Quote:
Originally Posted by C_Rush
I wouldn't pretend to know "what voters really want"; 38% voted Conservative, so that seems pretty clear. What do you mean by the average Canadian voter is a "liberal"? (just want clarification as to what you mean by that term).
|
Median is more accurate as "average" is hard to quantify (which is why I qualified that assertion). Average is also irrelevant - how far left or right you are doesn't affect the strength or importance of your vote. Actually, let's disregard "average" completely (error on my part to include it) and just go with median. Meaning if you look for the middle as being representative of the population, the voter from last election who has 50% of voters on his left and 50% of voters on his right (politically) voted Liberal. The Conservatives have the largest chunk, but they don't have the middle. (This holds true even if you remove the Bloq.)
I don't know "what voters really want" either (if I did, I'd be running for PM), but I do know that our system doesn't translate it very well into the House of Commons, particularly when we're talking about minority governments.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oilers_fan
So then why don't they unite the left?
|
Don't ask me. For instance I think the Greens really hurt their environmental agenda by not dropping out completely and throwing their support behind Dion. Personally though, I see enough difference between the parties that I would not support a merger (just I only supported the coalition up to the point where the conservatives backed off on campaign finance). The Bloq want to split up the country, the NDP would cripple the economy, and whilst the greens were fairly well-aligned with Dion, I'm not sure that the majority of Liberals ever supported the Green Shift, and certainly most would now realise that it was a bad idea to campaign on. Uniting the left is not the solution I'd like to see. (Like I said though, I do think automatic run-offs are a good idea.) Probably the biggest reason as to why it won't happen though is because the far left is to idealist to look for practical ways to further their goals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ford Prefect
Really? I think they would quicker than you can say "carbon tax".
|
Whilst I don't disagree "moratorium on new oil sands projects" would be a better choice. But I guess that takes longer to say.
Layton campaigned against Dion's Green Shift because it would hurt "working familes". At the same time though, he wanted to implement a moratorium on new oil sands projects. I suspect he doesn't realise that much of Alberta's economy actually depends on the GROWTH of the oilsands projects, and not just their operation. Nothing like shutting down one of the most profitable industries in the country and bailing out the ones that can't sustain themselves whilst the economy is in a downturn to send the country's finances into a death spiral. I guess "working families" only matter if they're working in Ontario. Or maybe I'd get awesome EI benefits and sponge off the higher taxes the rest of you would eventually have to pay after Layton kills my job? (Actually, they'd more likely be taxes on those evil, greedy coorporations that would crash the economy further!)
Ah well, looks like Iggy's (
) going to get the LPC and Canada out of this mess. Good work! I already knew I wasn't going to support Bob Rae... still want to find out more about LeBlanc though.