FORSETH – Why shouldn’t someone be the ‘adult’ in the room?

YESTERDAY (04/26) a Castanet news story was headlined, “Milobar stakes claim as steady leader in heated BC Conservative leadership debate” which included the comment that … Peter Milobar cast himself as the “adult in the room” during the first sanctioned BC Conservative leadership debate.

I shared the story online in my BC politics Facebook Group which led Cormac McCann to respond:

I’m not a fan of Pierre Poilievre, and I’m not exactly sold on Mark Carney either, but this “adult in the room” line in Canadian politics is getting really tired.

It was one thing when Carney supporters used it during his run, framing him as the “serious one” in contrast to Poilievre. I didn’t love it then, but it was part of a broader (still pretty shallow) attempt at contrast.

Now in the BC Conservative leadership race, Peter Milobar is basically asking who can be the “adult in the room,” pointing to temperament, experience, know-how, and suggesting he’s that person….

… Because the truth is simple: you don’t prove you’re the adult by saying it. You prove it by engaging seriously, arguing clearly, and treating voters like they can handle substance.

Right now, even the “who is the adult in the room” framing just shrinks the conversation instead of raising it.

Unfortunately, I think that Cormac may have misunderstood or taken the comment about Peter being the ‘adult’ in the room out of context.

Throughout this race I have raised concerns about the petty politics being played by at least two of the candidates, and lately a third has joined the fray.

In the political realm there is no finite left, right, or centre. Every single political party has a spectrum of beliefs that unite them together, no matter whether Conservative, Liberal, Green, or NDP. That said, it always seems to be that those on the right-of-centre have a more finite yardstick to measure how conservative others may be. A ‘purity’ test, if you please.

Which of course leads to the current leadership race underway within the Conservative Party of BC.

Purity tests, out of context comments from the past, and especially insulting comments about other candidates — rather than real policy — are the name of the game for them.

In this context, as well as on Friday during the leadership debate, Peter has (IMHO) risen above the others to be the ‘adult’ in a room of squabbling children. (I would be remiss in not including Iain Black as also showing maturity in this contest.)

I’ll take solid performance and policy any day, instead of over-dramatic theatrics. I only hope the majority of members who will be voting shortly do as well.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. ANY party that is to the right-of-centre will NEVER win an election without also bringing on board voters who are centre right.

Fulmer, Elliott, and to some extent Findlay, can squabble all they want about who is the most conservative of conservatives, and demand purity tests as well, but should they unfortunately win the leadership of the party, they will guarantee the BC NDP win the next election.

THAT … is something we CANNOT afford to have happen!

Alan Forseth is a Kamloops resident. For 40+ years he has been active, in a number of capacities, in local, provincial and federal politics, including running as a candidate for the BC Reform Party in the 1996 provincial election, and as a four-time provincial campaign manager.