Actually, a lot of people do vote for the head of the party. And really, why not? Harper originally said that he would want more free votes in the House of Commons, but the voting blocks have been more unified than ever. Voting against your party was not welcome under the Liberals and now even more so with the Conservatives. I'm not exactly sure why we elect all of these back-benchers that do absolutely nothing than parrot the party leaders.
In any case, it is important for the Conservatives to put Stephen Harper everywhere. Unlike elections past. Right now the latest poll has the Liberals at 35% nationally and the Conservatives at 33%. However, the Liberals strength is in their local candidates being popular, not their leader. When asked who would make the most competent leader of the country, 38% said Harper while 22% said Dion. So you will end up seeing a lot of local campaign ads with Harpers face on them in the upcoming election.
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