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A coalition solution to Canada's democracy crisis

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CHIMO Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun May-09-10 01:24 PM
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A coalition solution to Canada's democracy crisis
Canada is in the midst of a crisis in democracy unique in its history. There is simply no other historical example that one can compare it to. It is multi-faceted and it affects every aspect of our national politics and political discourse. It is inexorably eroding the political fabric of the country and therefore our viability as a democratic nation.

First, we have a government so contemptuous of democracy that it is utterly unapologetic in trying to impose on the country an agenda opposed by probably 75 per cent of the population -- treating its minority status not as a mandate to work with other parties but as an irritating impediment to re-engineering the country along the lines defined by the U.S. Christian right.

Second, we are amongst a tiny handful of countries still saddled with the absurdly anachronistic voting system that allows for government by executive dictatorship by any party that can get 40 per cent of the vote.

Third, Canada is witnessing a continuing catastrophic decrease in voter turnout with just 59 per cent voting in the October, 2008 election -- a result which put us 16th out of seventeen peer nations. This aspect of the crisis is largely the result of the first two: a deliberate plan by the political right to downsize democracy through relentless partisanship and people's frustration at seeing their votes count for nothing.

http://www.rabble.ca/columnists/2010/05/coalition-solution-canadas-democracy-crisis
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Bragi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-11-10 09:27 PM
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1. An excellent article
It's a well argued case for coalition politics. I agree with Dobbin.
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CHIMO Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-11-10 10:11 PM
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2. Others
Have started building for this. It remains for the leaders to realize that if they want full support they will have to close ranks. Without it they will not receive support. Both effort and financial.
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Bragi Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed May-12-10 09:27 AM
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3. I wish it were so
I see no evidence that the parties will get together on this. Quite the opposite. Which is the one area I have of disagreement with Dobbin. I don't see the NDP and Libs establishing an accord of any sort prior to or even after an election.

Absent the willingness of the parties to collaborate, I think the only practical way out of the current mess (i.e. the only way to defeat Harper) would be via strategic voting.

I wish I could say someone is organizing an effective strategic voting campaign for the next federal election. I believe it could be done, but I see no evidence of this either.

The folks who put together CAPP could probably take shot at this, but again, I've not seen or heard anything about it happening.

More likely is that the NDP and Libs will beat the crap out of each other in the next election, 35 per cent of Canadians will elect another Harper minority government, and he will continue to shove evangelical values up the asses of the 65 per cent who split their votes between 4 parties, and who he despises.

What a mess.

- B
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