Alice Klein is in a tight race with Stéphane Dion over who can become the Liberal Party’s worst advocate.
Not because the editor of Toronto’s alt-weekly NOW doesn’t believe in the “strategic voting” hokum she spewed all over the pages of her magazine.
No, the problem is with how clumsily she did it.
Klein’s impassioned entreaty to the hog-wash that is “strategic voting” makes absolutely no sense. Because if she was actually serious about defeating Harper:
a) why does she endorse the Liberals, who since October have sat on their hands to keep Harper in office?
b) why does she not call for the Liberals to stand down in ridings the NDP holds? Shouldn't Gerard Kennedy be running against a GTA Conservative like Jim Flaherty instead of trying to unseat Peggy Nash in Parkdale?
c) is she also saying progressives should vote for the separatist Bloc in Quebec where the Liberals are in tatters?
d) why does she besmirch the NDP but boost the Green Party, which has no seats and, by their own admission, have no realistic prospect of winning a seat?
e) what does she say to the people of Saskatchewan who "voted strategically" and ended up with 12 Conservative MPs for their trouble?
It's because dear reader, as Klein makes transparently clear, defeating Harper is the façade for the tired ploy of trying to convince people to vote for the same listing Liberal Party they abandoned in 2004, 2006 and are continuing to today.
The real strategy to defeat Harper is Jack Layton and the NDP -- a party that has been the effective opposition to Harper, and has shown the most growth, as the Outremont by-election demonstrated so clearly.
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16 comments:
Nothing like keeping the blinders on to ensure Harper stays in power. I totally agree with Klein.
"Nothing like keeping the blinders on to ensure Harper stays in power"
You're talking about the four votes Dion forced his MPs to abstain on, again, right?
love to post guy, sooo true!!!!
I love it so much I have now added you to my blog roll!!
Horse, don't you know that the Liberals rightly belong in power? They are the "natural governing party" you know.
Why should something like weak leadership, a lack of policy or vision or simple mistrust by the Canadian public stand in the way of having the Liberals in power?
It is the NDPs patriotic duty to ensure that the Liberals form the next government!
Thanks, orgie.
Shawn, you're starting to read like Liberal talking points. ;)
Check out the comments at the bottom of the article. A lot of people are fuming at NOW over this.
Klein should be thanked. It's good to tear the gilding off the "strategic voting" twaddle early and often.
Whooee! If there is to be co-operation, it needs to be in the form of a top level merger, like the right did. At the riding and individual level, partisan voters want to vote for their party of choice.
I don't see much chance of an NDP-LPC-GPC merger and I don't think anyone else does, either.
I do find the NDP attitude to be especially combative. Dippers seem to dislike everyone. That doesn't bode well in a minority parliament situation where co-operation is the only way to accomplish anything. The NDP seems to expel more vitriol on the Liberals and Greens than on the Cons. It's the Cons who are in power, remember?
It may be true that the GPC won't elect an MP in the next election. It's also a safe bet that Jack Layton will never be PM and the NDP will never form the government. I'm not sure what point you were trying to make with d). Seems like a convenient dart to throw at the Greens. Never miss an opportunity, right?
JB
The NDP seems to expel more vitriol on the Liberals and Greens than on the Cons.
Whoooee, indeed. There is absolutely no evidence to support such a claim but it still gets said over and over. The NDP has been the party holding Harper to account. There's more than one pundit saying it.
As for the relevance of (d), it demonstrates one of the weaknesses of Klein's arguement. If you are serious about defeating Harper, why boost the fortunes of any party other than the one you think can get the job done?
That's just it though, the Elizabeth May / Buzz Hargrove strategic vote crowd isn't interested in defeating Harper at all.
When will the NDP and the Liberals stop fighting with each other and recognise that STEPHEN FUCKING HARPER is running the country!!! Liberals have got to realize that the days of huge Liberal majorities are over and the NDP has got to realize that their dream of being the official opposition is futile. Sit down with each other and determine who has the best chance of winning each riding. Then pull their candidates out of each riding wear the other party has the best chance. This kind of stategic voting would benefit both parties.Keep your eye on the ball. Stephen Harper must go. Period. We can go back to our partisan bickering when this is done.
I totally agree with Klein.
Well duh, Woman. You are a Liberal, of course you agree with Klein.
Stephen Harper must go. Period.
Sorry. But Stéphane Dion disagrees with you. The NDP begged the Liberals to defeat the Harper government in the fall and Dion said "no" FOUR times because his party wasn't ready.
Why should every other Canadian be expected to put their partisanship aside, when the Liberals routinely put their party before the country.
Don't like it? Stéphane Dion can be reached at (613) 996-5789
Whooee! "If you are serious about defeating Harper, why boost the fortunes of any party other than the one you think can get the job done?"
I'm really not trying to be disrespectful but are you delusional? Do you think the NDP can win the 40% popular vote needed to defeat Harper? The NDP has as much chance of forming a government as do the Greens -- zero. We Greens at least accept reality.
JB
There is some confusion JB. Let's rephrase:
As for the relevance of (d), it demonstrates one of the weaknesses of Klein's arguement. If Klein is serious about defeating Harper, why does she bother boosting the Greens at all? Shouldn't she just boost the Liberals -- the party she thinks can defeat Harper?
That's just it though, the Elizabeth May / Buzz Hargrove strategic vote crowd isn't interested in defeating Harper at all.
Hope that clarifies matters.
As for the NDP's electoral potential? Stay tuned.
Whooee! Thanks fer clearin' up the confusion. As fer the delusion, I'll stay tuned.
JB
I am in total agreement Dead Horse.
Strategic voting is a dead end issue.How it helps the NDP is beyond me.
For the NDP to have a chance at forming a government it must stick to its principles while attempting everything possible to reach out to the 40-45 % of eligible voters who do not vote.Particularly the the youth.
It might be slow,but it is steady and voters do appreciate honesty and principles.
As for strategic voting...
...." You can’t build a party with one-night stands. Renting other parties’ supporters is bad strategy. The secret of electoral success is in transforming other parties’ supporters — and independents — into your party’s loyalists by forging an emotional connection with the voters"....
thats from:
http://engagedspectator.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/strategic-voting/
Mr blogging horse , your right that Dion has to take off the partisan blinders. We all do, thats my point. Stopping Stephen Harper should be the only priority.
There are only two problems with "strategic voting."
1. The Liberatives are every bit as right wing as the Conserverals, and
2. It doesn't work anyway.
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