Cheers
Thank you very much to everyone who, after just three months, voted Tory Bear to the giddy heights of 35th in
Iain Dale's 2008 Top 100 Right of Centre Blogs
.TB is looking forward to meeting lots of you in Birmingham.
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
TB is looking forward to meeting lots of you in Birmingham.
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
If you go down to the Brum today...
(More infomation here)
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wtf?
Why the hell is The Times spending money on GoogleAds spreading unsubstantiated, tainted and poorly sourced gossip?
Are things really that desperate for the dead tree lot?
Pre-Conference Ratings
It's that time again already... Please click the link below and take a moment to fill out the ten questions here. Just did it and it takes less than a minute!
Cheers
Monday, 1 September 2008
Enjoying this election a little too much...
Americans take their elections to a whole new level. This years DNC was smashed all viewing records and had more people watching Obama than the Oscars. Our conference season is going to be tiny in the face of the grand conventions- party conference struggles to get decent coverage from the rolling news channels, let alone the "prime-time."
Bare with TB if he gets more than a little excited from time to time over the next eight weeks. The combination of a fascinating primary season and the fact the race is still wide open and likely to get bloody could make this the most exciting election in a very long time... or McCain or Palin will do something fucking stupid and BO will storm it... but only time will tell!
At this rate TB is very, very tempted to fly out in November... Who's coming?
In the meantime here's a little tune for y'all.
Give it a minute to get going...
True Love Waits...
This from CNN:
In a 2006 Eagle Forum questionnaire, Palin indicated that she supported funding abstinence-until-marriage education programs instead of teaching sex-education programs.
"Explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support," Palin wrote in the conservative group’s questionnaire."
Hmmmm whoopsy daisy... seems the message didn't quite resonate at home.
This won't do her any damage, if anything it will dog-whistle the middle-America Republican base. Palin doesn't just talk the talk about being pro-life she walks the walk too and will do everything to help her daughter. This would have broken at some point and the sooner the better really. Especially as this can be used to help kill the
These developments prove two things about this election:
1. The Democrats are running very scared about Palin.
Obama may be feigning his disgust but the left have woken up. After the battering that Kerry got, going from war-hero to fraud in 2 months has not been forgotten and the left have learnt how to fight dirty.
2. This really is the year of the blogger.
But with power comes responsibility... The left truly are the nasty ones these days the DK lies aren't something to be celebrated but demonstrate how powerful the blogs have become.
the speculation
that her youngest son was actually her daughters has been blown out of all proportion. The photos of the supposed "bump" under Bristol's jumper do not warrant the attention this story got and the lovely Sarah looks pretty damn pregnant here
.These developments prove two things about this election:
1. The Democrats are running very scared about Palin.
Obama may be feigning his disgust but the left have woken up. After the battering that Kerry got, going from war-hero to fraud in 2 months has not been forgotten and the left have learnt how to fight dirty.
2. This really is the year of the blogger.
The fake pregnancy attack on the Daily Kos
went from being an obnoxious smear by some bearded little lefty to hitting the networks and international newspapers in just 24 hours. Just four years ago the MSM treated the blogsphere with slight disdain and now every single network and every single newspaper in both the USA and UK has a full staff of bloggers and strong internet presence. The bloggers break the "news", true or not and the old guard follow. The prominence of the blogs in USA2008 bodes extremely well for the UK whenever our miserable, cynical and negative government finally comes to a grind halt and we get out turn on the stump...But with power comes responsibility... The left truly are the nasty ones these days the DK lies aren't something to be celebrated but demonstrate how powerful the blogs have become.
More on Scotland
Further to his rant and musings about the state of the Scottish Conservative Party and subsequently Scottish Conservative Future, TB had a wee chat with ABB. It was interesting to hear what a former Scottish CF player thought, having experienced both the inner workings of the two organisations.
Well firstly
CFS is arguably in a pretty poor state, what are the main problems?
The Scottish Conservative Party need to recognise who and where their next generation of voters and supporters are coming from, and start utilising that. It is my firm belief that if CFS was given more support from the central party up there, we would see more gains – much in the same way Conservative Future works down here in
How do you feel the problems in CFS reflect the larger scale problems the Conservative party in
One of the things I have always admired about the Scottish Conservative Party is how they never give up. In
Surely it should just be bought under central CFUK control?
As much as I believe this to be a unionist party, I appreciate that in order to engage the Scottish electorate at the highest possible level, it is necessary to have two separate party boards; one for
I have a great deal of time and respect for Murdo Fraser.
People say
Because this is a unionist party and in a general election
Idiot spotting...
Spotting this pillock certainly made 5 hours on the M4 slightly more amusing.
Thank you to the person who emailed
this site
over... very funny and very true.Number 15 is TB's favourite.
Saturday, 30 August 2008
Poor Darling
Maybe TB is going soft in his old age but he can't help but feel sorry for Darling. It's a new low for the man banned from most pubs in the country when he can't even order a second bottle of wine in a restaurant without being public rebuked by a waiter. You have to feel sorry the guy, especially given the position he is in...
Darling's
Of all the characters in this unfolding tragedy you have to wonder when Darling will reach breaking point - he has taken the fall for Gordan's mistakes in the past and he continues to take the fall now and still his boss has the audacity to brief against him. The loyal friend and ally is being stamped and trodden on and you have to wonder if he will be a
A Howe moment from Darling and it's curtains for Gordo...
Darling's
interview
in the Guardian today shows a different side of the man trapped in his own loyalty: "For Brown to repay his friend's loyalty by sacking him would be brutal - even Shakespearean. But then, politics can be like that. Darling is one of the most experienced politicians in the country. And yet, more than once, I find myself wondering how much of a political animal he really is."Of all the characters in this unfolding tragedy you have to wonder when Darling will reach breaking point - he has taken the fall for Gordan's mistakes in the past and he continues to take the fall now and still his boss has the audacity to brief against him. The loyal friend and ally is being stamped and trodden on and you have to wonder if he will be a
Stamper
to Gordon's Urquhart?A Howe moment from Darling and it's curtains for Gordo...
Friday, 29 August 2008
Campaigning, Conference and Wales...
Tooting Campaign Day
but do go along and help Mark - 10:30 Saturday morning at Tooting Broadway Station - as ever your hard work will be well rewarded
.Tickets to the must attend event of conference will go on sale early next week. Keep the Tuesday night in Birmingham free from nine until the wee hours. TB's bash will include a high profile guest speaker, live music and a hell of a lot of booze...
Real booze unlike the normal warm glass of conference wine!
While on the topic of conference, did anyone else resent having already forked out an obscene sum of money for the pass, having to pay the ridiculous £3 carbon offsetting? It's not the money that is the issue it's the blatent hollow gesture politics that has to change. TB demands pictorial evidence of the tree that will be planted with that three quid.
Might post again tonight but weekend will be very quiet.
Business as usual Monday.
The fight back begins...
www.vpilf.com
Shame she has a slightly irratating voice...
Excellent News + VPILF!
McCain could have pissed on Obama's parade last night and released his
fantastic
VP choice during "The Ones" ascendancy but instead he released this:Legend.
UPDATE: 16.23 - Congratulations to Mr Peterkin for coining the phrase VPILF:
Miss Wasilla 1984
TB is inclined to agree...Lib Dem lies...
Found these in a Facebook group, they are by a chap called Tim Fell...
So....what were you saying again Mr Clegg???"
Quite...
UPDATE: It has come to TB's attention that he just shamelessly ripped this story of
ABB's blog
... great minds etcThursday, 28 August 2008
News from the North
Maurice stood for Central Fife in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election and gained 2000 odd votes to the SNP's 10,000.
He must beat the Lib Dems to take third - a hurdle of some 2000 votes.
Having cut his teeth editing the Dundee Student Times, or "'Life in Dundee according to Maurice Golden" as it became "affectionately" known under his tenior, he then took over Dundee University Students Association. An impressive feat for any Tory, especially in Scotland.
TB has spoken to a fair few Calidonian co-conspirators today and the general consensus is the Party didn't exactly choose the most inspiring of candidates. The word dull came up more than once. Maurice was CF President in Scotland for three years and to be fair by the end of his time in office had made some enemies. TB imagines he will be hard pushed to get some of the older members of CFS, who remember the
cliquishness
of his last year or so in office to hit the streets for him.
CFS is very different from CF in England. One thing that binds the members in England is the prospect that we will more than likely be in government soon, or at least that is an achievable goal.
In Scotland things are very different.
The Conservatives won't be forming a government in Holyrood and there seems little to fight for. It's hard to unite the youth behind a banner that has the prospect of coming fourth. Because of this, little things like supposed cliquishness or bitchiness is taken so much more seriously instead of members looking to the bigger and brighter prospects of a successful campaign. Grudges are held in the quagmire of endless defeat.
The situation CFS and the wider Party in Scotland is in at the moment needs a massive kick up the arse and has been playing on TB's mind for a while now... Any Party that doesn't notice a hundred grand going walkies in in a pretty shoddy state.
Livingstone to work for mudering, corrupt, racist, anti-semetic communist dictator...
Got home late to discover this on the BBC:
Former London mayor Ken Livingstone is to work as a consultant for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
"Mr Livingstone, who has long been a supporter of Mr Chavez, will advise pro-government mayors in the capital Caracas on urban planning.
He said he was "proud and honoured" to be part of the city's transformation.
As mayor, Mr Livingstone struck a deal to swap cheap Venezuelan oil for city planning advice, but it was cancelled by his successor Boris Johnson.
After a meeting with Mr Chavez in Caracas on Wednesday, the former mayor said he was pleased that Venezuela would now get the "advice that we promised".
The BBC's James Ingham said the two men, who share left-wing political views, hugged each other like old friends."
TB is lost for printable words.
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Guest Post 3 - Clare Hilley
Why CF is the future
For many young people the world of politics is viewed as archaic, out of date and uninviting. Years of spin, deception and deceit at the hands of the Labour Party has helped galvanise this view into the minds of a generation of young people.
From the horrific ten pence tax debacle, which slammed some of the poorest people in the country, to the stomach churning lies on Iraq, the Labour Party has caused catastrophic damage to the public perception of political life.
Mercifully, the Conservative Party is developing the remedy to the Labour sickness in the form of Conservative Future. Already the largest political movement in the UK attracting over 15,000 members, Conservative Future is leading the way as a modern and accountable vehicle for ambitious young people keen to get stuck into politics.
From campaign days up and down the country to late night social events, CF opens up a wealth of opportunities to young people looking to make a difference. The organisation offers a variety of diverse events from LGBTory to social action projects, whatever your interests you will find like-minded people here.
I first joined Conservative Future when I was fourteen years old and have been an active member ever since. During this time I have seen members come and go and political careers flourish as years of hard work and commitment to the cause pay off. I have made lifelong friends and learned much about policy, life and people, which has been invaluable to my personal development.
Conservative Future is the engine of the Conservative Party, producing and training some of the party’s brightest young stars. In no other organisation will you find young people so committed, so diverse and energetic ready to get out onto the doorsteps and spread the message.
Playing a key role in the election of Boris Johnson in London and the Crewe by-election, wherever they are needed CF activists loyally work - and work hard. Conservative Future is the key to winning marginal seats and the perfect way to show the public that life is better under Conservative Government.
In the 2005 election Conservative Future was the key to winning vital marginal seats. The extra leafleting and activism was the undoubtedly helped us win the extra votes.
We have come so far so quickly, but there is much more to be done. We need a centralised membership database, more recognition for outstanding campaigners and more attention and funding from the wider party.
Conservative Future is the home of some of the brightest thinkers on social action and the breeding ground for a generation of party leaders. We are in touch and up to speed with what this country wants in a Government.
But we are only effective when we are united as one.
So let’s pull together, forget our differences, work hard and kick this tired and ineffective Government out of Downing Street.
Let’s get out on the doorsteps and show the whole country that there is a better life waiting for them and that the future’s bright, the future’s blue.
From the horrific ten pence tax debacle, which slammed some of the poorest people in the country, to the stomach churning lies on Iraq, the Labour Party has caused catastrophic damage to the public perception of political life.
Mercifully, the Conservative Party is developing the remedy to the Labour sickness in the form of Conservative Future. Already the largest political movement in the UK attracting over 15,000 members, Conservative Future is leading the way as a modern and accountable vehicle for ambitious young people keen to get stuck into politics.
From campaign days up and down the country to late night social events, CF opens up a wealth of opportunities to young people looking to make a difference. The organisation offers a variety of diverse events from LGBTory to social action projects, whatever your interests you will find like-minded people here.
I first joined Conservative Future when I was fourteen years old and have been an active member ever since. During this time I have seen members come and go and political careers flourish as years of hard work and commitment to the cause pay off. I have made lifelong friends and learned much about policy, life and people, which has been invaluable to my personal development.
Conservative Future is the engine of the Conservative Party, producing and training some of the party’s brightest young stars. In no other organisation will you find young people so committed, so diverse and energetic ready to get out onto the doorsteps and spread the message.
Playing a key role in the election of Boris Johnson in London and the Crewe by-election, wherever they are needed CF activists loyally work - and work hard. Conservative Future is the key to winning marginal seats and the perfect way to show the public that life is better under Conservative Government.
In the 2005 election Conservative Future was the key to winning vital marginal seats. The extra leafleting and activism was the undoubtedly helped us win the extra votes.
We have come so far so quickly, but there is much more to be done. We need a centralised membership database, more recognition for outstanding campaigners and more attention and funding from the wider party.
Conservative Future is the home of some of the brightest thinkers on social action and the breeding ground for a generation of party leaders. We are in touch and up to speed with what this country wants in a Government.
But we are only effective when we are united as one.
So let’s pull together, forget our differences, work hard and kick this tired and ineffective Government out of Downing Street.
Let’s get out on the doorsteps and show the whole country that there is a better life waiting for them and that the future’s bright, the future’s blue.
TB interviewed...
TB was interviewed for the
"YBF tracked down Tory Bear – a prolific blogger on the CF scene – to find out what makes him (or her) tick. The Bear talks openly about what the blog aims to do, his (or her) relationship with CCHQ, his (or her) plans for the future and why he’d (or she’d) bring back fox hunting.
Interesting that the following line was the only one cut out:
"The potential for a split in CF over these reforms is very real, not necessarily because of the content of them but the way in which they are being imposed."
YBF website:
"YBF tracked down Tory Bear – a prolific blogger on the CF scene – to find out what makes him (or her) tick. The Bear talks openly about what the blog aims to do, his (or her) relationship with CCHQ, his (or her) plans for the future and why he’d (or she’d) bring back fox hunting.
Tell us why you created the blog - what did you set out to do?
TB was bored of getting his regular hits of 14 readers a day and some of the best advice about blogging I’ve ever been given was find a niche - CF was lacking a regular blogger that had comedy, so that’s the direction I took my blog in! I also get frustrated with the careerists so it’s nice to bring them down a peg or two from time to time.
Why did you decide to be anonymous?
It was more a decision to write in character than to be anonymous. If you look at The Devils Kitchen, Guido or Dizzy you can see how effective this can be. The identity of Tory Bear also generated a lot of interest in the first few weeks that got people talking and ultimately drove up the traffic. Lets be honest though, it’s hardly anonymous…
Do you feel there was some kind of learning curve? Has the blog changed at all since you started it?
Like I never imagined, not just on the technical side but in terms of the blogsphere too. TB is trying new things every day and trying to rewrite the rule book in some ways. In terms of the blog changing, well people have said that it has calmed down a lot since the early notoriety or leaked documents. That isn’t necessarily a decision by me to tone it down but the fact is that people are a lot more wary of getting involved in a leak witch-hunt and seem to be a lot more guarded. There is a rumour going round that I got threatened by the Party Board, that’s just not true. If the worst that happens is a certain CCHQ official googleing my life and then sending it to other bloggers then I’m not exactly shaking in my boots.
Are you planning any other developments or changes to your blog?
Absolutely! The site is due to go under a significant renovation before conference - where I will be live blogging. Tory Bear is also throwing a party in Birmingham. More details on that soon. In term of long term goals and directions to take the blog in, I am looking to expand the focus from just CF to a broader look at the grassroots and coalition.
As well as the luxury of saying what you please, do you think a blogger has any responsibilities too?
With an influence of a readership that is made up of the public as well as party faithful, of course there is a certain amount of responsibility involved. Ultimately there is one enemy and that is Labour and TB doesn’t want to give them ammunition. However, that can’t stop CF needing a “critical friend” from time to time. I have to weigh up posts I make and any story I do put up that could be construed as negative, I believe has been in the interest of the members and fully sourced. I am yet to regret a post.
In terms of comments well it’s my sandpit, so my rules. My moderation policy is fairly random and if I find something tedious I won’t publish. Racism and homophobia as well as general abuse that isn’t obviously a joke is not allowed. People moan that I don’t publish there thousand word essays on the Common Agriculture Policy or why TB is “ruining CF” but if you don’t like it, start your own blog.
Tell us about your observations of CF today - how is it reacting to the rise of CF bloggers?
It’s not political enough. People back their mates at elections, candidates promise the world and rarely talk about their political beliefs. I want to see CF being the political force it once was. The party has shifted to the centre yet CF represents all of it’s voters under 30 - a formidable force if we were to start calling for the libertarian ideals to be listened to again!
The Tory Bear blog is I believe having the right effect, people are beginning to lighten up a bit and stop taking everything so seriously. Obviously there are still a few out there who whine about bloggers but they are normally the ones with the most to hide. The positive responses far outweigh the negatives that have been thrown my way, though the fact that CCHQ IP addresses top my hits, one computer in particular, makes me think that the powers that be are going to take a little more persuading.
Where can CF improve?
CF needs to take a good hard look in the mirror, if the members spent half as much time and half as much energy sweating over minuscule internal problems and instead focused that energy on campaigning we would be the formidable force that we once were. In terms of the direction we seem to be going in recent months, I think that any reforms of CF need to be done openly and under the watchful eye of the membership, who for some reason care deeply about these issues.
What do you think of the relationship between CF and YBF?
CF needs strong ties to all aspects of the broader coalition. I think it is fantastic that CF understands that YBF are at the forefront of activist training in this country and rather than trying to rival them, calling on them to work together instead. People moan about a potential conflict of interest that arises in having a senior CF figure working in a senior position at YBF but I can see very little harm in this as long as YBF remains neutral in internal elections. The coalition needs strengthening and the YBF relationship should be a model for CF to follow with the rest of the movement.
Do you have any thoughts on the next set of CF elections?
I hope there are another set of CF elections ; )
Joking apart they are a long way off and only time will tell who has the stamina to go all the way. People shouldn’t start campaigning yet, they will only exhaust themselves and people will get bored of them. If the elections are held next August the final months of the campaign will be very different from previously due to the fact the universities will all be on holiday. The whole dynamic of the get-out-and-meet-voters campaign will have to change.
What are your plans for the future?
TB struggles to think about his next meal let alone any long term plans… The blog has opened up some interesting opportunities though…
If you could repeal one law, which would it be?
Just one? Hunting Act 2004 if we are being specific. TB is big fan of legalising lots of things as well…
If you could make a law, what would it be?
Any person who pays tax in this country should have the vote. It’s disgusting that there are soldiers and sailors who are under 18 yet fighting for their country and paying tax but do not have the vote. I am not calling for the voting age to be lowered, there are a lot of 16, 18 and even 21 year olds who aren’t mature enough for a vote – but there should be no taxation without representation. Whatever your age, and only if you pay tax do you get the vote."
Interesting that the following line was the only one cut out:
"The potential for a split in CF over these reforms is very real, not necessarily because of the content of them but the way in which they are being imposed."
Monday, 25 August 2008
Press Release: If you go down to the beach today...
He walked bare-foot along the beach, paw-in-paw with his wife Mrs Bear, as temperatures soared.
Dressed in trendy shorts and a blue t-shirt, Tory Bear hardly drew a glance from the hundreds of holidaymakers enjoying the sun and sea as the summer began in earnest.
Talking of his shorts on a radio station last week, Tory Bear said; “I think Mrs Bear bought them; I think they’re quite nice.
An onlooker, impressed that the power couple looked so at home on the beach, said:
“It was great to see them having a normal family holiday. They looked so happy and relaxed, so different from the stage-managed photo-calls they often appear at. Tory Bear was having a go at body surfing and his wife enjoyed playing with the baby bears.”
Tory Bear certainly gave surfer dudes a run for their money. Trading his bike for a bodyboard it seems he’s in pretty good shape and doesn’t mind flexing his pecs.
### Ends ###
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