Holy CCRAP! The Canadian Alliance is far more complex than I thought...

[Sephirstein]

I thought of its ancestor -- the Reform Party -- as a band of disenchanted Blue Tories from the West.

What I found, surprisingly, is that many Reform/CCRAP supporters are disenchanted New Democrats (Yes, the NDP! Social liberalism and left-wing ecnomic policies...lol) and Social Creditistas, who held socially conservative views and unorthodox left-wing economic views that are neither capitalistic nor socialistic.

[Maple]

1. Well actually

they are a band of nutbars.

Left, right, racist, sexist... you name it.

Populists...anti-everything, with a chip on their shoulder.

[inthecorneroverhere]

2. not all populists are nuts

Not everyone who is socially conservative or moderate but economically left is a nut.

[Sephirstein]

8. Even the more normal ones are strange though...

I was in a political simulation with this guy from New Orleans:

His economic views resemble Puke Cannon's, he hates George W. Bush almost as much as he hates Louisiana Governor Mike Foster, and he is socially libertarian (not liberal though) on every issue but abortion, on which he is staunchly pro-life. He also has tendencies towards Cajun nationalism.

He's a rich White 20-something (thanks to money his father made because of connections to Edwin Edwards) who holds wild parties for local teens and flies a confederate flag while listening to Tupac Shakur.

He's registered as a Republican because he despises Hillary Clinton, but he usually votes Democratic and is currently working on Louisiana Democratic frontrunner Richard Ieyoub's gubernatorial campaign.

[David__77]

3. Socred was fascist.

Social Credit had fascist roots, not socialist. They used socialist-sounding slogans but were Mussolini types if nothing else. I would like a source linking them to the NDP.

[Sephirstein]

7. I never said they were or weren't...

I wasn't speaking about their social views. Most -- but not all -- socreds are socially conservative.

I never called them socialist either: I just said that they an unorthodox left-wing view of economics that is neither socialist nor capitalist.

I didn't compare them to the NDP. I just said that many former Socreds joined Reform/CCRAP for various reasons that were similar to the reasons former New Democrats did, chief among them being social conservatism and a feeling of "Western alienation" that Preston Manning exploited.

Interestingly, the current Alberta socred party doesn't strike me as being socially conservative like its predecessor (probably because most of the fundies that supported it are Klein Tories now) and praises Dennis Kucinich for his successful application of the economic theory when he kept Cleveland's power company publicly run.

[Spazito]

4. The Alliance are not unlike the radical right wing in the US....

they just have to be more subtle about it in Canada. They are and will remain a marginal, regional party, thank goodness! Your comments that some of them are disaffected NDPers surprises me, where did you get that from? Just curious, not questioning your point.

[Sephirstein]

5. A lot of socialists in Alberta and Saskatchewan are socially conservative

They ignorantly jumped ship because they were inspired by a socially conservative populist bitching about Western alienation.

[Spazito]

6. Ahhh, okay, got it, thanks...

that makes a great deal of sense, and Preston Manning certainly had some of the "preacher" in him.

Thanks again for responding.