So. May 2nd is less than a week away. This means that fairly soon, hundreds of thousands of Canadians will be filling their local schools or community centers, and they will be casting their votes on who should run this great Country of Canada. Democracy. I constantly ponder the lottery-like process that is where people are born, and I'm so thankful to live in Canada - a land that is mostly peaceful, and mostly free. Over the years, my pride in being a Canadian has seen fairly substantial heights, and more recently some pretty mediocre lows. This long-standing minority government has caused so much grief in Canada's political process, and it certainly hasn't helped that the void of a leader worth following has remained empty throughout this period.
It's a shame that Paul Martin inherited a broken Liberal party. Essentially the man behind the curtains for Chretien's leadership over ten years, with a majority he would have proven to be an incredible Prime Minister. Instead, the sponsorship scandal put an end to his chances, as well as to the Liberal party as we once knew it. After his minority government were overthrown, I personally found great resonance with Stephen Harper and the merged PC/Alliance party. He seemed like a leader who could work within a minority structure, possibly prove himself worthy of a majority, and had presented a platform of policies of which I held the same opinion. It seemed like a good place to put my vote at the time. Well. That certainly didn't last long. Arrogance. Entitlement-syndrome. Outright lying. Perhaps his actions have been the result of grinding it out through a minority rule, but one thing is clear - this man is not a trustworthy leader, and will never have a majority government. Sufficed to say I haven't cast my vote in his direction since that first time around.
It should be made clear, that I approach every election with a mostly 'clean-slate' frame of mind. I survey each party platform, analyze the potential for the party leader to get things done, and watch how they present the issues and debate them amongst each other. From that, I decide where my vote will land. With this in mind, the Harper government would never get my vote, this time around the Liberal party will definitely not get my vote - Ignatieff is really coming off as an imbecile this time around (poor handlers? also Layton uncovered a glaring inadequacy in Ignatieff's attendance) - as well the Green party will not get my vote. If I were to base my vote on what I've surveyed, and safe in the knowledge of a minority rule regardless of which party wins, I would vote NDP. Yes, I know, they would seem the equivalent of putting a two year-old behind the wheel of a car, a party who would spend our Country into the ashes, and burn many bridges along the way. Perhaps. Perhaps not. We'll never know, as I don't suspect Layton will ever rise above his current level of support. He did however prove to be the greatest leader amongst the debates, and knowing that a minority rule would keep their policies in check, that is who I would vote for this time around the dance floor.
So why am I not voting NDP? Well, this is where it gets real. Real stupid that is. Our electoral system is retarded. Yes. Retarded. If anyone understands how our democracy is SUPPOSED to work, they would understand that it is supposed to be about your local riding. You vote for who you think would best represent your riding, and whatever party they're from would end up being represented with more seats to make decisions at a national level. Our system has been perverted though from it's rightful process, the result of voter ignorance, staunch life-time single party supporters, and from the leaders of local ridings doing absolutely jack-all to campaign. Instead, they hide behind their party colours, and rely almost completely on their party leader to garner votes in their ridings. The general voting public, having a low democratic IQ, gladly dance to this tune. This has a way of forcing the intelligent voter into a corner, as their local riding may have a worthy leader from a party that they normally wouldn't support. By casting their vote on the person they think best represents them locally, they lose their voice for who should represent them as a Country. This has to change. This has to change soon. Proportional Representation would go a long way to solving this issue, and to me, should be the biggest issue being discussed as a nation. Electoral reform. Sadly, we can only hope for this, as the problem again is informing the public to understand what they would be buying. Ontario failed to reform because voters had no idea what this version of voting entailed. Political IQ. The average voter just doesn't care enough to become self-informed, and the government just sucks at getting the right messages out. Sure, Harper can successfully paint Ignatieff as a Canada-hating wannabe American, but actually get out a good and honest message? Fail.
So, begrudgingly, I find myself at a crossroad. My riding of Burlington has a Conservative candidate - Mike Wallace - who has done a fantastic job representing our city on the national level, and is the ONLY candidate that actually took the time to go door-to-door, actually putting in real face time - in my neighborhood at least. He's also the only candidate that has ad-mailed anything of real value, clearly outlining himself and his accomplishments. Every other candidate has been completely non-existent, with the exception of annoying phone-calls from the local Liberal candidate's office. So with the proper ideal of local representation in my heart, begrudgingly, I'm voting Conservative. If we had Proportional Representation, then I could vote locally for Mike Wallace, and then cast a Vote for Layton. My voice made clear, my votes completely put to good use. Instead, I'm supporting a party that I don't support. Crazy times.
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