Leaving to head toward my polling station in about 20 minutes.
I am not happy.
Do you remember the song....
Whenever I feel afraid, I whistle a happy tune
It's all done but the whistling now.
Ya know, I do like going to the polling station. It is nice to see my neighbours there, doing their civic duty.
Our polling station was in a church. Not my church.
We were in a grotty little school. Definite evidence that more money needs to go toward education in this country. Nasty, dirty, no good equipment school.
we voted in the methodist church hall.
should i have voted methodist ? hbg
Oooh this is SO exciting!!!
Isnt it?
No?
Ok....
It is interesting that you do not hear much about government and church in Canada, but so many of the polling stations are in churches.
See, there is a place for the Church.
A plea for more equitable representation - and specifically, for proportional representation. The current system leaves many votes wholly unheard and unrepresented.
Stacked vote creates some sure losers
Winner-take-all system also silences urban, left
- Women
Quote: [..] When the votes are counted tonight, women are unlikely to be any closer to achieving parity with men in the House of Commons. Today's vote could even result in fewer female MPs taking their seats in the next Parliament.
The Conservatives, who have enjoyed a lead in the polls since mid-campaign, have recruited fewer women to run in the election than the other parties. But they hardly bear the sole responsibility for the enduring federal gender gap. [..]
During the past 12 years of Liberal rule, the proportion of women in the Commons has barely increased, going from 18 per cent when Jean Chrtien first became prime minister to 21 per cent under his successor. [..]
- Federalist Quebecers
Quote:From all indications, at least half of Quebecers are set to vote for federalist candidates today. But that support is almost certain to translate into a seat deficit. [..]
In the last election, the Bloc secured more than two-thirds of the 75 Quebec seats with less than half the vote, a discrepancy that could become more acute this year if a more even split in the federalist vote allows Gilles Duceppe's candidates to slip through the mesh.
A consequence of this distortion has been a monolithic Quebec parliamentary voice that is out of sync with the province's complex reality as well as a weaker presence at the centre. [..]
- Urban Conservatives, rural Liberals
Quote:Even if thousands of urban voters in the big cities of Central Canada support Stephen Harper today, they are still unlikely to have much of a voice within the Conservative caucus. A consequence of that could be the absence of significant representation from Montreal and Toronto within the next federal government.
Liberals from Alberta know the problem well. In 2004, 22 per cent of them supported Paul Martin, a vote that resulted in the Liberals taking only two of the province's 28 seats. After this election Liberal voters from Alberta might find themselves at least temporarily reduced to silence in the House of Commons.
- The Canadian Left
Quote:And what of the Canadian left? It is ultimately the biggest loser of the current system. With more votes than the Bloc in 2004, the NDP earned one-third of the seats of its sovereignist counterpart. In the last federal election, one in five voters supported the NDP or the Green party, a score that saw a mere 6 per cent of the seats go to New Democrats.
In conclusion:
Quote:When the votes are counted tonight, one certainty is that the winner-take-all slant of our electoral system will exaggerate fault lines, driving a needlessly bigger wedge between Quebec federalists and sovereignists, urban and rural Canada, the left and the right, and once again leaving Canadian women outside looking in at a male-dominated federal arena.
ha! I went down to a run-down ugly as sin school. So many of those schools look like institutions. I am so glad those days are over for me!
I sent my lil voice into the box. I followed my guts on this one. Not feeling good about this election at all....I'm getting bad vibes, man.
None of ya is gonna fess up what ya voted, are ya ... wheres the fun in that for those of us looking in from the outside ...
my... we knew that was in response to nimh's post.
nimh wrote:None of ya is gonna fess up what ya voted, are ya ... wheres the fun in that for those of us looking in from the outside ...
I voted not what I wanted to vote, but what I felt would be a more strategic vote for me in order not to have to live with me being partly responsible for an irresponsible government. Probably not the answer you wanted.
I voted for the guys I figured would do the least damage. Here's a clue: it ain't the Conservatives.
OK. For years I voted for the Progressive Conservative Party. When they merged with the Alliance under Stephen Harper, they lost my vote. I don't mind Jack Layton but I am not a fan of his wife Olivia Chow. I am very disturbed about the money scandals with the Liberals. I would never vote Green.
What to do. Do I vote NDP with the hope that they are the opposition in a minority government? If everybody who is dismayed did the same thing, we could end up with a majority NDP. I do not want that.
If I vote for the Conservatives to take my vote away from the Liberals, there is a possibility that others will look at it the same way and give a minority or majority Conservative government under Stephen Harper.
Also, I think Paul Martin would stand up to George Bush. Stephen Harper would jump into bed with him.
If I vote Liberal, then I may just be negating my vote or we may get another minority Liberal government.
We have had the same Liberal MP in my riding for about 20 years who has now called it quits. I like the new guy.
After all is said and done we have spent millions of extra dollars for what?
Now you know the rest of the story....
i enjoyed andrew cohen's article in today's paper.
it was headed "canadians like their governments as radically moderate as they are !" - as the spokesperson for ING bank says : " couldn't have said it better myself".
he said :"canadians are awfully content these days. they like their private prosperity, fed by full employment, rising house prices and a surging stock market, but are unhappy with public morality".
"they want a change of leadership more than a change of policy and they are wondering how to do it".
imo, paul martin should have resigned after the last election and allowed a younger politician to give it a try. i think he wanted to cling to power desparatly and it backfired.
i have difficulty understanding why many politicians (and others) can't hand over the reins to someone younger. they can still continue to offer useful services , but why cling to (non-existent) power.
i always understood that it is best to leave the stage on a high-note, rather than being turfed out.
i feel better now. hbg
(btw i'm an old guy)
nice, hamburger.
"Radically moderate". That is very true.
Intrepid wrote:nimh wrote:None of ya is gonna fess up what ya voted, are ya ... wheres the fun in that for those of us looking in from the outside ...
I voted not what I wanted to vote, but what I felt would be a more strategic vote for me in order not to have to live with me being partly responsible for an irresponsible government. Probably not the answer you wanted.
So - you voted Liberal. :wink:
