Canadian Politics

[andytheace]

Dare I bring up the topic? Sure why not. I'm a little surprised that nobody more politically minded than myself has brought up the topic already (is there some unwritten rule against it?). What do you think of the coming election? Do you that anything will really change? If so, what? Are people finally fed up with the liberal party

Comments

[lambda_calculus]

I think there's also this sense of ... in the States you have two equally opposite (some disagree, but at least in the popular culture) choices who are always fighting for the side of twuth and bweauty. The crazy Liberals versus the nutty Conservatives ... there really doesn't seem to be a place for the Centrists to go to. Pop culture makes it sound like people need to direct the nation away from certain doom, and depending on who has the more pervasive influence, one always has to choose the right path.

In Canada I see more of thise ... well, the Liberals are the middle of the road, so we let them keep things hunky dory. If they screw up, we steer the ship by placing the Conservatives or the NDP in, then kick them out and put the liberals back in. There's this sense of "politicans suck anyway", so let's pick the lesser of X amount of evils.

That's what CNN and This Hour has 22 minutes tells me...so maybe I'm just making it up.

And here's the site for Elections Canada

[andytheace]

yeah, I checked on there a few days ago. It seems I have to call to get a form mailed to me. I figured there must be some way you can apply online, but it looks like not.

I find it rather ironic (as I'm sure millions of people before me have too) that the Liberal party is the most conservative party you can vote for.

[lambda_calculus]

Where, in Canada or in the States?

Assuming you mean Canada, it's not that weird ... Canada is, on the whole, more socially left-leaning than the States, right? If so, then a conservative party would stick to the status quo ... it would be like the conservative Swedish party, fighting those crazy Commies and Capitalists.
At the same time, on an absolute scale the Liberals are more "liberal" than the Conservatives.

Liberal != liberal, Conservative != conservative. It's all relative!

[andytheace]

Canada.

....a conservative party would stick to the status quo...

My point exactly. Therefore because the Liberals like the way the country is now they should call themselves Conservatives. I propose they switch names.

I know Liberal <> liberal, but still, it would make things make more sense if it did.

Interestingly enough, in the states, the term liberal has a slight negative connotation (perhaps subjective). If you look back in American government, Democrats == liberal and Republicans == conservative, although they've pretty much done away with that.

[lambda_calculus]

My dad watched Crossfire and Capital Gang on CNN all the time, so I saw the pundits bandy about the world liberal whenever they wanted to discredit someone ... a more politically correct way of saying "Filthy Pinko", it seemed like.

I guess theoretically the Liberals should be the Conservatives and the Conservatives should be the ... Traditionalists? Regressives?

I propose officially being called the Grits and the Tories, possibly adding in "Whig" while we are at it. Nobody could argue about the names being out of touch with the times, nobody could argue that none of those terms of endearment have somewhat offensive roots.

Give me a break

[andytheace]

I propose officially being called the Grits and the Tories, possibly adding in "Whig" while we are at it. Nobody could argue about the names being out of touch with the times, nobody could argue that none of those terms of endearment have somewhat offensive roots.

I'm sure you'd get a lot of support there.