I, Hoperite

Gerry Nicholls nails it.

Who are the Stephen Hoperites? Well, that's a name I have given to those people who consider themselves part of Canada's conservative movement. And the conservative movement, remember, is different and distinct from the Conservative Party. The Conservative Party is a political machine. Its main purpose is to win seats during elections; its main focus is gaining and then holding on to power. The party may or may not be ideologically conservative.

The conservative movement, on the other hand, stands not for power, but for principles. More specifically, movement conservatives care about promoting freer markets, smaller government and individual freedom. Canadian conservative individuals and organizations, in other words, are not concerned so much with winning elections, but with winning something far more important: the war of ideas. The goal of conservatism as a philosophy isn't to win seats in the House of Commons, but to win converts to the values of freedom.

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