Revenge of the comment section: What's wrong with a little populism?

As Kevin O'Leary ponders entering the already crowded Conservative leadership race,Lisa Raitt took matters into her own hands. Before he could even announce his candidacy, Raitt created a website, StopKevinOLeary.com, and spoke out against his politics. This has commenters wondering: are populist governments all that bad?

Populism for prime minister

What is wrong with populism if the leader is competent? Barack Obama came to power on a worldwide wave of populism, but he was an inept lightweight. Justin Trudeau won on a wave of populism and he seems to be pretty vacuous. Donald Trump has a lifetime of experience Kevin O'Leary too. We would do well with O'Leary. He does not need to be the prime minister, but we need a prime minister like him or Kellie Leitch.

-John Hawkwood

O'Leary is not a conservative

O'Leary: the guy who said 3.5 billion people living in poverty is fantastic news. The guy who said outsourcing is vital for business and that the average Canadian worker can either create their own wealth or move to another country. The guy who doesn't live in Canada anymore and is in fact "just visiting."

I grew up in a staunchly Conservative household. Any person who calls themselves a Conservative would scoff or be insulted at the notion of O'Leary as a leader.

-Douglas Drouin

The joke's on us

Watching Canadian politics at work is like sitting through open mic night at a comedy club.

-John Moris

O'Leary is strong on business

I am a Maxime Bernier supporter but would seriously consider O'Leary if he choses to run if only to watch him destroy Trudeau in a discussion about the economy or how business actually works.

-Howard Smith

Losing to Trudeau

Raitt, by winning the Conservative leadership, would ensure that Trudeau and his immensely inept cabinet would remain in power until 2023.

Raitt has jumped on the touchy-feely, politically correct Liberal bandwagon and does not have an accurate assessment of the feelings of the majority of the Canadian public. She has misread what has actually happened in the U.S. She should run for the Liberals in 2019.

-Marty Lee

Populism works

Anybody can beat Trudeau. Just like Americans were tired of the Clintons, the same will happen to the Trudeau dynasty. The Liberals will go back to third party status. I'm ready to gladly cast my vote for O'Leary or Leitch. Populism has proven to work. I'm with him or her! Stronger together!

-Tony Adams

Mr. Wonderful's one-liners

Prime Minister "Mr. Wonderful." His one-liners against Trudeau and the Liberals will be awesome. I'm voting O'Leary in 2020, if the Liberals make it that long.

"If you want a friend, buy a dog." - Kevin O'Leary.

-Maddy Timpf

Useless idealism

I would rather have "irresponsible" populism than useless idealism.

-Max Stirner

Raitt is right

The other candidates refused to take on Trump early on and we saw what happened. Good for Raitt for calling a spade a spade and refusing to let the same thing happen here.

-Ivan Nano

A strong leader to stand up to Trump

O'Leary would be a great prime minister. He's smart and tough, and he uses good-old common sense, unlike Trudeau. The days of politically correct leaders who pander to the few are long gone. Western countries are now learning the hard way that weak leaders who ignore the needs of the majority will be voted out. Look what Trump did. And we need a strong leader to stand up to him.

-Justin Levesque

Raitt is the negative one

Raitt is clearly "embracing a style of negative" campaigning with www.StopKevinOLeary.com. She should take a step back, turn around, and go.

-Jamie Taylor