Renew my Subscription to the Canadian Election

Originally posted at Blackstar's Diary re the Canadian Election

Set your watch back 10 years to '96

As an admittedly sloppy analogy for our American friends, albeit one that must look pretty damn sweet to any American in 2006.
(Apologies are extended for the Xmas rudeness of Dec. 26-28 which occurred when Situationists invaded the Howth of Murph and left offensive comments. Things have returned to moderate-Canadian in the Howth, and a Royal Commission has been enacted to study what went wrong.)

So it's 1996...

We have a business-friendly, centre-left and thoroughly competent government that's unraveled some pieces of the Canadian social safety net, but not irredeemably. The economy and GDP are performing well. Our international reputation remains excellent. A good degree of cronyism and corruption has come to light... yeah, they're swine, but they're still our swine and better than the alternative, who'd like to introduce reactionary policy that appeals to the lesser angels of disgruntled Anglo-Canadian-Christian values, and who are especially NOT to be trusted due to their friends and funders who reflect made-in-the-USA white Christian intolerance and untrammeled capitalism.

As tempting as an NDP Northern-European-style Social Democrat agenda is... and it really IS to me... I am going to hold my nose and vote Liberal, because at this impasse, it is the right thing to do, especially in my Riding. And when I say hold my nose, I mean it, because my Liberal candidate was (rightly/wrongly and politically) punished for his voting against the Government's same-sex-marriage legislation and wound up truly harming his constituency by losing a Cabinet post... but here he was trying to appease his ethnic-Catholic base. The same candidate has always talked a Pro-Life game to this same base, but to our credit, abortion rights are so entrenched that only an extremist agenda (which is why every moderate-- sensible person-- avoids the Reform/Conservative flank) would even attempt to compromise a woman's right to choose, and would ultimately fail.  Our unelected Senate (which frothing Conservatives hate more than ANYTHING) really do have the fiat of philosopher kings, and we are unlikely to ever see the return of capital punishment or denial of abortion rights because they simply cannot be upheld on a legal-philosophical level of justice. Gay marriage rights abide as well... as the Liberal proponents put it, "It's the Charter, stupid" i.e., EQUAL rights under the Charter of Rights.  

There is a mirror here between the French-Italian-Irish Catholic and more recent-immigrant-Asian-Canadian bases that have created the Liberal machines in Canada and the Democratic machines in the US... versus a White-Anglo-Protestant establishment/Disaffected rural social-conservative base that makes for the Conservative/Repub allegory.

But it's the New Democratic Party as the solid social-democrat third way that makes our system even better. I'd vote for them, but not in my Riding this time around.

And the Bloc Quebecois are such a totally-curious joker in the pack... funny how a party who should be SHOT FOR TREASON <snark> may wind up playing kingmaker in a country they want to secede from, depending on the alliances they choose.

I think we'll be stuck with a weakened Liberal minority come Jan. 23. Should be interesting.

I like it here.

•  I am FURIOUS

  with our inept PM Paul Martin.  He has been out-campaigned by everyone including (especially) Gilles Duceppe.  I understand he's about to 'go negative' in a big way, and if he goes too far it could cost the liberals big.

  What is he doing?  No, really, what is he doing?  Buying still more votes?  Are we about to get our own bridge to nowhere election campaign promise, instead of much-needed health care and education monies?

  Aaaarrrrggggh!  I'm pulling my hair out.  My riding has been staunchly liberal since '63, it's pretty much inconcievable that that will change this year, so I do have the luxury of voting NDP.  I just hope the word 'coalition' has made it into Layton's vocabulary.

  I don't think most Canadians are aware of Harper's connections with American special interests.  There's no way in hell he could do to Canada what's being done to the US, but he could certainly do a lot of harm anyway.  I'm depressed now.  I'm going to Tim Horton's for a 90% lard doughnut (1450 calories - hey, it's cold out).  See how I spelled doughnut correctly.  At least there's that.

  by Kingsmeg on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 03:45:18 PM PDT

  •  Status Quo...

    ...which I'm SHOCKED to be defending right now.

    Yeah, the Liberals are really blowing the campaign so far, but I don't foresee anything but another Lib minority.  Watch for the subtle swing back and the "times are good, watch out for the wingers" message to really play next week.

    Patience and fortitude. Rooting for more NDP seats in BC, Tories flaming out in ON, and a stronger-than-expected Lib return in Quebec. We'll see!

    by howth of murph on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 04:02:15 PM PDT

    •  Howth, I gotta confess...........

      ......that for all of the seriousness of this election (and let's hope that the Grits can turn things around in the future)....that when I read your title: "Renew my Subscription to the Canadian Election"....I must admit I heard Jim Morrison sing:

      "Ca  "Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection......Send my credentials to the House of Detention".

      by Ed Tracey on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 06:13:46 PM PDT

•  Agree..

  the timing of the RCMP investigations is suspect. They are even going after the Canadian Association of Retired Persons.

  Someone should mention that if Goodale was making any announcement about Income Trusts it does not take a rocket scientist to know it was bound to be positive with an election coming up.

  So either the RCMP have not considered that savvy citizens can sometimes can figure things out all on their own or its politically motivated.

  by ohcanada on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 04:07:43 PM PDT

•  The liberals

  will go negative and will hurt them. They are tired desperate,have a sense of entitlement(sound familiar?)and a lot of people are tired of them. The liberals will raise the 'secret agenda' again when people are beginning to notice the only secret agenda is the one the Liberals maintain. Only its not secret. Its bribe the taxpayers with their own money,say anything to elected and ignore the voters the day after. Its a very tired organization. Its bad for democracy to have one party rule. Regardless of how Tony Blairs government has done on the economic front the same will hold true for him in a couple of years. It will be time for a change. Thats how its done ina healthy democracy.

  by eastvan on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 04:59:53 PM PDT

  •  If the negative...

    ...consists of reminding people that the Evil Ken Doll, aka Harper, was all atwitter about how we should jump into Iraq a couple of years ago to help our "American friends," then I can see it having some effect.

    Remember, the Conservatives' biggest drag is Harper. What was it, 45% of the electorate would have a more positive view of them if they dumped their leader?

    by sagesource on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 05:21:09 PM PDT

    •  Except that

      I believe I saw somewhere that Martin also considered that.Of course he wouldn't exactly be truthful with that would he?

      by eastvan on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 05:40:28 PM PDT

•  From my view here in the States . . .

  Martin has gotten outplayed in this campaign so far.  I'd generally love to see people fed up with the Martin government--and there seem to be legitimate reasons to be fed up--to vote NDP if that's a viable option.  I know Prime Minister Layton is a pipe dream, but a body can dream.

  On the other hand, you know better than I do the lay of the land in Thunder Bay-Superior North.  If the NDP candidate can't win, I can't fault you for voting for Comuzzi.

  by BTP on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 05:16:00 PM PDT

  •  Martin appears

    tired and lethargic. I expect he will go very negative. Its all he has left. Maybe its time he went back to running the shipping company he owns,which I understand does not hire Canadians and has all its contracts for building/repair offshore. Fine,patriotic example. Liberal Party hypocracy.

    by eastvan on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 05:44:49 PM PDT

  •  I dreamed I saw Tommy Douglas...

    .. last night.. alive as he could be.

    Should we let our American friends know that Kiefer Sutherland is the grand-son of the great originator of Socialized Health Care? (via the amazing actress Shirley Douglas and Donald Sutherland... but we digress)

    BPR, you've pinpointed the Riding in question, exactement, and can probably understand the cynical/pragmatist approach so many of us old Trudeau Liberals take. I'm sure there's a pithy Latin phrase that would sum up voting for the Old, Corrupt, Liberal machine, as opposed to the repugnant,arbitrary Other... while keeping the NDP cards in our vest, closer to the heart.

    by howth of murph on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 06:11:46 PM PDT

    •  I was responding to BTP

      Not BPR, by the way, and I won't even abbreviate that 'cause I'm sick of abbreviations and all that might ensue.

      So ROTFLMFAO or whatever, I don't know, I hope no-one was hurt.

      by howth of murph on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 06:21:32 PM PDT

•  Vancouver Centre

  I went to an all-candidates meeting this afternoon. Biggest applause: for the guy in the audience who said "The last few months has been the best government in Canada I can remember in my lifetime, when all the parties have had to work together to get things done. Candidates, tell us how you're going to work with the others when a minority government gets sent back again." Biggest boos: when Joe Pal stood up and started to spew Robertson-like about how we need his "moral values" imposed on us and need to stop "capital punishment for the innocent".

  I went in there thinking strategic, like you -- support Liberals so Conservatives don't win -- but was totally blown away by Svend. His commitment to action on health care, housing, and education is more in line with my idea of "moral values".

  by Alien Abductee on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 06:13:13 PM PDT

•  Ah yes... the old Canadian dilemma:

  vote for the party you most agree with, or vote for the candidate most likely to defeat the party you really, really don't agree with. In some few fortunate places that works out to be the same person. In many ridings, it doesn't.

  So you agonize. And end up voting strategically after all, once again... because somehow that's the way the political calculus always seems to work out.

  by Canadian Reader on Sat Jan 07, 2006 at 07:50:43 PM PDT