harper's Standing in the Polls

Via "Northern Reflections" we get Susan Riley's "harper wins when voters snooze." She says some interesting things. She mentions harper's numerous fuck-ups, lies and demonstrations of hypocrisy, notes how none of these penetrate the thick skulls of his supporters and then:

What about everyone else? Many have given up - in cynicism or despair. They turn their back on politics, don't bother to vote, even imagine it is fashionable to remain aloof.

They claim all politicians are the same, but they aren't. They claim it doesn't matter which party holds power, but it does.

If Occupiers had simply voted en masse in May, we wouldn't have a majority Conservative government today.

The media aren't to blame. We hector from the sidelines (guilty!), or, more usefully, uncover hypocrisies and small scandals. Opposition MPs - notably Bob Rae, Charlie Angus, Elizabeth May; but others, too - advance persuasive arguments, based on evidence, de-bunking Conservative crime policy, and other initiatives.

Nothing seems to penetrate public indifference - to Harper's benefit.

The media is to blame to the extent that newspapers like Riley's own Ottawa Citizen and "Canada's National Newspaper" the Globe and Mail actually endorsed harper as if he hadn't initiated several constitutional crises and had dragged the tone of politics down into the gutter. As if every time the droning teleprompter reader Peter Mansbridge trumpets another "exclusive interview" with the lying sack of shit it doesn't make him look like a respectable politician.

harper successfully conned or pandered to 26% of the electorate where it counted. I agree with Riley that people who think they're too smart to vote have brought this on all of us. As did a lackluster opposition campaign.

We've failed as a country. All of us.