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Indeed, it recalls Robert Conquest’s acerbic rule that to predict the behaviour of any large bureaucratic organization, assume it is secretly controlled by a cabal of its enemies. Could the Tories have done more to elect Trudeau if Gerald Butts had quietly been directing Harper’s PMO for years? And if not, why not?

They didn’t win, did they? And they’re not about to.

I’ll tell you. It’s because top Conservatives, including Harper, believed all the whispering and shouting from non-conservatives that conservatism repels voters. Then they persuaded or bullied party members and activists into going along to crush the Liberals’ tiny heads. Which are looking kind of swollen just now. You’ve been had … again.

Yes, I know. I’ve been paraphrasing Harry Truman for years that Me Too Liberals with a Yes But Platform don’t win. (From the left either, Mr. Mulcair.) And I’ve been patted on the head by smart boys and girls saying” “oh John, it’s not about principle, it’s about winning.” But they didn’t win, did they? And they’re not about to.

Federally, Canadian Conservatives win majorities roughly once every quarter century: 2011, 1984/88, 1958, 1930. And then squander them. Including the Harper Tories, which ran huge deficits, dramatically hiked spending and faked tax cuts, ignored the low-hanging fruit of internal free trade, stifled all mention of family breakdown or abortion, and gutted defence. On purpose.

One Tory MP recalls Harper years ago, as opposition leader, telling his caucus government was like a “big ship” so “If you form government, you just want to change the direction a little bit, because the longer you’re on that changed direction, you’re obviously much further from where you’d be and people haven’t noticed that much.”