conservative days, when parties were right and left of centre without being “ultra,” so that election change does not result in dramatic swings, in which the new party elected doesn’t feel it has to “undo” what the previous party enacted, in which each party can congratulate the other on its win or loss without gagging, in which the electorate can go to bed and know the sun will rise, and we can meet the future with a sense of confidence instead of fear and foreboding.
To this end, we should learn from the recent U.S. election and educate ourselves about the issues that could give rise to similar polarizing positions. We should make our politicians do the same to ensure that nobody is left behind and avoid such acrimony in our political system.
Grady Kittleson
Duncan
