Cynicism



The Liberal leader called an election because, he said, he wanted a clear mandate from Canadians. A mandate in politics is “the authority to carry out a policy or course of action, regarded as given by the electorate to a candidate or party that is victorious in an election.” Instead, it looks like his mandate is to keep working in a minority setting where you need to work with members in other parties to make legislation. 4 of the 6 past governments have been minority and it seems like things worked pretty well. As a matter of fact, minority governments in the past brought us medicare, pension plans, student loans, bilingualism and the Maple Leaf flag! So any appeal to vote for them because they are “the only party” that can produce a progressive legislature is just cynical.

Speaking of cynicism, the conservative leader, who ran as a “true blue” candidate in his leadership bid has suddenly bought into the new “left wing populism” with promises to put workers on boards of directors and to support organized labour. Wait just a minute! Can a tiger truly change it’s stripes? Voting conservative, this time around, is like playing darts blindfolded. Can you even hit near the target? Maybe. But chances are that seeing a real progressive legislature led by the blue suits sounds highly unlikely. Am I being cynical?

That brings us to the NDP. Well, first of all, we have the only leader that is viewed more positively than negatively in this campaign. Jagmeet Singh has been nothing but excited, “pumped” - dancing and singing with a positive attitude about what the NDP can do by being optimistic and hopeful for a better future. Secondly, the NDP stands where it has always stood, on the left as a social democratic party with a progressive doctrine. The NDP has stood where, now the other parties are leaning. Why? Because the NDP has always stood as the right choice for Canadians. The others want to be like us but they can’t. You know why. They are just too cynical.

This election, don’t vote for cynicism, vote NDP.


Footnote. This is number 52 in this series so it’s been a year. I’ve tried to keep each post short and to the point. When you click on the links you will see that there is so much more to be said, that needs to be said. So, in a way these posts are meant to lead you on to learn more and maybe reach your own conclusions. I have learned a great deal from writing these posts. My challenge to you is to do the same. Read, listen and then encapsulate your own response, whether in public or just privately on a piece of paper. It helps bring clarity and focus to a very complex world.

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