I didn’t vote for John Tory when he was running for mayor of Toronto (or David Miller - ever). In fact, most people in Toronto didn’t vote for John Tory for mayor of Toronto which is why he is not mayor of Toronto.
Be that as it may, the Ontario Progressive party decided to vote him as party leader. Maybe they figured he needed a consolation prize after losing the election to be the mayor of the centre of the universe.
I said at the time it was a mistake. I grumbled, I groaned, but I was poohed-poohed all around by conservatives. Let him show his true nettle in the legislature I was told. I would be impressed…then he voted for a huge salary increase….I’m still waiting to be impressed. No doubt I will go to my grave waiting to be impressed by John Tory.
People vote for conservative leaders when conservatives elect conservatives to lead them and not when conservatives elect liberal lites to lead them. It is patently dishonest and no one likes to be fooled. This is why John Tory, for all his crying on the back of the bus, will not be premier of the province come October 11th.
Allegedly, I am a conservative but I am not a good party girl. I wouldn’t even join the Blogging Tories. This is probably just as well as I probably would have been turfed out quicker than BEAJ was cast out of the BT forum. Actually, I would vote for the NDP if Baroness Thatcher crossed the ocean to lead them. I have to admit that the federal conservatives are disappointing me too. This move to the centre is alienating me big time and my vote cannot be counted on next time round. I might even keep my dollar $1.75 firmly in my pocket the next time round.
That being said, I am in a bit of a quandary. Who am I to vote for in the provincial election? No one is promising to significantly lower taxes and if any politician was sincere about wanting to tackle child poverty (speaking as a single mother of three) the first stop would be getting their hand out of my pocketbook. I won’t vote for McGirlieman and his liberals nor will I vote Conservative. I don’t like eco-nazis, and Dame Thatcher is not running as the NDP leader. So who is left?
Isaiah Sender inadvertently provided the answer. He is apparently having a mock election in his grade 8 class. He has been pestering me on who I am voting for so he can vote the same way in his class. He made me watch the Roger’s Cable-systems election videos of all the candidates in our riding and it became clear to me.
I am voting for Danish Ahmed of the Party for People with Special Needs. He is apparently a blind, albino Pakistani-Canadian. He has special needs and so do I. He can have my vote and my dollar $1.75. How could I miss my opportunity to vote for a relative of Fenris Badwulf? How many times does that happen in any election cycle?
But this provincial election is just not electing a member to the Ontario legislature. There is the question of electoral reform or not. Do I vote first pass the post or mixed-member proportional representation (MMP for short). Veteran Israeli politico watching that I am means I am inclined to vote against MMP…who really needs the Israelization of the Ontario electoral process. It is already way past my pain threshold. Do we really need to give a voice and a paycheque to 39 more loons and their mothers? But, I am prepared to listen to Fenris’ views on the matter.
3 comments:
Me: no on MMP, constituency vote either for the Ontario PCs or for the Libertarian Party of Ontario, depending on my mood tomorrow.
Though it pains me, I'm voting for the Norman Bates lookalike.
Again, with me it is all about the faith funding issue that Tory didn't back out of completely.
Separation of church and state is the most important thing to me in politics. I would like it assumed in the future, and I want this election to be a message to future Canadian politicians.
I'm really questioning this referendum issue. Oh, and there will be 17 less ridings so only 22 new jobs will be created.
But what is wrong with job creation anyway?
Right now we are probably going to have a Liberal majority under the old system. If it were under the MMP system, Libs would have around 42% of the power. The question is what is better for Ontario. I already know that the MMP would lead to more voices and more democracy, but it will lead to more bickering, and more indecision and more closed door meetings.
How much democracy do we need once we have a winning party elected?
BEAJ,
"Though it pains me, I'm voting for the Norman Bates lookalike.
Again, with me it is all about the faith funding issue that Tory didn't back out of completely. Separation of church and state is the most important thing to me in politics. I would like it assumed in the future, and I want this election to be a message to future Canadian politicians."
I feel your pain, I really do and I believe Canadian politicos of all stripes will be studying John Tory's crash 'n' burn for years to come on this issue.
"I'm really questioning this referendum issue. Oh, and there will be 17 less ridings so only 22 new jobs will be created. But what is wrong with job creation anyway?"
There is nothing wrong with job creation as long as its not the government creating the jobs and asking me, as the taxpayer, to fork out more money to pay for their salaries, benefits and pensions. Nor are these minimum wage salaries with no benefits/pensions strings attached etc., but the whole bureaucratic enchilada.
"Right now we are probably going to have a Liberal majority under the old system. If it were under the MMP system, Libs would have around 42% of the power. The question is what is better for Ontario. I already know that the MMP would lead to more voices and more democracy, but it will lead to more bickering, and more indecision and more closed door meetings. How much democracy do we need once we have a winning party elected?"
Just because there would be more voices doesn't mean there would be better ideas or solutions. There are more than a few 'great' ideas under our current system which have me contemplating our true place on the evolutionary scale – quanitity has never been a guarantee of quality.
One of the problems Israel has under a MMP system is how the party bosses have corrupted the integrity of selection process; hence, the almost impossibility of throwing out a well entrenched/positioned political bum without throwing out the whole party. Our current first past the post system certainly has flaws but I still like the ability to turf out any given bum now and then.
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