Election

[katho]

This is going to be a very short post because I have crazy amounts of homework to do as I was in Calgary this weekend.

However, I need to express my confusion this election -- not about how I want to vote, but how I should vote. I'm in a close riding (last by-election, which I forgot about on election day, the liberal won by 151 votes over the

Comments

[unavalible]

Well, I know that I'm going to vote Conservative. I am not a Conservative person (Liberal all the way) but looking at the current world stage right now, not to mention the economy, I think Conservatives are the best at budgiting as well as keeping their heads above water.

Sure, I hate their social policies, but a lot of what I stand for and they stand against- they can't change. Take for example Abotion which is written into the consitution. Or Gay Marrige, which was voted down to change yet again. The Conservatives are kind of boxed in at the moment when it comes to issue like that. So while I WISH that the Liberals could do a good job with the economy, with the way things sound, it seems like they're just promising to spend money we don't have.

I had a big internal battle with choosing COnservative, mostly because they're... crazy! Their beliefs and values don't coincide with mine at all, but at the same time, I think they know how to run a country in regards to the economy and other issues.

But I guess what I am trying to say it, vote for who you think will be the best for the country! If it's NDP, then go with NDP. Don't let anyone else try and force their views and opinions on yout vote. It's YOURS and it's yours for a reason!

[katho]

Mm, but I really do not think the conservatives are right for the country (I don't think they prioritize people enough; I think that whether the economy gets better or not, what should be done is job creation, and ensure that Canadians can afford healthcare and that they get halfway decent healthcare. I'm not worried about their backwards social policies; that they support abordtion and banning gay marriage is so that they can retain traditionalist votes without having to actually honour any of those points. Harper spends money too -- gives tax cuts to big business and does some small but visibile things for normal Canadians (ie GST), but other parties have plans for stimulating the economy and I just can't support a party that undermines the most important professions in the country and rewards the greedy, and is cutting tons of funding for arts which is bad from my POV, and will let Americans monitor our internet use. I know that the liberals and NDP have the needs of Canadians, in any economic circumstance, at heart far more than Harper.

Also I am not sure that he IS an economic genius. Basically he's saying that other people don't have plans, but they DO (whether or not they will work remains to be seen, and it's not like having a conservative government has helped the US much as far as economy goes. This is what harper says about the economy: "A Conservative government will not be raising taxes. We will not impose a carbon tax. We will not cancel planned tax reductions for business. We will keep our spending within our means. It is that simple. /
The alternative is not a plan. It is just the consequence of complete panic, and this government will not panic at a time of uncertainty." -- so basically, keep doing what he's done. Which, though this is not his fault, is not working super well ATM. It is also not really a plan. Other conservative prime ministers probably were super awesome economists, but I'm not sure that Stephen Harper is or that his being conservative will put other, good economists in line to get things done either.

Liberals and NDP have plans to encourage jobs to remain in Canada, produce green technology, and aren'tgiving corporations who already have tons of money tons of money. There is also actually info about what the NDP actually intend to do fairly easily findable on the NDP site and not on the conservative site. Basically, I know that whatever the NDP does 'about' the economy, they will address a lot of other issues I have. The conservatives may or may not do OK with the economy considering worrisome things (and in the states, it's public spending that has dragged the economy out of failure before, IE the depression -- which was caused by a lack of regulation, and it is arguable that THIS economic downturn is due to a lack of regulation) that are going on, but they definitely WON'T do a halfway decent job on amnything else that's important to me. And that's why it's important to me that the conservatives do not win; and that's why I'm considering voting Liberal, instead of NDP as I would like.

[unavalible]

See, I like the Social policies of the NDP, but I can't vote for them. They have promised to spend money that at the moment, we don't have. I think Jack Layton is a great guy and I really like what the party stands for, but it seems a little too good to be true. I wish our country could be run that way, but in my eyes I see it as almost impossible.

One thing that really jibes me is the fact that I hate the Liberal leader at the moment, Stephen Dion. He constantly seems to attack whatever the hell Steven Harper says, no matter what it is. Watching the debate a while ago, Jack Layton, The leader of the Green Party, and Steven Harper were all saying that in order to help the country, they all need to work together. They actually seemed exctied, and then comes in Stephen Dion attacking Steven Harper with things that had NOTHING to do with the pervious topic.

And anytime I tried to look up for stances on the Liberals, or listen for a platform when Dion held a press conferance, all I heard were more attacks on the Conservative. I grew tired with all of the blatant ganging up and just... stopped listening to the Liberals because of this.

One thing that bothers me (This is with all parties) is that when you look up information on the person in your riding, all I read about was personal things about them, like how they go hiking or have three dogs. I DON'T CARE...

I am just really frustrated with the whole political process, because I know no matter who I vote for, most of what the promise will never happen. All empty promises in hopes of gaining a vote. So I am going to go with, in my eyes, the stronger of the parties at the moment. It's my first election ever, and I hope I make the right choice. O_O

But it sounds like to me, you want to vote NDP, and I would vote NDP. As long as your vote goes to the party you want to win, then do it! Don't let the fright that Conservatives might win in your area scare you from voting NDP. It's your party and it fits with your views, so whats wrong with that?

[katho]

I don't think Harper does care about working with the other parties in a minority government; if he had, he would not have called this election to slip in a conservative majority before the US get a democratic president.

I actually don't like Jack Layton himself very much as a politician, I think he's kind of offputting in his persona and goes in too easily for the bashing others thing. But I agree with his values. I think Dion is horrendously owned by his bad rhetorical skills -- i would like to hear his ideas through someone else's mouth, then I might be able to make more sense of them. I like Gilles Duceppe as a guy though, I think he's a good politician.

I'm not sure we don't have that money. Generally they do say those things and have a plan for where the money will come from, and really if they decide that they can't do some of these things, at least I know that they will still be trying to do what is socially right for the health of Canadians and Canada. I don't like the conservative approach of having money and not spending it where it's needed. Also I just can't stand to feel as persecuted by my own government like I did when Harper started kowtowing to the RIAA. I never want to feel like that again. That's why i did vote strategically; I think it is detrimental to the democratic process, but in a first past the post system, I need to do it to keep the governemnt closer to my values. It's not that the liberals don't share many values with me, it's just the NDP are a better fit. So I've cast my vote to keep Canada the country I love to be in, instead of voting idealistically and potentially contributing to its devolution. Also if everyone in Van voted strategically, there are NDP candidates who would come out on top over conservatives as well. It's just making the first past the post system work better, until it is replaced with something reasonable.

I am going to start mailing people and asking for voter reform actively beacuse of this excperience, though.