Thursday, September 10, 2009

My First Vote

Timeu Hall, site of the Timeu community picnic each year, dances, and a local polling station. I voted in my very first election here back in 1980. It was a federal election and the Conservatives under Joe Clark won lost. He was the candidate in my riding so voters like me had the honour of voting either directly for him or directly against him.
That was fun.
It made me feel as though I actually had a say in the matter. Any voter does, of course, but we only vote for the party here. The party selects the leader and you only vote for a party leader if you live in the riding he or she represents.

It could be that time of year again in Canadistan, your politically unstable banana republic at the top of the world.
The Liberals have pledged to bring down the Conservative minority government at their earliest convenience. An opposition party will need to shore up the government to stave off a fall election. That sort of unholy alliance never lasts. We'll get an election sooner or later anyway, but it appears that sooner is going to win.
Sigh.
I don't want one. I believe the majority of us feel the same. It will waste money and will likely render yet another Conservative minority government.
Is there a point?
No, but there's always a chance that the electorate will be so annoyed they'll come out in droves and elect a majority government of some stripe.
I have hope, but I also wonder if the current Devil we know is the better choice, at least for now.
All I can do is sharpen a mental pencil for a potential upcoming ballot mark.

ETA: My memory failed me earlier. I voted in 1980 for what I honestly believe was the first time, and in Clarke's riding. but he was the serving PM and lost that election. Sorry. Should have checked.

6 comments:

the Bag Lady said...

The idea of yet another election simply makes my blood boil! Wasting even more tax money, instead of getting down to the job of running the country! Politicians .... ooo, grr... I have to stop now before I go into full rant mode!!

Leah J. Utas said...

I hear that, df Bag Lady. I'm trying to let the idea roll on past me.

solarity said...

I cast my first vote by absentee ballot, since I was away at college. 1972.
Your election, or not, has my best wishes from down south.

Mary Anne in Kentucky

Leah J. Utas said...

Thank you, Mary Anne.

Terrie Farley Moran said...

df Leah,

My first vote was in the politically wild and crazy year of 1968.

I do not presume to understand exactly how your electoral system works, but I do seem to have figured along the way that it is based on confidence in the government and political alliances--I have to say, in today's climate--good luck with that.

Immediately to your south, we are dealing with a very vocal minority that refuses to accept the legitimacy of a president, clearly elected by a majority of the voters. (With our electoral college system that is not always the case.)

I guess all this nonsense is the price we collectively pay for living in democracies.

Terrie

Leah J. Utas said...

dfTerrie, yeah, you pretty much got our version of democracy nailed. If the government is in minority, then it has to cozy up to other parties to get legislation passed.
As to your excitement, the "Obama is a foreign-born Muslim and heaven -knows-what else" nonsense may never die. It's sad, but at least the freedom exists to say it out loud without fear of anything stronger than public ridicule.