Party unity begins NOW

Never did I think I'd become a lightning rod in this Provincial leadership campaign. All the accusations of spin, and attacks for simply calling it how I see it have been pretty unbelievable.

Obviously, tensions are running high as we approach the finish line. People have been asking me to call this one, who's going to win, final order on the ballots, etc. I really don't think I can, nor do I want to, try and make a prediction on this one.

All I'm going to say is that I've said what I need to say. I'll make up my mind, and will place my vote tomorrow, and then stand behind the winner as we prepare to defeat Dalton McGuinty in 2011.

I don't want to be accused of causing any further division, so I will be keeping my eventual decision to myself, and to a few close friends. May the best man (and I mean that in it's non-gender specific manner, so get lost all you politically correct types... I'm referring to all four candidates) win the day on Saturday.

And thanks to the guy who called me about half an hour ago... yes, your voice does carry weight with me. We need to stick together if we're going to have any hope of winning in 2011. I do have many friends in just about every camp, and we need to be able to come together after this to rescue this province from the Liberals.

A couple of points that I'd like the winner to consider. Obviously, we need to come together as a Party, as there are some significant divisions that have been exposed. We need you to:

1) Listen to and take heed of the concerns of the far-right Libertarians, and seek to address their needs, without making our message unpalitable to the rest of the province.

2) Ensure that the disaffected SoCons within our ranks are brought back into the fold. There are many who have walked away, feeling that the issues that are important to them are being ignored, while they're still being expected to show up and carry the banner for the Party. Many simply stayed home in 2007, and we saw the results. It wasn't just Faith Based Schools, it was the fact that the Party had moved too far to the left for them to lend their support in good concience.

3) Remember who we are... we are Conservatives. Reak Conservatism, when not presented in a "Liberal-lite" fashion, DOES resonate with Ontario voters. Mike Harris won with a BIGGER majority in 1999 because he STUCK TO HIS GUNS. He had told the people in 1995 what he intended to do, and then he did it. We need to present a relevant and genuinely Conservative platform in order to provide a viable option to the people. Dalton has managed to capture the centre with moderate policies, even somewhat "conservative" in some respects... we need to win them back.

4) When you're building your team, don't be afraid to disappoint some of the folks who expect jobs when this race is over. Take your time, don't rush, and really examine the membership of the other teams. Talk to your fellow leadership rivals, and get their input on who their stars were, and why. I've got a few ideas on that, in no particular order, and from every campaign. Take a serious look at Randy's web guys, Tim's local ground organizers, Christine's "Path to Victory" authors and upper organizers, Frank's issue and membership people... those are a couple good places to start, but I'm sure I've missed a bunch.

5) Adopt a large degree of, if not the whole thing, of Christine's "Path to Victory" document. I think it's a great place to start to rebuild and prepare the entire organization, from the top right on down to the local membership, to return to the Premier's office.

6) Discuss key critic posts with your fellow leadership rivals, and give them some latitude on where they end up. Obviously, in some cases they can't expect to just have their pick of portfolios, (perhaps putting Randy in Health wouldn't be such a great idea...) but their input should be strongly considered in order to gain some insight from their perspective.

7) Above all else, don't spring any policy surprises on the membership. If they don't know what's coming down the pipes, don't expect them to be able to sell it for you at the door.

8) KEEP IT SIMPLE!!! Ensure that our genuinely Conservative policies can be understood by anyone and everyone. Things the public can latch on to, ideas that they can clearly see the benefit of to their everyday lives. Make it about THEM, because that's exactly who we seek to serve.

Of course, I'll be watching this all unfold from a distance. I'll likely be tuning into the radio to get my updates, as I'll be off in the woods all weekend. And once I get back, I'll be paying close attention to the moves made at Queen's Park. You'll all recall how quickly I became one of John Tory's biggest detractors, to the point where I was being consulted by the media regularly. I'll be there, standing behind you and supporting you. Stay focused, get down to business, and bring this Party back together again.

We're all counting on you to bring this province back from the brink... from every camp.

Ontario: Ours to Recover. (it's always nice when you can beat those lefties over the head with their own slogans... I say we swipe this one from the Harris era Teachers Unions, eh?)