canadiancomment

Our opinions and advice to the world. Updated whenever we get around to it.

Differences

Are conservative and liberal voters different? I certainly think they are (luckily for you I'll spare you the reasons) and Steve Hocevar quoted in this article says it best:
"The sponsorship scandal has defined the major differences between liberal voters and conservative voters. When Brian Mulroney's government became arrogant, conservative voters decimated (it), leaving (it) with only two seats. Conservative voters know the only way to make governments accountable is to show them the door. They put honesty, integrity and the belief in good governance above political philosophy.

"It's very unfortunate liberal voters are not so astute. They rationalize, stating things like, 'Paul is not Jean', 'politicians are all the same' and 'the PCs are just as bad.'"
Indeed. Conservative voters were willing to destroy the PC Party in 1993 when it failed to govern properly. Today, we watch Liberal voters twist themselves into pretzels trying to justify their vote for the Liberal Party. It can be quite entertaining to watch at times but deep down I know such a thing isn't in the long term interests of my country.

When a population is willing to accept a corrupted government (corrupted in any sense) then you know the long term prospects of the country are weak. We all know (or at least we should) that as humans, politicians will make mistakes and that they will try to protect their own interests over those of others. We may all know this little fact but that doesn't mean we should accept it.

[Via Nealenews]

10 comments:

Paul said...

Adscam is just one issue among many. The Conservatives have been trying to make it the ONLY issue and blind Canadians by focusing solely on the actions of a few Liberals. What should really matter are the more important issues - education and health care (for example).

Voting should only be done after the dust has settled and those involved in any illegal activities have been dealt with accordingly.

Dana said...

One simple question... why?

The party has proven that it is corrupt from top to bottom and no ammount of legalese will change that.

And if health care and education are so important then why won't the Liberals take part in a serious discussion of those topics? Everytime a discussion is attempted the Liberals resort to scare tactics and insults to shut down the debate.

But hey, it's nice to see that you've done such a good job absorbing the Liberals taking points. At least it proves that the art of destructive politics pays off.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Dana. Anytime anyone, whether it be Mike Harris, Preston Manning, (who are private citizens, by the way, not advisors to Harper) tries to initiate a debate on health care, the Libs avoid the debate and try to demonize them with grandiose rhetoric. Our current health care system is unsustainable and we need a third way. Either talk about health care and education
in a non-partisan way, or get out of the way, Libranos.

Paul said...

Actually, it seems that Harper is rejecting what Harris and Manning are saying about health care these days. He's still a nutjob though. ;)

"The party has proven that it is corrupt from top to bottom"
You're making a lot of assumptions if you've arrived to that conclusion. Proof of corrupt activities by a few does not mean the entire party is corrupt.

"the Liberals resort to scare tactics and insults"
That's just about all I hear out of Stephen Harper these days. His views simply don't sound "Canadian". My opinion is based on what Harper is saying, not what the "Liberal scare tactics" are telling me.

Yes, there are some issues within the Liberal party but there's too much public confusion right now to hold a proper election. Have some patience and wait for everyone's heads to clear so we can work together instead of making it a dirty competition.

Liberal, Conservative, or other, we're all Canadian.

Dana said...

So my question to you is: Did you vote in the last election? Before the last election Martin didn't want an inquiry until the election was over.

It is kind of amusing to hear people say that last year we couldn't have an inquiry until the election was held (pretty convienient for the Liberals if you ask me) and now these same people are saying we can't have an election until the inquiry is completed (pretty convienient as well).

And based on my original post you prove the point that liberal and conservative voters are different. It seems your excuses are on pretty shaky ground.

And I'ld love for you to clarify how Harper's views don't sound 'Canadian' for you? Please let me know what Harper said that you find so 'un-Canadian' cause I'm sure I'ld find it pretty amusing.

And your quote at the end is pretty silly based on the rest of your comment:

"Liberal, Conservative, or other, we're all Canadian."

If that is the case why is it that in the same comment you claim that Harper, and via association conservatives, are 'un-Canadian'?

Paul said...

You're right, my last sentence was silly. What was I thinking? ;)

"(pretty convienient for the Liberals if you ask me) (pretty convienient as well)"
Here's the major difference between us - you're assuming they're guilty of being corrupt, and I'm assuming they're innocent...until proven guilty. I think it should be investigated thoroughly, but you shouldn't be basing political decisions solely on implications.

"claim that Harper, and via association conservatives"
Harper acts unilaterally, as seen from his anti-gay marriage ads he ran. I don't claim the Consevative party is "un-Canadian", but I truly think Harper is. If the party could somehow come up with a less arrogant leader, I'd definitely rethink supporting the Liberals.

Harper quotes (plus comments):
"As a religion, bilingualism is the god that failed. It has led to no fairness, produced no unity, and cost Canadian taxpayers untold millions."
I'm proud to live in a bilingual country. In Europe, many more people can speak many more languages. It shouldn't be dismissed as useless.

"This is o­ne more reason why Westerners, but Albertans in particular, need to think hard about their future in this country."
Alberta is sitting on tons of black gold. It's pretty arrogant of someone to assume Alberta got where it is solely because Albertans have been working harder than Canadians elsewhere.

"There's unfortunately a view of too many people in Atlantic Canada that it's o­nly through government favours that there's going to be economic progress..."
See above, dick.

"Canada appears content to become a second-tier socialistic country, boasting ever more loudly about its economy and social services to mask its second-rate status."
Canada is a damn good country. Harper belongs in a war and money driven country - say, the U.S.!

"we support the war effort and believe we should be supporting our troops and our allies and be there with them doing everything necessary to win"
Yeah, war is awesome. Let's kick ass and take names. Ugh.

Dana said...

If you believe that Harper is arrogant then I'ld simply like to know how he is more arrogant than any of the other party leaders. I personally think that he is one of the most intellectual out of all our leaders. He has lived a typically normal Canadian life and I just don't see anything in him that I would call arrogant.

As for bilingualism I would like to know why I have to pay my tax dollars to support a language. When my family moved here they spoke Gaelic and as far as I'm aware I've never seen a government program to revive it. There is no money spent supporting any other language in Canada except French and yet all the other cultural groups do fine. What makes the French language so special that my money has to be used to support it.

Regarding your comment concerning Atlantic Canada all I can say is that I'm from PEI and that is exactly how things run there. There is no business in PEI that starts without a wad of government funding. It's depressing as hell but that is why I now find myself in Ontario. Trust me, I don't live here because of the scenery.

As for your last two comments, it seems that anyone who thinks socialism has its limits doesn't belong in Canada. Gee that's awefully openminded of you.

As well it seems that you're of the opinion that war never has any uses which is an opinion that you're perfectly willing to have. A lot of other Canadians probably share you're opinion but I find it odd that at the same time we love the attention when places like Europe throw poppies on the graves of dead Canadians or their children sing songs to our war dead. But hey if you're of the opinion that such things are stupid and shouldn't be done then that is your opinion. Do you ever see the hypocracy when Martin or Layton criticize the US and anyone who supports them but when the time comes they will immediately hop on a plane to bask in the glories of our war dead over in Europe?

Paul said...

"I personally think that he is one of the most intellectual out of all our leaders."
Ya know, I agree. That's the only way someone with his views could have gotten so far. Actually, he might be a tad better than Stockwell Day, so hey, maybe it's for the best. :P

"As for bilingualism I would like to know why I have to pay my tax dollars to support a language."
I went through the French immersion program, grades 7-12. Whether it be French or any other language (the US is (are?) looking at adopting Spanish as an official language), I don't think supporting bilingualism can possibly be a negative thing. Learning additional languages is also easier once you know more than one language.

I'm from Nova Scotia and also attended university there. Most of the people I know have gotten by fine without any government hand-outs. True, there are certain individuals that just can't seem to hack it and depend on government aid. Maybe they are the squeaky wheels he has been hearing from, but in general Atlantic Canadians are happy and productive - it's a shame he can only see businesses instead of people.

I'm now living in Ottawa for my job - and I'm missing the slower pace of life at home. Can you imagine living in Ontario for the rest of your life? I certainly can't.

If I didn't think socialism had its limits, I'd be promoting the NDP, or maybe the Green party? I see the Liberals as the compromise between the Conservative and NDP parties.

"you're of the opinion that war never has any uses"
Not really. I am of the opinion that war can generally be circumvented, but there are certain cases where war is a necessary evil. This was simply not the case for the war in Iraq.

"hop on a plane to bask in the glories of our war dead over in Europe"
Yeah, the "glory of war" seems like a strange idea to me. Those two words don't seem to go together well, except maybe in videogames?

You're comparing our support in wars like WWII to the war in Iraq (or any other war the U.S. has had a hand in in the Middle East)? Not even remotely the same thing.

Dana said...

Well it seems we're alike in a lot of ways. I'm of the same opinion of Ottawa. It's a nice place for a big city but still, you can't beat the life back home.

Now, back to the arguing. You've stated that the ability to speak several languages is a good thing to which I can't disagree. But you still haven't explained why my tax dollars should have to pay for it.

And since you think our involvement in WWII is so different from the US's invasion of Iraq, can you please explain to me how that is.

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