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Conservative Minority. F**king glad its all over.

A

Antiloop33rpm

Guest
Well, as of 12:30 am, here are the results.

Con 124 - 36.4%
Lib 103 - 30.1%
Bloc 51 - 10.5%
NDP 29 - 17.4%
Green 0 - 4.5%
Ind 1 - 1.1%

What do you think?

I have to say, Im a little surprised. I didnt expect the Liberals to do as well as they did. Im happy that the NDP made some strong progress. And the Bloc, 42% in Quebec, a lose of 3 seats. Very, very interesting.

Yet, I am very happy with how things turned out. In fact, I think given the dynamic of how the election progressed over the past month, this is very encouraging. Valeri was defeated, Stephane Dion remains, Pierre Pettigrew gone. All good things in my opinion. And Paul Martin stepping down, I think that he demonstrated a side of himself that was very admirable.

I still despise Stephen Harper. To call him the leader of our country makes me feel ill. I have no intention of letting down on criticizing him and when he screws up, I will be among the people screaming loudest, holding him to the same criticism that people handed the Liberals.

But I am still rather happy to this dynamic take place. This will be an all or nothing session I think. Things are changing in Canadian politics. Things are getting interesting. Maybe this session will bring some renewed faith in federalism. Maybe it will send seperatism into a full out blaze. Who knows? No one right now. I look forward to it all though. Its a good night tonight.
 
Mike Duffy made a point earlier which I assume still holds true:
Conservatives do not have an elected MP from Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal.
 
I've been very happy with the state of things during the last two years. With a weak minority and Paul Martin stepping down I'm as happy as one can be given the circumstances. Time for the Liberals to renew themselves and for the NDP to force their agenda on the Conservatives.

It will be interesting to see how Parliament works going forward. May you live in interesting times as the old Chinese saying goes. That will be an understatement in the next few years.
 
That will be an understatement in the next few years.
Click to expand...

The last parlimentary session was pitiful high school drama. But things are changing. There are some high expectations from a lot of people from this government. There is not going to be a middle, centrist ground for solutions. It is a night that is going to be very important in Canadian history.
 
All in all, a good night.

Pointz:

1. A Conservative majority did not occur
2. We now have two national parties... democracy is stronger
3. A Liberal meltdown did not occur... showing how durable their centrist ideology is
4. A Western PM... proof to Westerners that such a thing is possible
5. the Bloc did not do well while the Conservatives did better than expected in Quebec
6. Martin retired graciously and after a bumpy two years as PM gave us a glimpse into why so many Canadians admired him for so long. He was candid and comfortable and reminded us of his Finance Minister glory days.
 
I'm optimistic. I hate Harper, but the Liberals stood up well under the worst of circumstances. The NDP took a strong showing instead of a landslide Conservative take over as well. The Bloc was actually weakened (a major point I'm happy about), and ultimately Canada showed the Conservatives they wanted change, but wasn't willing to give them a clean slate to do whatever they want.

I see what most of you see:

*Tamed alienation in Alberta
*A chance for the Liberals to regroup and regain strength, you have to lose eventually in a democracy
*Finally the Liberals are no longer targets, but the Conservatives.

Now starts the mind numbing policies of a Harper government. Unfortunately...
 
Wow, how odd. You all hate Harper. How unusual for Torontonians. Give me a break. Anything is better than the bloody Liberals. The Conservatives have only lead this country for 9 of the last 60 years. It's high time we see a change. So I guess you're all content with all the screw ups the Liberals have made over the years, yet once Harper makes one mistake you'll be all over him? Why scapegoat him and not the previous Liberal leaders?
 
Mystery:

Dislike of Harper does not equate love of Liberals. There are very few Liberal apologists on this board. Most are happy that change has taken place. Most are happy that the arrogance of the Liberals has now been addressed. But just because we dislike the Liberals does not mean we automatically transfer our votes to Conservatives. There are other options in a democracy that offers more than two political parties. Most who dislike Harper do so because many of his policies simply dont make sense. The people have spoken. We have a new Prime Minister. But that does not mean that we should stop being critical of the Conservatives in the same way people have been critical of the Liberals.
 
Why would you waste your time voting Green? You know they have absolutely no chance of winning or changing anything. You might as well vote for a party that has a chance to win or not vote at all.
 
Wow, how odd. You all hate Harper. How unusual for Torontonians. Give me a break. Anything is better than the bloody Liberals. The Conservatives have only lead this country for 9 of the last 60 years. It's high time we see a change. So I guess you're all content with all the screw ups the Liberals have made over the years, yet once Harper makes one mistake you'll be all over him? Why scapegoat him and not the previous Liberal leaders?
Click to expand...

Anything better than the Liberals for you? Like what, the Bloq? You would prefer them in power over the Liberals? Well maybe you'll get your wish with the Conservatives in power, they could get buddy-buddy to ram through certain legislation. I'm sure you would be impressed by that.

And while we are at it, you may have noticed an earlier post that pointed out that the Conservatives also did not win seats in either Vancouver or Montreal, so you can drop the boring anti-Toronto blither. People are allowed to vote for other parties.

Screw-ups of the Liberals? Oh dear! Show me a political party in power for more than a decade that did not have it's share of screw-ups. Are you so sure that the Conservatives won't have some screw-ups of their own? I really doubt you are.

What you choose to neglect are the successes of the Liberals. They were not just elected, they were re-elected over and over again. Maybe they do something that appeals to people that allows them to get re-elected? Did you ever think of that?

As for scapegoating, you clearly have no ear for Harper. The leader of the Conservative Party has already spoken out on what he sees as a liberal, activist judiciary. So just in case he wants to ban gay marriage or curtail access to abortion, and the courts stop him, he can use them as a scapegoat for limiting the pursuit of his agenda. Harper complained about the "Liberal" public service in Ottawa, suggesting that they won't work with his government, indicating another potential scapegoat he can always employ should he be unable to do what he wants in terms of policy legislation. And of course Harper's government is a minority, and the opposition party are the Liberals. So guess who he is going to accuse of revenge should his legislation get knocked down? Guess who he is going to use as a scapegoat for being unable to perform in parliament? Why parliament itself! It's just scapegoat heaven for Stephen!

This will continue to play well out west, who have "their" party in power now, and those darn easterner/liberal city-dwellers will block their rightful exercise of it. It doesn't get any better for the scapegoat-minded!
 
As far as I'm concerned, the Conservatives represent a move in the wrong direction. Their taxation policy is downright foolish (cutting consumption taxes and raising income taxes?), and their answer to everything seems to be a tax credit. When asked on issues, Harper too often gave a cryptic "You'll see" response, which I can only take to mean bad things.

Harper will totally disregard climate change. Harper will renege on plans to increase investment in transit infrastructure. Harper will reopen issues of minority rights that have already been addressed.

Frankly, I can't wait for them to be swept away by the next Liberal leader. But, when that happens, I won't be voting Liberal. I'll almost certainly be voting Green.
 
I really think we should chill for a few months and see what Harper actually does. The man did not get to his present position by being stupid.

I see some positives and some negatives (surprise!). To name just one positive, we now have two truly national parties, and people in Quebec no longer have to choose between the Liberals or the separatists. Even strong Liberals must acknowledge that this is good for all of Canada. An obvious negative is the lack of representation from the three largest cities, which may not bode well at all for an urban agenda. In any case the most important thing now is to relax, take a few deep breaths, and we may be surprised that the sky won't fall on our heads.
 
Glad to see that, if Mr Harper wants to accomplish anything, the NDP likely have him by the short-and-curlies. That could actually end up meaning good things for the urban agenda.

Though by the same token, he could go to the Bloc...
 
Obs. Walt:

I really think we should chill for a few months and see what Harper actually does. The man did not get to his present position by being stupid.
Click to expand...

Actually, the man got to his present position due to others being stupid.

I agree with allabootmatt - this election proves once and for all that no party would be going anywhere (i.e. majority) without the urban core support; Harper would be wise to note that he hasn't got a single MP from all the major cities.

AoD
 
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