Politics, again

[jsburbidge]

I have avoided posting about the current federal election because it is very hard to be analytical and clear-thinking when one is tightly bound up in the success or failure of one of the parties - and, like many other people I know, I have a deep dislike for the current incarnation of the federal Conservatives. Between their dogwhistle racism in

Comments

[chickenfeet2003]

The Conservative base in Ontario seems to consist of three elements and it's a bit weird. There are the old core Reformers; "old stock Canadians"; at core xenophobic and racist, there are the people who wish they were still the PCs and are prepared to ignore reality like the Globe editorial board and, weirdly, Muslims and some other socially conservative immigrant groups. This last group, despite the attacks on them by Harper and Crosby, still seem to be hugely influenced by fears about changes to the provincial sex-ed curriculum. It makes no sense but that's what NDP canvassers are finding on the door step.

[jsburbidge]

I would class the first group simply as paleoconservatives; I think of the peculiar element Reform brought to the mix (via Manning) as being a concern with open government and direct democracy (plus an elected upper house) and those voters have been pretty alienated by the Harper government's complete ignoring / reversal of those aims. They might be sitting this one out or possibly have migrated to the right side of the Greens.

The Globe endorsement reads like an editorial board who don't like it but were ordered by their masters to endorse the CPC, and who thus project total cognitive dissonance.

The last group are a right-wing example of the identity politics which is frequently associated with the left: a vote which affirms who they are against the world even if the feds have no influence whatever on provincial education policies.

[chickenfeet2003]

I understand why, especially in the face of black propaganda, someone might be upset about the provincial sex-ed curriculum. I rather despair that people would make their choice in a federal election based on a purely provincial issue.

[xinef]

I wasn't happy with any of my choices in this election. I ended up voting (advance poll) for the local candidate I felt was the best of the bunch, not really considering party. It will be very interesting on Tuesday to compare the actual results with the polls. I'm not placing any bets.