Sorry for the lack of posts over the past few days but its crazy over here in New Democratland, er, I mean Metro Vancouver. The orange tide has swept over the Lower Mainland and even if we don't win all of the seats that we are competitive in, this election has seen massive growth for the NDP over here.
Meanwhile, the Liberals have been on a "save the furniture" tour for the tail end of this election, going to Liberal incumbent territory to try to minimize the inevitable losses they will incur once the votes are counted. They are so destitute that their only hope is to try to trick voters, who are legitimately concerned about a Stephen Harper government, into voting for them.
But, in this election in particular, voting Liberal is a wasted progressive vote. Stephane Dion has brought the Liberal party to new lows in support. Here's my brilliant election prediction: the Liberal party will not be forming government. Voting Liberal may help elect another Liberal MP, but that MP is sure to vote with the Conservatives or abstain when it really counts. That is what they did 43 times in the last parliament. Do you really want more of this?
I understand progressive Canadians' concerns with Stephen Harper. I am with you.
Story time: I almost voted Liberal in 2004. Yes, I was swayed by the "Conservatives are sooo scary, you need to hold your nose and vote Liberal" messaging. Guilty. Then a very smart woman (my Mom, awwww) caught me on the way to the poll. I told her about how my riding could easily go Conservative because I'd seen so many Conservative signs and Paul Martin told me I should be scared and blablabla. She responded with something like this:
"Look, your vote counts but not too many races have ever come down to one vote. If you vote Liberal, you'll probably find out when the votes are counted that you didn't have to do that to stop the Conservatives. But you will have to live with the fact that you voted Liberal for the rest of your life."
What I took from that is that since we each only get one vote, it means more to us as individuals, as an expression of what we think is right for Canada, than it does in the grand scheme of who wins or loses. This is why your best bet is to vote for something positive instead of against something negative.
Thanks to my Mom's wisdom, I can say today that I have have always voted NDP. Voting NDP in 2006 helped elect Denise Savoie in Victoria. Denise went to parliament and fought for things I care about like the environment, post-secondary education, anti-scab legislation, the list goes on. Denise never once disappointed me. This is more than progressives who "strategically" voted Liberal last time can say after the Liberal party enabled the Harper agenda 43 times.
The sad truth about the Liberals is that they are not really progressive outside of elections. They govern from the right when they win and vote with the Conservatives when they lose. Voting for them to "stop Harper" makes no sense. It's not strategic, it's a sham.
Liberals say that Jack Layton's "lend us your votes" message in 2006 had a lot to do with their loss. They go so far as to say that they "want their votes back." But I don't think they were their votes. I think that many of the new votes that the went to the NDP in 2006 were from people who sincerely believed in Jack Layton and the NDP, but had possibly voted "strategically" for the Liberals in the past.
This election should see even more votes coming back to the NDP. Because Stephen Harper does need to be stopped and Jack Layton has proved that he and the NDP are the ones to do it. Also, I think people are starting to get tired of the same old same old and that there is an appetite for real change. And, with Jack running for Prime Minister this time, he has energized the base and given true progressives hope. It's an exciting time to be New Democrat.
So, I'm sorry that my Mom is not available to reach all of you who are thinking about voting Liberal, but I'm hoping that this post reaches you before you head to the polls and that you think about what you really want for Canada, not just what you don't want.
9 hours ago
Posts
5 comments:
I'll see your prediction and raise you two:
Jack Layton will not be the next leader of our government.
Jack Layton will not even be the next leader of the official opposition.
NDP will still be unable to do anything to stop the Conservative confidence vote scam because forcing the Liberals to run a leadership campaign now will *guarantee* they sit on their hands for the next 2.5 years.
So no, the election will almost never come down to a single vote. It will, however, come down to a lot of people's votes, and if you fill them with such nonsense that voting against a party is worse than voting for one.
Due respect to your mother and all, but I'd rather know I voted for a party I didn't like for the rest of my life than spend the rest of my life in the only country in the world that reinstated the death penalty and eliminated gay marriage.
To say nothing of the second gilded age that Harper hopes to bring forward.
But hey, if you can live with knowing you remained true to your principles even as more people die from deregulated beef or food processing plants, you go girl.
Hell, I'm not even saying vote Liberal. There are a lot of ridings, especially in BC, where the choice to block the conservative is NDP.
What I'm saying is vote with your smarts, not with your heart. It's too important this time around.
"But hey, if you can live with knowing you remained true to your principles even as more people die from deregulated beef or food processing plants, you go girl."
Thats absurd. The Liberals slashed the meat and food inspectors by 1300. The Conservatives just carried forward on the Liberal plan...
of course voting NDP will mean your next baby will die too..., now i know why you did not leave your name.
I'll raise you one more. Jack Layton won't even be the third party in the house.
So, yes, where Liberals are in fights with the Cons a la Joyce Murray, you DO have to vote LIBERAL.
As for meat inspection? It is clear and documented the Conservatives changed the process in April of this year. You should reall get a life Ricky. The Liberals were out of government for 2.5 years now. Laughing and making jokes while people die is not very funny. Similarly Tony Clement's lack of concern while he partied in Denver should be a concern.
The arrogance fairly drips from the Libs on this blog. As if voting Liberal in the past has achieved anything.
Remember the 1995 Paul Martin "come hell or high water" budget? He balanced the budget alright:
1. By cutting billions from health care funding;
2. Changing the rules so provinces don't have to use federal social transfer funds on social programs and post-secondary education;
3. Ripped off working people by scooping billions from the U.I. fund to balance the budget, while cutting benefits for the unemployed.
4. Eliminated social housing funding, making Canada the only G8 country without a housing strategy, and creating a permanent and growing homeless population.
5. Cut taxes for big corporations making record profits, while cutting social funding across the board.
6. Extended patent protection for big pharmacutical companies, depriving Canadians of lo-cost generic drugs.
7. Endorsed Kyoto and then did nothing while GHG emissions ballooned for some 15 years.
So, just exactly WHY should anyone vote Liberal? This is just another conservative party wrapped in a red blanket.
This time, vote for the one party that will actually carry through on their commitments. Vote NDP.
krispy, the alternative is what we have now. A Harper government that knows the Liberals are going to be off slitting their own throats with the long knives and a leadership review they can't afford.
They now know the Confidence Vote game works, and doesn't even carry any significant penalty from the electorate. So enjoy the few extra NDP seats -- they're completely irrelevant because the NDP and the Bloc can't stop Harper's confidence bills from passing through.
On the other hand, a Liberal minority would have had to cooperate to maintain power, because you know damned well that the conservatives aren't afraid of having to spend the money for another election.
In short, because any Harper government means the NDP are shut out of any policy discussions for the duration, while a non-Conservative government gets them a seat at the table.
Congrats on your win, Dips. Hope you enjoy the sidelines.
Post a Comment