the secret of comedy

[jazzfish]

Just under six and a half years ago, I'd been quietly talking about fleeing to Canada if Bush won a second term. An acquaintance posted something to the effect of "hey, all you people talking about how you'd move to canada if bush won: put your money where your mouth is and shut up about it and just go do it."

"Fine," I thought (but didn't say), and started thinking more seriously about the idea.

It took some doing but in less than a month I will have pulled it off.

... just in time for the Conservative Party of Canada to have won a majority government after being found in contempt of Parliament, thanks to stupid awful first-past-the-post elections with one right-wing party running against three and a half left-wing ones.

The Liberal Party has lost more than half their seats, and the Bloc is essentially finished (down to three, I believe). Congratulations to the pinko commie socialist New Democratic Party on their amazing hundred-plus seats, and to Elizabeth May for winning one for the Green Party.

The trouble is, the collapse of the Liberals (and the Bloc) moves Canada much closer to being a two-party state. And coming as it does after a Conservative victory that appears much more decisive than it actually is (40% of the vote, 55% of the seats), I fully expect the NDP to tack more to the centre. They'll need to absorb the last of the Liberal supporters; in addition, well, where are the more left-wing voters going to go? In another twenty years Canada will look like the US with better health care.

(Of course, I'm very likely wrong on this. All I know is what I read on the internet. I'm just in a rather bad mood, and finding it difficult to see any silver lining at all.)

A Conservative majority also ensures that there will be no election for another five years. I suppose I might be able to vote in that one, at least. But really, what the hell do I do now?

Comments

[pictsy.livejournal.com]

I'm not familiar with the platform of the Canadian Conservatives, but I can't imagine it's as bad as the nutjobbery down here.

[jazzfish]

The CPC platform puts them roughly on par with the US Democrats: tax cuts, spending cuts, military buildup, and pander to the gun nuts and social troglodytes in Alberta, including drilling the heck out of the Albertan oil sands with slight regard for short- or long-term environmental concerns. I've heard rumblings that Harper plans to do unpleasant things to the health care system as well but I have no reliable source for this.

They're not as bad, in the sense that syphilis isn't as bad as AIDS; I fear it's not for lack of trying, though. From what I can tell having a majority government means that they have effectively no check from the opposition.

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

tax cuts, spending cuts, military buildup, pander to the gun nuts and social troglodytes, drilling the heck out of the Albertan oil sands with slight regard for short- or long-term environmental concerns

That's a mostly US-Republican platform, right there--though I don't even know which US party is for tax cuts and/or spending cuts these days. Both claim to be, I'm sure.

[jazzfish]

Tax cuts, spending cuts, military buildup, and social-troglodyte pandering are bipartisan US activities these days; we're just haggling over the price. And there actually /is/ a significant amount of oil in Alberta (in tar sands), so it's not as pointless as Drill Baby Drill.

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

I disagree on the social-troglodyte pandering--that's decidedly part of the GOP's platform. :P

[jazzfish]

I'd like to believe that, but plenty of Democrats are ready to throw (womens' / gay / minority) rights away in any given negotiation...

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

Examples? (I'm not being argumentative, I just don't recall seeing much of that trend--or at least, not within an order of magnitude of the GOP tendencies.)