Election

[kato]

Anybody didn't see this coming???? LOL

[PureCountry]

And soooooo thrilled that it's finally
here!!!




Not. Don't know what they think they're
going to prove. It's the same 3 dogs
fighting over the same small bone in the
same old junkyard, instead of looking
around and thinking about how to get out
of the junkyard.

[15444]

You mean the Pit bull, the Poodle and the Terrier?

[grassfarmer]

My un-western view of politics will probably put me at odds with the rest of the posters on here but I think most people are overlooking the most honest and most sensible possible leader - Duceppe. Now I realise that under the current paradigm it's not a reality for him to lead the country but I think he would make a good leader. He is honest "I will do what is good for Quebec" versus the other three "we'll do what is good for babies, pensioners, single mothers while all the time contradicting that and helping big business interests etc"
I was impressed by Duceppe in the election debates last time around - he seemed to have common sense and realistic ideas how to deal with the issues while the others were involved in a p#$T$ match with each other trying to make smarter comments than the others.
I think to make Canada a better place we need to incorporate Quebec more into the mainstream. I realise their attitude is shaped by their history of sepratist tendancies but if there was a way for Quebec to do well within a more united Canada, and for the whole of Canada to do better as a result wouldn't that be progress? What does it need to get there though? It's easy to say Quebec just needs to drop it's sepratist tendancies but to say that ignores the contribution the rest of Canada makes to Quebec not wanting to be part of a united Canada in the first place. As a Quebecer I would probably feel quite a bit of resentment that although I am a Canadian and pay taxes here in this dual language/culture society there is no chance currently of having the country led by a French speaker prime minister.

[littledoggie]

Duceppe has an agenda, that being Quebec and not Canada. Quite frankly I think they should add a choice to all the ballots - "NONE OF THE ABOVE". There is not one thing that any of the party leaders have said that deserve my vote. There is absolutely nothing inspiring about any of them.

[burnt]

Grassfarmer, your post makes as much sense as does the idea that Duceppe, a separatist, can run as a Federal candidate.

While his words may sound good, they carry zero value because he has no hope in h3!! of ever having to act on them.

Of course he puts Quebec's interests first - it is his finger on the trigger that holds us hostage. That does not equate with being a good leader.

Put him in the ring as a true federal candidate and then we will see how well he compares to the rest. As it is, he is under absolutely no pressure to perform.

[grassfarmer]

Try reading my post again Burnt - slower this time. You will see that I already covered the points you raised then some.

[Happytrails]

Can't imagine why GF chose red neck Alberta when he had a chance to locate in our country's socialist utopia. Or maybe that line of thinking doesn't result in a utopia??

[per]

Gf, we have had plenty of french speaking Prime Ministers in the past, more than Anglophones. I have worked in Quebec and it sure isn't a dual language place to be. Our Quebec staff would not speak English to us at all and yes we did do our level best at french including having fluent staff to double check our butchered french. The Bloc has an agenda that is anti Canada and as much as Duceppe is intelligent he is very much Not qualified to even be an MP let alone be our Country's leader.

[kato]

All I know is a Harper majority is a very scary thing to think about.

And I also know that this campaign is going to be short, and a long long way from sweet. I'll go out on a limb here and predict that we're going to see campaign ads that will push election campaigning to a whole new level of nastiness.

And I also know that there are very few things that make me lose interest faster than attack ads. Give me the remote, I'm out of here.

[smcgrath76]

I don't like Duceppe's agenda, but I
have to admit, like GF, I appreciate his
honesty. Actually, if you believe Dr.
Brinkmann from Guelph, PQ is the best
place in Canada to start farming.
I am not sure any of them deserve our
votes, and I am pretty disgusted at the
tone of things.
The contempt of parliament issue really
bugs me, Ignatieff grates on me, Layton
will break me, and Elizabeth May's ag
policy is non existent.
No one is really addressing the issues
beyond next week, and that is not a good
place to be.
I think there will be a path in the
future for someone with some vision to
strike a pose and lead the way, but I
suspect they will be encumbered by the
legacy of bureaucracy we have created.
Legislation by reaction only solves the
problems of yesterday, too late with
today's ideas.
One thing, if we wind up with another
minority parliament, Harper will get his
budget passed, as no one will want to
non-confidence him so soon after an
election.

[grassfarmer]

Per, why do you think Duceppe is not qualified to even be an MP?

[grassfarmer]

HT, You are funny because your comments are so much the stereotype of a redneck, "Con" supporting westerner. Here is my problem with your ilks thinking(or lack of)- all the "free enterprise" "no government involvement" "anti socialist" "anti communist" stuff is the biggest bunch of hypocracy I've ever encountered because you don't practice what you preach.
There is a great example going on in my local town just now - the previous council were overthrown recently as an undemocratic regime. Among their antics had been making illegal contributions of tax payers money into the Provincial Cons accounts. The mayor defended it by saying this "lobbying" always earned back more "benefits" for the town than it cost them. The new council took over and had to deal with some serious financial challenges so set about doing a budget. Turns out the previous council was also running an illegal scheme whereby new businesses established in town were getting a tax holiday for their first 5 years. So council was faced with either raising town taxes by 9% or eliminating these illegal subsidies to a small number of businesses and only raising taxes by 3% to the whole town. This has created outrage among the affected business owners who are threatening to leave town and go elsewhere. The same threat used by "big oil" in Alberta when they faced having a modest royalty increase.

Another example was a beef industry organisation meeting that I attended in Calgary recently. Lots of breed Association big wigs and some cattle exporters mouthing their opposition to Government involvement in the beef sector but their reason for attendance was the same as the businessmen at my local town council meetings - to ensure they would still be receiving their "entitlements".
How often we hear that Cretien era "entitled to my entitlments" phrase derided in the west by all these free marketeers but the truth is they are doing exactly the same thing. It is the same culture of entitlement in Alberta enjoyed by these businessmen that preach free enterprise.
So the next time you start mouthing off about socialists maybe you should stop and think who the socialists really are. We have a "Con" government that introduces communist land ownership legislation and "Con supporting" local Government running a welfare program to subsidise independent businessmen.
Why the h@#% should the little old lady in a retirement home have to pay way more taxes so the big wheel "free enterprise" businessmen get a free lunch on their taxes? Why call me a socialist for sticking up for the little old lady?

[per]

Gf, for the simple reason that his main agenda is to break up the country. That in my mind makes his actions treasonous.

As far as intelligence and honesty and general political skills go he is the best of the bunch. I don't believe his agenda has any place in the halls of the Government of Canada.

[smcgrath76]

Per, I tend to agree with you somewhat,
but based on the yahoos he works with
every day, there are moments you can
hardly blame him...