A half loaf is better than nothing

I've been asked to write about whether social conservatives ("so-cons") ought to support the merger of the Progressive Conservatives and Canadian Alliance parties. For me, the answer boils down to this simple reality: a half loaf is better than no loaf at all.

Of course, this is a debate that has raged in the so-con community now for years - the perennial question of incrementalism versus "full victory." (As you can imagine, I favour the former over the latter.)

Readers of The Interim will no doubt already be familiar with the nuts and bolts of this merger deal and how it came into being, so no need to revisit the events of recent months. What I will say is that I understand the gut feeling of reluctance that many might feel towards the new party. So-cons have been left out in the cold too many times. Understandably, they don't want to see it happen again.

Let me be frank: so-cons are not going to get everything they want in the new party. It will not be unapologetically pro-life; chances are it will not take strong stances on the death penalty (admitting that so-cons may disagree among themselves about this issue) euthanasia, and there's even a possibility that it might not stand firmly in support of traditional marriage.

The agreement-in-principle signed by leaders Stephen Harper and Peter MacKay in October called for "a balance between fiscal accountability, progressive social policy and individual rights and responsibilities." If anyone can decipher this jabberwocky, I'd be pleased to hear from them. In all honesty, it probably isn't that important - questions of policy will be decided at the first convention of the new party.

It will be incumbent upon pro-life and pro-family party members, then, to come out in force at that gathering to make sure their voices are heard. At the end of the day, the new party will probably not be as conservative as the Alliance currently is. It will fall somewhere to the left of the current Alliance, but to the right of the PC party. That compromise is one that members of both parties must be willing to make.

The Canadian Alliance and its predecessor, the Reform party, had a potent strain of social conservatism. It was certainly much more prevalent in that party than in the Tories, and there is no question that a gulf exists between some members of each party. But let's remember that there are so-cons and social liberals co-existing now in both parties. Scott Brison and Elsie Wayne sit together in the same Tory caucus, as do Keith Martin and Stockwell Day in the Alliance.

I know it's an unwelcome pill to swallow, but the new party must have room at the table for everyone. The Canadian conservative movement is simply not big enough to make lists of people who cannot participate. (Some people, Michael Taube included, worry that the "Red Tory" element of the PCs will exert a great deal of influence in the new party. I'm not convinced of this and it looks as though more and more members of this dying breed - Joe Clark, Senator Lowell Murray and Flora MacDonald among them - might simply not participate.) Even in the U.S. Republican party, pro- and anti-abortion members as well as pro- and anti-gay marriage advocates, co-exist already. If U.S. Republicans can keep everyone under one tent, so can conservatives in Canada.

The key is getting active. If social conservatives want to make progress on the issues they care about, they must be involved in the process. Some might be demoralized by the prospect of having to compromise and might be tempted to throw their hands in the air and sit out. That would be a grave mistake.

A historic opportunity exists here. The new party will not be hostile to so-cons (even Scott Brison admits they should have a role). We have seen the result of a divided right for the past 10 years: political oblivion. Political parties are formed to win government. If the new entity can actually dethrone the Liberals, there will be opportunities to make progress on the issues so-cons care about for the first time in many years.

Changing abortion law is a realistic possibility. It's not just so-cons who believe Canada's status as one of the only civilized countries in the world without an abortion law on the books is an abomination. The new party will also likely permit free votes in Parliament on issues of moral conscience.

Conservatives of all stripes in Canada have reason to be excited about this merger. Now, finally, there is a chance that some of our ideas - including those on social issues - will be put into action.