Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Let The Mainstreeting Begin

Main Street Rocky looking south to a green area.

We’ve been plunged into yet another tepid Canadian political campaign. Prime Minster Stephen Harper pulled the plug on his own government in a surprise move he’d been orchestrating for months. So they say anyway. I can’t prove it, but I suspect it’s true simply because he kept making votes matters of confidence and then daring the Opposition to make them fail.
He made sure the government couldn’t govern and then blamed the Opposition for being intractable.
He’s using an interesting approach. Harper has himself said he expects a Conservative minority again.
Then why would he go to all this trouble and expense to engineer an election?
I say the cold, calculating actuary (Seems to me that’s what he did for a living. He joked he didn’t have the personality to be an accountant.) is manipulating us into a good voter turnout. We’re sick of elections, especially federal ones. We were promised by Harper that he’d govern until October 2009 unless his government was defeated on a non-confidence vote. He wrote it into Canadian law by a fixing an election date of the third (I believe) Monday in October every four years.
By holding one early and breaking his own centerpiece law, and then galling us with predictions of a minority that could fall at any moment, he expects us to say: “No more!”
I say he’s banking on us being so disgusted that we’ll get out and vote in droves thus providing him with a smug majority.
Ewww. I hate being played. I’ll vote of course. It wrong and insulting not to. I think of people who walk for miles and risk their lives to be able to cast ballots. We can’t be bothered to cross the street.
Meanwhile, the mainstream parties are a wee bit scared of the Greens. The TV networks won’t let Green Party Leader Elizabeth May play when they have the leaders’ debates. The claim is some of the other leaders won’t debate if she’s there. These other leaders cry it isn’t fair because, they claim, she is essentially another Liberal.
Last time out the Green Party then- Leader Jim Harris wasn’t allowed to debate because his party had no sitting members in the House. Recently an Independent moved over to the Greens thus ensuring they had a seat and could be at the debate.
Now this reason is pulled out of a political butt and I call it desperation at its best.
The Liberals and Conservatives talk a good game about protecting the environment while it’s the Greens raison d’être.
They’re scared of looking bad, and they will if they have to take on the Green Party.
As to the other parties, well, Jack Layton, NDP, doesn’t have a hope in hell of forming a government. He does need to be kissed up to a bit so he can shore up a minority.
Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Quebecois gets to debate even though his party is separatist and exists only in Quebec. He’s not a threat.
Even though the Greens are perceived as being practically Liberal themselves, and Liberal Leader Stephane Dion is all for having May at the debate, she’s still a threat. And Dion can say whatever he wants because he’s said he’d debate her. Since she’s already not allowed, this just makes him look good.
Meanwhile May is thinking of taking the matter to Court.
Perhaps this election won’t be so tepid after all.

8 comments:

carla said...

And since we Americans ballsily (the technical term) expect *everyone* to become as invested in our elections as are we don't we owe it to ya'll to get fired up about yours?
Tepid or not?

Maybe you'll start a trend.

Miz.

Leah J. Utas said...

Mizfit/Carla, I love the term ballsily.
I don't know that you owe us, but you might find you like the change.
Your elections affect us more than we are comfortable admitting.
I'd love to start a trend.

the Bag Lady said...

Ah, remember the good ol' days, when Canadian politicians at least had personalities?! As loathe as I am to admit it, ol' PET made for interesting watching....
These guys nowadays are so...so...ordinary! They never seem to take a stance and stick to it! They sway in the wind, never keep a promise, and outright lie to us!
Caught a glimpse of a photo on the news and wondered who it was - looked again - it was our esteemed PM ~~sigh~~ How sad is that, that I didn't recognize him?
Oh, wait, does that make it his fault, or is my mind going...? Damn politicians, they screw us up, one way or another! Now I'll spend the rest of the day wondering if I'm senile because I didn't recognize ol' Stephen Milktoast.!

Leah J. Utas said...

I miss those days, df Bag Lady.
As for Harper, well, he pretty much blends in. It's not you, it's him.

Missicat said...

Wow. And I thought we had cornered the market on political crap.
Agree with Mizfit, 'bout time we Americans realized that there are actually are other governments...

Leah J. Utas said...

Oh, we have our share, Missicat.
Umm, if the Conservatives get back in and a Repubican returns to the White House, then the US won't have to worry about there being any other government here.

Melissa said...

You think YOU have it bad????

My stomach is so in knots. I've been trying to draw instead of wringing my hands. Check out my latest effort!

http://melissa-mindsweeper.blogspot.com/2008/09/politics-makes-me-sick.html

Leah J. Utas said...

Melissa, I checked out your drawings. Well done.
Thanks for reading me.