Preston Manning, President and CEO of the Manning Centre for Building Democracy speaks during the Manning Networking Conference 2010 in Ottawa March 12, 2010. (ANDRE FORGET/QMI AGENCY)
The Achilles heel of the conservative movement is "intemperate and ill considered remarks" which have the ability to hurt the entire family, says Reform Party of Canada godfather and former Opposition leader Preston Manning.
In an address to about 250 delegates Saturday at the Manning Networking Conference in Ottawa, Manning identified that "careless" comments have the capacity to "discredit the family as a whole" including conservative governments, parties and campaigns.
Manning specifically noted the controversial child-pornography statements made by Tom Flanagan, a former adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, late last month.
