Do it! Do it! Do it!
November 29th, 2008 by AndyStephen Harper is a cock munching asshole. There. I said it. How many people do you know who voted Green (or NDP, or other party that clearly was not going to win) because “I just want them to get my two dollars so they can *maybe* get somewhere next time”? Hopefully you actually know some of these people - I personally know plenty. Anyway, Harper’s new “economic update” proposes scrapping all this funding, pissing off all three opposition parties. The NDP, Liberals, and Bloc have actually agreed to bring down the government 6 weeks after an election if this funding cut goes ahead. On the bright side however, apparently we might not go back to the polls if this happens. The Liberals and NDP are finally doing what they should have done all along - apparently talks are underway to figure out the logistics of a coalition government. Even those French assholes, the Bloc, have signalled support.
For some reason, I am incredibly enthusiastic about this turn of events. It has always seemed to me that a Lib-NDP coalition would be the best of both worlds (progressive politics without handing the country over to unions), and if it happens this way, I just love how badly Harper is getting fucked over. He is already whining to anyone who will listen that this is undemocratic, blah, blah, because the “Canadian people elected myself over Dion”, forgetting that we don’t have some stupid two party system up here. In fact, the Canadian people voted overwhelmingly (63%) AGAINST Harper.. and considering virtually every other popular party leans left, it seems like Canadians voted for a left leaning coalition. So fuck you Stevie, you fucking lose.
December 1st, 2008 at 6:50 am
Hahaha! Undemocratic! Best thing I’ve heard all night!
(Well, maybe not the best, since I watched Cronenberg’s SCANNERS earlier, and it was full of brilliant lines, but wow!)
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:11 am
I really hope this happens. Especially with a population buoyed by the lefty upset south of the border (I’m still calling it an upset, even if it was anticipated), what an amazing sucker-punch this would be to the Conservatives.
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:37 am
The other awesome thing is that he’s trying to say that we’re being handed over to the separatists in a pact with the devil, even though his government was the one to institute divisive appeasement measures (like passing the Bloc motion to recognize Quebec as a ‘nation within Canada’) in a sleazy vote-grab. Not to mention, you know, the fact that he alienates Quebec with everything he does (i.e. completely shitting on culture).
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:18 am
Waahahahaha the more I think about this the funnier it gets. So rad. I love that everyone’s freaking out about the Bloc, too. Boo-fucking-hoo.
Cool thing about the NDP is that, as far as I know, they’ve always been okay with Quebec separation if that’s what Quebecers wind up voting for. Though I’ve always thought that it should be a ’strong majority’ (ie. 2/3) situation — doesn’t make sense to separate when only half the population wants to do it.
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:23 am
Wait - parts of our nation being allowed to leave is a good thing? Um. Not where I come from.
meh. Here’s hoping the NDP and Green don’t actually get any power from this little debacle. I can’t even imagine what Harper was thinking with this money-for-votes thing.
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Oh god, such a tragedy it would be if a party that received 8% of the popular vote got any power at all in a democracy.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:46 am
I know that the Governor-General is in no way beholden to the public in this situation, and has to act in the interest of stable government (and will thus likely dissolve parliament until a budget arrives), but I decided to shoot her an e-mail (info@gg.ca) regarding the upcoming decision, anyway. You may feel like doing the same:
Your Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean,
I would like to implore you to accept the Liberal and NDP proposal to form a coalition government in cooperation with the Bloc. I, and many others, fear that Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party represent only the interests of the wealthy elite and not the common Canadian who does not reap the benefits of oil money (to say nothing of the untold environmental damage his policies have allowed). Furthermore, I believe that his recent policy proposals and misleading media messages demonstrate a dangerous move to consolidate his power against the democratic forces aligned against him, and that his cries of anti-democratic sentiment are hypocritical in the extreme, given that the coalition represents the 63% of Canadians who did not vote for him.
This is an opportunity for a new chapter in Canadian history, based on cooperation - however uneasy - rather than the partisan bickering that has marked parliament for too long. The historically low turnout in this past election, I feel, characterizes a fundamental sense of disenfranchisement with an electoral system that does not function to represent the nuance of the multi-party political environment in Canada, and that a coalition that truly represents the majority view is the best way to mend fences with the Canadian public. To emphasize how strongly I feel about this, I am writing this missive from a hotel in Bujumbura, Burundi - it has been too long since my democracy has felt relevant to me, and this is an opportunity to regain governmental confidence with the people. Please act in the name of democracy and good government.
Sincere Regards
December 5th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Pavel, it confuses me how you can be so insistent that people be required to take responsibility for their own actions, and that you are vehemently opposed to government interferance/influence in the economy, but you think it’s okay for that same government to deny an entire chunk of its population the right to self-determination via national independance.
I don’t think Quebec separating would be a good idea or particularly useful, but who am I to tell Quebecors what they should or shouldn’t do?
December 5th, 2008 at 5:12 am
National sovereignty comes with confederation. That means control over our own borders - As much as people play political name-games to pander for votes, “Quebecors” are just Canadians that happen to be from Quebec. I understand that many feel at odds with the rest of the country, but it’s obviously in a close enough margin that any cries of oppression or cultural ennui are pretty far-fetched. Issues like this are defined by our constitution… you can’t just get up and leave because you feel like it.