RallyForCanada.ca, a site rallying those opposed to the coalition agreement entered into by the opposition parties, is the brain child of prolific blogger Stephen Taylor, a Conservative mouthpiece who works for the (Preston) Manning Centre for Building Democracy.

I posted the following on Mr. Taylor's site in response to his announcement of the RallyForCanada.ca site:

Stephen - do you only support "democracy" when it threatens the party's position in parliament?

I don't recall you speaking up at all when Stephen Harper authorized and entered into secret negotiations with David Emerson to overturn the votes of Vancouver-Kingsway residents. Emerson was in talks with Harper's representative less than 24 hours after the ballots were counted.

And did you moan for democracy when Stephen Harper broke his own law in calling for an election, purely for partisan political advantage, more than a year in advance of what his own law set out as the lawful fixed election date? No, I don't believe you did.

Apparently being a "fellow" at the Manning Centre for Building Democracy has nothing at all to do with actually building, or respecting, democracy. Michael Watkins, December 2, 2008

I'm a former Progressive Conservative and former Conservative Party member who left the party as a result of the attack on democracy Stephen Harper made right here in my riding of Vancouver Kingsway. Despite starting out well with a call for Emerson to run in a by-election (which of course would never happen), Taylor goes on to make the same sort of mealy mouth ends justify the means argument most Conservatives uttered in response to l'affair Emerson. Not one of them stood up for democracy. Most were afraid to utter a word lest Stephen Harper or his goons lash out. They still are, albeit Harper's vaunted grip on the party may be cracking ever so slightly.

Sadly I've not run into very many Conservatives who take democracy as a principle seriously. You've got to fight for democracy even when it hurts your team, if the principle is to mean anything.

Perhaps they don't teach that lesson at the (Preston) Manning Centre for Building Democracy.