Layton is going to get whipped like a mule, because he has NO clue how politics work.
The crazy French guy won't get 10%, which is a damn shame.
Harper runs the show for another 5 years, probably with a majority government.
IIRC The NDP is only 5-6% away from the Liberals' polling. Conservatives are ~40-45% so a majority is not out of the question.
Duceppe is definately bleeding ridings to the NDP.
Prediction: 50-50 chance of Conservative majority. Most likely with a Liberal opposition, but 30% chance of a NDP opposition instead (which would be cool).
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on April 24, 2011, 05:16:15 AM
The crazy French guy won't get 10%, which is a damn shame.
Right on. I was going to vote Bloc until I realized that I couldn't do that in New Brunswick.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on April 24, 2011, 05:16:15 AM
Harper runs the show for another 5 years, probably with a majority government.
:x
Ignatieff is basically Tony Blair anyway. On steroids. Stupid-steroids.
QuoteCritical of the limited-risk approach practiced by NATO in conflicts like the Kosovo War and the Rwandan Genocide, he says that there should be more active involvement and larger scale deployment of land forces by Western nations in future conflicts in the developing world. Ignatieff attempts to distinguish his approach from Neo-conservativism because the motives of the foreign engagement he advocates are essentially altruistic rather than selfserving.
In this vein, Ignatieff was originally a prominent supporter of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. Ignatieff said that the United States established "an empire lite, a global hegemony whose grace notes are free markets, human rights and democracy, enforced by the most awesome military power the world has ever known." The burden of that empire, he says, obliged the United States to expend itself unseating Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in the interests of international security and human rights. Ignatieff initially accepted the argument of George W. Bush administration that containment through sanctions and threats would not prevent Hussein from selling weapons of mass destruction to international terrorists. Ignatieff wrongly believed that those weapons were still being developed in Iraq. Moreover, according to Ignatieff, "what Saddam Hussein had done to the Kurds and the Shia" in Iraq was sufficient justification for the invasion
1. Anyone who needs to distinguish between their theories and Neo-conservatism is Doin It Wrong.
2. Empires are
necessarily anti-democratic. It has something to do with sending armies overseas to enforce favoured policies...essentially they are de facto militaristic autocracies, regardless of whether elections may take place within certain provinces of the Empire.
3. Herp de derp.
Edit: Also this hilarious passage
QuoteIgnatieff has argued that Western democracies may have to resort to "lesser evils" like indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, assassinations, and pre-emptive wars in order to combat the greater evil of terrorism.
Or, to phrase it more accurately, Ignatieff has argued that Western democracies may have to resort to terrorism in order to combat the greater evil of terrorism committed by brown people.
Quote from: - on April 26, 2011, 09:48:43 AM
Ignatieff is basically Tony Blair anyway. On steroids. Stupid-steroids.
QuoteIgnatieff has argued that Western democracies may have to resort to "lesser evils" like indefinite detention of suspects, coercive interrogations, assassinations, and pre-emptive wars in order to combat the greater evil of terrorism.
Or, to phrase it more accurately, Ignatieff has argued that Western democracies may have to resort to terrorism in order to combat the greater evil of terrorism committed by brown people.
Holy shit. It's like Ignatieff wants Canada to be more like the USA.
My prediction Minority (or a slight majority but with only a few seats) government due to the huge red voting block in Ontario and Quebec, which I don't think the conservatives will due as well in as the media is predicting.
I have a weird feeling though the Greens might actually play spoiler this election. All the party leaders are fools and have really turned off people from the election. The difference being Elizabeth May can be as crazy as possible and no one takes her seriously so it doesn't really hurt her party as much as the others.
NDP is ahead of the Liberals by ~5%. We may be looking at a NDP Opposition, which has never happened before on a federal level.
Current polls:
Conservative - 34%
NDP - 28%
Liberal - 24%
Green - 7%
Bloc - 6%
Quote from: Remington on April 27, 2011, 03:37:29 AM
NDP is ahead of the Liberals by ~5%. We may be looking at a NDP Opposition, which has never happened before on a federal level.
Current polls:
Conservative - 34%
NDP - 28%
Liberal - 24%
Green - 7%
Bloc - 6%
Hardly surprising. The Liberals have been weak sisters since Trudeau left office.
http://twitpic.com/4q95aw (http://twitpic.com/4q95aw)
I'll believe it when I see it...
I mean how long can ppl be infatuated by the mustache?
Come to think of it... it is a pretty bitching mustache.
Canada has politics?
Quote from: postvex™ on April 28, 2011, 07:37:25 AM
Canada has politics?
It's rather similar to herpes: it pops up every so often and no-one likes talking about it.
Quote from: Remington on April 28, 2011, 08:33:47 AM
Quote from: postvex™ on April 28, 2011, 07:37:25 AM
Canada has politics?
It's rather similar to herpes: it pops up every so often and no-one likes talking about it.
BWA HA HA.
Concerning the Liberals, Chretien did alright when he was the leader. I liked living in a country where the Prime Minister would grab you by the throat if he didn't like your actions. But then again, I also support Enrico Salazar, so...
Ignatieff is the primary reason that Canadian politics are as retarded as they are right now. I mean, most conservatives don't even like Harper, but NOBODY likes Ignatieff. NOBODY. Not even his own mommy.
I rather detest the social engineering that the NDP support, but compared to the other two parties, sheesh...
Quote from: Hoopla on April 28, 2011, 03:11:08 PM
I rather detest the social engineering that the NDP support, but compared to the other two parties, sheesh...
I can't completely understand why their getting so much support from the french in Quebec, since Quebec has always been big on state rights. Possibly disillusion with the Bloc, or lets fuck with the Americans by electing socialists.
also this surge might come to end
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/now-ndp-surging-corporate-canada-showing-signs-interest-222641053.html
Quoteanada's corporate sector and public both appear to be taking a close look at the New Democratic Party led by Jack Layton for the first time, and likely coming to different conclusions.
So far, the federal election campaign hasn't had a perceptible impact on the dollar, or bond and equity markets.
But that may all change now that the NDP is threatening to put its stamp on Ottawa, with the most recent Ekos poll suggesting the party could win 100 seats next Tuesday, making the idea of Layton becoming prime minister, possibly as head of a coalition, at least within the realm of possible outcomes.
The reason Bay Street hasn't been following the election closely so far, says Bank of Montreal deputy chief economist Douglas Porter, is that it was assumed until a few days ago that the May 2 election would not produce a dramatic change.
Few people had considered Layton as potential leader of the opposition, never mind as head of a coalition government.
"While that's certainly an 'interesting' result, it's not exactly market friendly. In other words, hang on to your hats!" Porter advised clients in a note Tuesday.
The immediate impact of the socialist NDP in the cat-bird seat would be to increase anxiety and uncertainty among business leaders and investors about what comes next.
Porter says he expects the Canadian dollar to come off its lofty perch, at least in the short term, and for bond yields to possibly rise.
The Canadian dollar has been above its U.S. counterpart practically all of 2011, bolstered by a combination of high world prices for commodities it exports as well as the American currency's weakness.
The loonie closed above 105 cents US on Tuesday, up nearly one-third of a cent.
TD Bank chief economist Craig Alexander added that markets would likely react negatively to any change in Ottawa for the simple reason that investors don't like uncertainty.
There are particular reasons for Canada's corporate sector to dislike the NDP platform, however.
The party is calling for the corporate tax rate to be hiked back to 19.5 per cent, 4.5 percentage points higher than where the Tories would take it next year.
The Liberals, which have been the official Opposition party led by Michael Ignatieff, is also calling for the corporate tax rate to be increased but only to 18 per cent.
In contrast, the Conservatives led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper plan to reduce the corporate tax rate to 15 per cent on Jan. 1, 2012, down from the current rate of 16.5 per cent.
As well, the NDP says it would cut $2 billion in subsidies to the oilsands, cap credit card interest rates at five per cent above prime, and establish a cap-and-trade system to control greenhouse gases.
"When you look at the NDP, two things are quite worrisome," says Jack Mintz of the University of Calgary, a leading economist on government tax policy.
"One is they want to raise taxes in a significant way and (there are) concerns about whether they would raise other taxes. And the other thing is there is a large hit on Western Canada."
Mintz says his calculations suggest the federal coffers would only gain a fraction of the billions the NDP believes corporate taxes will generate, leaving Layton with a fiscal hole. Nor would he realize the estimated payoff of other measures he has announced, such as closing tax loopholes and the cap-and-trade system.
Markets would then be nervous about whether he would raise other taxes to make up for the difference, or curtail spending.
Labour economist Jim Stanford agrees corporate Canada would be worried, but it's more to do with their self-interest than the economy's.
The chief economist with the Canadian Auto Workers union disagrees with Mintz on the effectiveness of corporate tax cuts as a public policy tool to create investments and jobs. There's no doubt an NDP-led government would hurt business interests, he says, but not necessarily the economy.
"Corporations won't be happy to see their $6 billion in tax cuts cancelled," Stanford says.
"But even if Jack Layton was prime minister on May 3, Canada is still a fantastically profitable and secure place for business to operate and that's why our dollar is worth $1.05 and our stock market is high and corporate profits are so high. None of that is going to change."
Even the oil patch will shrug off Layton's cap-and-trade and removal of subsidies, he says, as long as oil is $100 a barrel.
Surprisingly, Mintz says Stanford has a point. The immediate market reaction would be nervousness; longer term, it will depend how the NDP in office behaves. He notes that some provincial NDP governments in Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been fiscally responsible.
But don't underestimate the ability of governments to impact business decisions, he adds, even if in the margins. And at this point, the NDP does represent a wildcard.
"People who have studied economic growth rates across countries have found political uncertainty does have a negative impact. It's not the only factor, but it is one of the factors."
Personally I'm stuck on my voting.
I got all the pamphlets and platforms, cause I'm a geek like that. Then I did my annal a run down checking when I agree with a party and when I disagree with a party (There is no good independents in my area since that Jesus freak was arrested for beating up his mother).
I knocked out the PC's first cause if you actually read their platform it's fucking horrible. The liberals went down next though it wasn't as bad a platform as I thought it was going to be.
So now I'm stuck between orange and green, and no independents to park my vote. FUCK
Quote from: Thurnez Isa on April 28, 2011, 10:40:58 PM
So now I'm stuck between orange and green, and no independents to park my vote. FUCK
Jack Layton has a mustache.
Elizabeth May does not.
Also -
(http://i.imgur.com/obLnt.jpg) (http://imgur.com/obLnt)
Just sayin.
You can't fake that kind of geekery.
Besides, I thought greens were just libertarians with blue bins. :? Am I hugely off-base?
This scares the crap out of me.
Apparently, the conservative party's election platform says they'll take a majority win as proof of consent to approve all of the crime-related bills currently pending in Parliament. All in one go.
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Conservative+majority+would+bundle+crime+bills/4580146/story.html
So, "lawful access" (warrant-less monitoring, yanno, internets wire-tapping) and "deep packet inspection," and some other evil bits, like "harsher sentencing" for youth and more jails, will be passed within 100 days if they scam obtain a majority.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5733/125
Quote from: Hoser McRhizzy on April 29, 2011, 04:02:21 AM
This scares the crap out of me.
Apparently, the conservative party's election platform says they'll take a majority win as proof of consent to approve all of the crime-related bills currently pending in Parliament. All in one go.
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Conservative+majority+would+bundle+crime+bills/4580146/story.html
So, "lawful access" (warrant-less monitoring, yanno, internets wire-tapping) and "deep packet inspection," and some other evil bits, like "harsher sentencing" for youth and more jails, will be passed within 100 days if they scam obtain a majority.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5733/125
Canada. Always 10 years behind America in everything.
Quote from: postvex™ on April 29, 2011, 04:23:49 AM
Quote from: Hoser McRhizzy on April 29, 2011, 04:02:21 AM
This scares the crap out of me.
Apparently, the conservative party's election platform says they'll take a majority win as proof of consent to approve all of the crime-related bills currently pending in Parliament. All in one go.
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Conservative+majority+would+bundle+crime+bills/4580146/story.html
So, "lawful access" (warrant-less monitoring, yanno, internets wire-tapping) and "deep packet inspection," and some other evil bits, like "harsher sentencing" for youth and more jails, will be passed within 100 days if they scam obtain a majority.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5733/125
Canada. Always 10 years behind America in everything.
:x :lol: :x
Quote from: Hoser McRhizzy on April 29, 2011, 04:02:21 AM
This scares the crap out of me.
Apparently, the conservative party's election platform says they'll take a majority win as proof of consent to approve all of the crime-related bills currently pending in Parliament. All in one go.
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Conservative+majority+would+bundle+crime+bills/4580146/story.html
So, "lawful access" (warrant-less monitoring, yanno, internets wire-tapping) and "deep packet inspection," and some other evil bits, like "harsher sentencing" for youth and more jails, will be passed within 100 days if they scam obtain a majority.
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5733/125
Luckily, unless something drastic happens over this weekend they won't be getting that majority.
Quote from: Hoser McRhizzy on April 29, 2011, 03:58:35 AM
Besides, I thought greens were just libertarians with blue bins. :? Am I hugely off-base?
How so?
I'm voting NDP. They may well fuck us all over, but they're unpredictable, and I figure uncertainty is better than certain transformation into a second-rate USA.
I'm curious as to whether Roger is standing by his original prediction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkODg_B0YY8&feature=feedlik
IS VOTE TIEM NOW
My riding ended up getting really nasty between the PC and NDP in the last few days.
Long story short...
Basically the PC candidate refused to print his platform in french and since the NDP incumbent is french the city split down language barriers, even going so far as the PC candidate calling for a refusal of certain public services in french.
I remember when I was kid there were certain stores downtown that would actually get kicked out of if they caught you speaking french, even to your friends, and that was about mid 80's, so theres still a lot of buried resentment. I like talking to the old folks down at Tim Hortons and when I was out today the place almost erupted between the two factions. It was like I was kid again.
sorry correction it was the liberal that's french... the NDP was the one that had his signs defaced and then got called out for putting up illegal signs.
This city is fucked
Quote from: Thurnez Isa on May 02, 2011, 11:02:52 PM
sorry correction it was the liberal that's french... the NDP was the one that had his signs defaced and then got called out for putting up illegal signs.
This city is fucked
Well, I wouldn't go so far as to call it a
city...
SEE AMERICANS WE CAN DO IT TOO!!!!
we're just a little more lame
:cry:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/05/02/cv-election-polling-pranks-411.html?ref=rss
QuoteVoters in ridings across Canada are being warned not to trust calls telling them to go to different polling stations, according to Elections Canada.
Elections Canada has had reports from several ridings from voters in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia who claim to have been given false information that directed them to the wrong place to vote.
The campaign of Frank Valeriote, the Liberal candidate in Guelph, issued a statement on Monday saying it has received calls from citizens claiming they received calls from Elections Canada or the riding's Conservative candidate saying the polling station has changed.
The campaign has complained to Elections Canada and the Guelph police.
"This is clearly illegal and has not being conducted or sanctioned by Frank Valeriote or anyone in his campaign," said the statement from the Valeriote campaign.
Ben Grossman said he voted in Guelph at 9:30 a.m. on Monday and when he arrived at his home 30 minutes later, there was a voice mail message from a blocked number telling him the polling station had moved across the city. He said he reported the call to Elections Canada.
Elections Canada is reporting that it has received more than 100 complaints from Kitchener-Waterloo and the Guelph areas. Another dozen complaints were fielded in the Ottawa area.
Kathy Mahoney received a call in the Ottawa area that claimed to be from Elections Canada.
"[The call said] due to higher than normal voter turnout, they were changing our poll station. Then it got maybe a little staticy or garbley. You couldn't hear where the polling station was. And then it left a 1-800 number to call if you had any questions," said Mahoney, who is married to Richard Mahoney, a Liberal candidate in recent elections.
Mahoney tried calling the 1-800 number but there was no response. She said her phone's caller identification feature said the number carried a 450 number, which is from suburban Montreal.
The fictitious phone calls are also plaguing voters on the West Coast.
Elections Canada has received complaints from voters in British Columbia over calls offering false information.
Susan Friend, an Elections Canada official, said the agency never calls voters directly to warn them that polling stations have moved.
"Elections Canada would like to warn voters to disregard any phone calls you have where you are being told to go to a different polling station," Friend said.
The Canada Elections Act says it is prohibited to "wilfully prevent or endeavour to prevent an elector from voting at an election." If a person is guilty of contravening the act, they could face a fine or jail time.[
A different type of voting problem was experienced by several Montreal voters.
When Robin Warren showed up to vote on Monday, she said her name had been crossed off the voter list.
She had to sign an affidavit swearing she had not voted already.
While Warren was at the polling station, she said another woman who lives in the same apartment complex had an identical problem.
"On my way back home after we dealt with all this I ran into another group of ladies outside and all their names were crossed off the list, and they had to go through the same thing of signing affidavits. There's something not right here. There's too many people in one building," Warren said.
Warren said she called Elections Canada to complain but she said the elections agency called the situation an irregularity.
Quote from: Thurnez Isa on May 03, 2011, 12:21:47 AM
SEE AMERICANS WE CAN DO IT TOO!!!!
we're just a little more lame
:cry:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadavotes2011/story/2011/05/02/cv-election-polling-pranks-411.html?ref=rss
QuoteVoters in ridings across Canada are being warned not to trust calls telling them to go to different polling stations, according to Elections Canada.
Elections Canada has had reports from several ridings from voters in Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia who claim to have been given false information that directed them to the wrong place to vote...
I've been reading about these all day, too. Overall, it's like they turned up the volume on what went down in 2008 (all those trip-ups to solve a problem with voter fraud we'd never had in Canada). Except 2 1/2 years ago, the comments sections were where I found people's stories unfiltered by elections canada and teh news. Now you can't even read what people wrote before the 'blackout.'
My station wasn't marked so that you could see it from the street, it was a different location than last time, 30-35 'officials' sitting behind their long table, and just me on the other side. They really scrutinized my passport, gas bill and voter id card thingy. But then, I do come off as kind of crusty.
I hear Guelph got it pretty bad, but here's the little bit that's been reported from my city -
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/984175--polling-station-snags-reported-across-city?bn=1#article
QuoteOsorio said the place where the polling station was to be is an empty field. He said sometime later, a new voting card came directing him to the correct polling station at St. Luke's Separate School on Ossington Ave.
John Roche, a resident of 200 Wellesley St. E., said he went to the local community centre to cast his ballot, but was told to come back at 3:30 p.m.. When he returned at 4 p.m., he said, the station did not have official ballot boxes or voting booths. He said an official "found a box" to put the ballots in.
Meanwhile, there was a long lineup of veterans at Sunnybrook Veterans Hospital on Bayview Ave. who were none too pleased about the delays.
Charles Braive, whose father John, 96, is a World War II veteran, says Elections Canada was making "tons of seniors" wait in line to register for a voter's list before they were given a ballot. A lot simply gave up and left, he said.
"A lot of them don't want to wait," Braive said. "They have health problems and incontinence problems. Their caregivers have them down for only an hour."
Quote from: Hoopla on April 29, 2011, 08:27:20 PM
Quote from: Hoser McRhizzy on April 29, 2011, 03:58:35 AM
Besides, I thought greens were just libertarians with blue bins. :? Am I hugely off-base?
How so?
My impression was that they were a "individual choice and the logical market will fix it" kinda party. Don't know much about them, outside of May telling green supporters to vote liberal in 08, which is why I asked. No offense intended.
CONSERVATIVES JUST HIT THE MAJORITY
ROGER WAS RIGHT
MINUS THE LAYTON REFERENCE
CRAZY FRENCH GUY LOST HIS OWN RIDING
fuck
To elaborate:
FUCK
I FOR ONE WELCOME OUR NEW INTERNET SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM
AND OUR PRIVATE INSURANCERS IN THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
That's it. Time to pack up.
Where to go
It's not like we live in the United States where we could say, "We're moving to Canada if Palin wins."
Also remember we survived Malroney.
Quote from: Thurnez Isa on May 03, 2011, 04:17:16 AM
Where to go
It's not like we live in the United States where we could say, "We're moving to Canada if Palin wins."
Also remember we survived Malroney.
Actually, I was thinking America. If I'm going to live with this level of horrormirth, I might as well witness it in its concentrated form.
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!
:crankey: :crankey: :crankey: :crankey: :crankey:
Quote from: Unqualified on May 03, 2011, 04:25:21 AM
Quote from: Thurnez Isa on May 03, 2011, 04:17:16 AM
Where to go
It's not like we live in the United States where we could say, "We're moving to Canada if Palin wins."
Also remember we survived Malroney.
Actually, I was thinking America. If I'm going to live with this level of horrormirth, I might as well witness it in its concentrated form.
:lulz:
Where is Squeaky Fromme when we need her?
Told ya so.
Do never doubt my prophetic powers.
Quote from: Thurnez Isa on May 03, 2011, 03:44:42 AM
ROGER WAS RIGHT
MINUS THE LAYTON REFERENCE
CRAZY FRENCH GUY LOST HIS OWN RIDING
I was right about Layton. He lost, bad enough that he couldn't prevent a majority.
I was right about the Crazy French Guy.
I know these things.
Well, I'm not so sure you called it exactly.
While Layton did lose, he certainly wasn't whipped like a camel. NDP have never shown like that before.
But still, you pretty much nailed it.
Looks like liberal support collapsed in Ontario and both the southern Ontario suburbs and BC went hardcore conservative, presumably based on the belief that Harper will keep house values high and thus keep people employed (this belief did not serve the manufacturing industry well).
Also looks like the Conservatives played quite dirty with the robo-calls, telling people polling stations had changed and so to go to different locations. It seems to have happened predominatly in areas where Conservatives won big, which is why I suggest they were behind it. I wouldn't expect any investigation under a Harper government, though.
No, neither would I.
It came down to the cult of personality, from what I can tell. Pretty much everyone I spoke to about it said a variation of "I won't vote for Iggy". If the Grits could find an actual leader people could get behind this would all be different, but people just fucking loathe Ignatieff. Fortunately he stepped down today... now we get to see what dead fish they prop up next.
Toronto recently voted in ultra conservative Rob Ford, and now this... something's blowing in the wind in Canada, and I don't like the smell.
Quote from: Hoopla on May 03, 2011, 04:17:53 PM
No, neither would I.
It came down to the cult of personality, from what I can tell. Pretty much everyone I spoke to about it said a variation of "I won't vote for Iggy". If the Grits could find an actual leader people could get behind this would all be different, but people just fucking loathe Ignatieff. Fortunately he stepped down today... now we get to see what dead fish they prop up next.
Toronto recently voted in ultra conservative Rob Ford, and now this... something's blowing in the wind in Canada, and I don't like the smell.
Well...erm. I think I can answer this better in a rant. Stay tuned for The Road to Nowhere, part 2.
Quote from: Cain on May 03, 2011, 03:47:16 PM
Looks like liberal support collapsed in Ontario and both the southern Ontario suburbs and BC went hardcore conservative, presumably based on the belief that Harper will keep house values high and thus keep people employed (this belief did not serve the manufacturing industry well).
Also looks like the Conservatives played quite dirty with the robo-calls, telling people polling stations had changed and so to go to different locations. It seems to have happened predominatly in areas where Conservatives won big, which is why I suggest they were behind it. I wouldn't expect any investigation under a Harper government, though.
they also started on the "the NDP will raise your taxes and only the conservatives can stop them," line, which worked to steal the right of the liberal base in the suburbs.
They tried to play dirty here as well as bringing up the whole french/english debate, which in a city of 20-30% french worked against them and they went third, far behind the Liberals and winning NDP candidates.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 03, 2011, 03:19:36 PM
I was right about Layton.
Erm... Layton tripled his party's seats? They doubled the NDP historical record too.
The NDP's goal wasn't to form the government: that's not what they're designed for and it would probably be a really bad idea. Their role is to force the other parties to make social/policy concessions, especially in cases of minority.
They won big this election.
Quote from: Remington on May 03, 2011, 10:50:43 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 03, 2011, 03:19:36 PM
I was right about Layton.
Erm... Layton tripled his party's seats? They doubled the NDP historical record too.
The NDP's goal wasn't to form the government: that's not what they're designed for and it would probably be a really bad idea. Their role is to force the other parties to make social/policy concessions, especially in cases of minority.
They won big this election.
Okay, I can see that, though I am puzzled by the idea of a party that doesn't
intend to win.
What I had meant was that Layton wouldn't be able to prevent a conservative majority, which is the only actual standard of success at this point in time. He and the NDP failed in this respect, which is what I meant.
I'd be curious to see what the liberals do now.
Do they go to the right and try to recapture the vote they lost to the conservatives?
Do they go to the left and try to go after the NDP vote?
Do they just try again with a new leader?
I know what the NDP's plans are probably going to be. Wait for the conservatives to screw up the country now that they have the majority and play the tough guy while waiting.
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 03, 2011, 10:53:57 PM
Quote from: Remington on May 03, 2011, 10:50:43 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 03, 2011, 03:19:36 PM
I was right about Layton.
Erm... Layton tripled his party's seats? They doubled the NDP historical record too.
The NDP's goal wasn't to form the government: that's not what they're designed for and it would probably be a really bad idea. Their role is to force the other parties to make social/policy concessions, especially in cases of minority.
They won big this election.
Okay, I can see that, though I am puzzled by the idea of a party that doesn't intend to win.
What I had meant was that Layton wouldn't be able to prevent a conservative majority, which is the only actual standard of success at this point in time. He and the NDP failed in this respect, which is what I meant.
Oh, okay.
I'm sure the NDP
wants to win, it's just that them doing so would actually be really bad for Canada (economically). Whenever the NDP gets to govern (they have formed governments on a provincial level before), businesses pack up and leave in droves.
The small bright side of this Conservative majority is that it gives the Liberals time to get their shit together and choose an actual leader+platform.
The Liberals are apparently thinking of bringing in...
...BOB RAE.
:x