I'm not a conservative mind you, but if your goal is to eventually get elected, you probably want to win on topics that will actually gain you votes vs. those that take them away.
This is a wedge issue, and as such they're casting their votes to alienate a huge (likely majority) of voters away from your platform before the leader has even been selected.
Secondly, this protest has been a huge news vacuum attracting non-stop coverage. This is bad for a party that needs to drum up any support for a leadership race to carry them more seats in the next election. By the time this plays out, the conservatives could be half way through their election and most Canadians may not even know the candidates.
We all know that elected officials rarely get elected based on what they've actually done. They get elected by parroting the empty promises their party bosses tell them too.
Plus, politicians who do vote against their constituents' wishes can run in a district that's more friendly to that vote.
This is a wedge issue, and as such they're casting their votes to alienate a huge (likely majority) of voters away from your platform before the leader has even been selected.
Secondly, this protest has been a huge news vacuum attracting non-stop coverage. This is bad for a party that needs to drum up any support for a leadership race to carry them more seats in the next election. By the time this plays out, the conservatives could be half way through their election and most Canadians may not even know the candidates.