Well, there you go Stephen Harper and Canadian capitalism, ... you broke your own bullshit fixed election law to try to get your majority before the anticipated financial collapse hit, and you failed. Sadly though, you increased your number of braying jackasses, I'm sorry, I meant "Conservative" Members of Parliament.
Right off the bat I'd like to say that this might be the best of all possible outcomes. The Harpercons didn't get their majority, so all their Cromagnon social legislation fantasies are going to be put on hold until forever, A-N-D, the same sort of vapid, selfish ignorance that prompts a Canadian voter to put an "X" beside a "Conservative" candidate is the same sort of mentality that produces the knee-jerk impulse to blame international economic recessions on the party in power. You're going to own this one Stevie, and all your droning and yammering about how the opposition isn't letting you respond effectively isn't going to go down well outside of your hardcore supporters of the stupidest people in Canada.
But what about "strategic voting" or "voting smart"? It might come as a surprise to some people, but I'm all for it. I recognize that the Liberals aren't as bad as the "Conservatives." I still think the Liberal Party of Canada should die a quick death, but I feel that way about the "Conservatives" as well. But on social policy, they're much more tolerable, and they're more apt to throw life-saving crumbs to the bottom half of the population in a crunch. So sure, to defeat a Con, elect a Lib if the Lib ran a strong second last time. I have no time for the Liberal Party's self-interested portrayal of "strategic voting" as meaning "vote Liberal or die!!!" but genuine strategic voting would've been a good idea.
A bad way to pursue "strategic voting" and political alliances (if that's what you're really all about) was Stephane "Kyoto?" Dion's cynical promotion of Elizabeth May in Central Nova. The Liberals came in a distant third in 2006. If you want to display genuine generosity, as opposed to promoting a party solely to create another rival for third place that will destroy the NDP, give her a riding where the Liberals came second last time.
As it is, and I can't emphasize this enough, I think under the circumstances I'm happier with the airhead incompetent Peter MacKay back than Elizabeth May with her thoughtless gutter mouth.
What's that you say? "thwap" complaining about a gutter mouth? Well, I'm prepared to grant May a lot for her social activism, for her brains, for her sincerity or whatever else you want, ... but her bullshit outburst about Jack Layton preferring to negotiate with the Taliban and not with her, ... when her and her party were so clearly being cynically used ... was right up there with Stephen Harper's garbage talk about anti-Semitism in the House of Commons. I'm all for hard-hitting criticism, for instance, Layton's holding Paul Martin Jr. responsible for homeless deaths, because in cases like that, IT'S TRUE.
But to make underhanded insinuations of "treason" and "terrorist sympathizer" so breezily, or to fart out self-satisfied claims that not conceding to the Greens pointless vote-splitting means you hate the earth, that's garbage talk. Grow the fuck up May. You'll have plenty of time to do that now that your political career is finished.
Speaking of finished, Stephane Dion's caretaker role of Liberal leader until the Anglos Rae and Ignatieff solved their problems is also at an end. The Liberals will be in "disarray" (like they haven't been wandering around like sleep-walkers since Paul Martin Jr. took over) as they have their leadership convention. This will supposedly make them unable to challenge Harper's economic and foreign policies. That and the fact that they didn't challenge Harper when they had a newly-minted leader last Parliament. There were two reasons they didn't challenge Harper: they didn't have a platform to take to the public to campaign on, and, they AGREE with Harper's policies to such an extent that they didn't want to vote against them. We don't need a united "left" in Canada that includes an enthusiastic imperialist, neoliberal bunch of vermin like the Liberal Party.
Speaking of scams, is it all a scam anyway? Why didn't the NDP say much more about the bipartisan Lib/Con "Security and Prosperity Partnership"? What the hell kind of country is this anyway?
Ah fuggit. I've got work to do.
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